Kid Rock is defendeding his Freedom 250 Tour pricing structure after media reports surfaced about the musician charging $5,000 for front-row tickets. Rock wrote on X on Friday (Feb. 20): “The fake liberal media says I’m charging $5,000 for front-row tickets. They know damn well that’s not the full story. I WILL pray for them but I know that sooner or later God will cut ‘em down.” Rock went on to confirm the $5,000 cost, but he explained only 20 “first class” seats exist per show across five rows, with those tickets priced from $1,000 to $5,000. Early sales show mixed results, with Dallas selling some premium seats but no $5,000 tickets as of Friday. Rock added, “Instead of reporting facts or that lawn seats are only 50 bucks or how we are cutting out the scalpers, they twist it for headlines/clicks and to attack me.” The tour opens May 1 in Dallas. (Variety)
Dave Grohl has publicly addressed Foo Fighters‘ split from drummer Josh Freese for the first time, telling Zane Lowe in a new interview that the decision “didn’t happen overnight.” Freese joined the band in May 2023 after their longtime drummer Taylor Hawkins died in March 2022, but was let go in May 2025 with “no reason given,” according to Josh’s Instagram post at the time. Grohl explained that “continuing on after Taylor was really complicated, not just for us, but for any drummer that was going to come in to fill his shoes.” After touring with Freese for about a year and a half, the band took a break and spent six to seven months discussing the new direction they wanted to go in the future. “We called, and we told him, as a band — all of us called, it wasn’t just me,” Grohl said, adding they expressed gratitude for their two-year collaboration while telling him “we’re going to move on and find another drummer.” Ilan Rubin has since officially been named Foo Fighters new drummer, and the band will release their 12th studio album, Your Favorite Toy, on April 24. (Rolling Stone)
Guitarist Chad Taylor and drummer Chad Gracey have issued a cease-and-desist letter to frontman Ed Kowalczyk demanding he stop using the Live band name for business operations. Taylor posted on Instagram that “as of Feb. 16, 2026, [Kowalczyk’s] rights to use the LIVE brand were revoked by AFU,” referring to Action Front Unlimited, Inc., which owns Live’s trademarks. The letter seeks to prevent Kowalczyk from using the Live name “in connection with touring, merchandising, recording, advertising, promotion, branding, or any other commercial activity.” Kowalczyk’s attorney Mitchell Schuster says “the assertions contained in the recently circulated ‘cease and desist’ letter from certain former members of LIVE are without merit” and that they intend to address the matter through legal channels. Kowalczyk allegedly fired the other musicians in 2022, taking control of the band while continuing to tour and perform as Live. (Rolling Stone)