Jack Osbourne and his wife Aree Gearhart recently welcomed their second child together, naming her Ozzy Matilda Osbourne in honor of his dad, the late Black Sabbath frontman and heavy metal legend Ozzy Osbourne. The baby was born at 8:49 a.m. on March 5, weighing seven pounds and 12 ounces, according to an Instagram announcement shared on Wednesday (March 11). Ozzy died from a heart attack on July 22 at the age of 76, after battling coronary artery disease and Parkinson’s disease. Jack previously honored his father on social media by writing, “He was so many things to so many people, but I was so lucky and blessed to be apart of a very small group that got to call him ‘Dad.’” Ozzy Matilda joins sister Maple Artemis Osbourne, born July 9, 2022. Jack also has three other daughters with ex-wife Lisa Stelly. (Rolling Stone)
On Thursday (March 12), Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready announced details of his graphic novel and “lost” rock opera, Farewell to Seasons, which will be released on October 7 via Z2. The project, two decades in development, tells an alternate history of Seattle’s early-1990s grunge scene through fictional musician David Williams. McCready stated, “I’m incredibly excited to announce my new graphic novel with Z2, Farewell to Seasons. It’s a story I’ve been developing for many years, inspired by the creativity, community, and chaos of the Seattle music scene.” He collaborated with writer Mark Sable and illustrator Sebastian Piraz on the work, which Z2 describes as featuring “elements of magical realism throughout.” Deluxe editions of the book come packaged with an LP featuring a soundtrack of new and original songs by McCready that “serve as an artifact recording produced by the lead character, David Williams.” (Rolling Stone)
Court records reveal Live Nation employees joked about charging excessive fees to customers in private Slack messages. Jeff Weinhold and Ben Baker, who handled ticketing in Florida and Virginia, exchanged messages about VIP admissions costing up to $199 and parking fees reaching $250. “These people are so stupid,” Baker wrote, while Weinhold replied “I almost feel bad taking advantage of them.” One employee described parking revenue as “robbing them blind, baby.” The Justice Department cited these exchanges as evidence Live Nation exploits its monopoly position in amphitheaters. Live Nation called the messages from “one junior staffer” unrepresentative of company values, noting leadership learned of them publicly. Baker now heads ticketing for Live Nation’s Venue Nation platform. The revelations emerged as Live Nation settled the government’s antitrust case this week, agreeing to allow other companies besides Ticketmaster to sell venue tickets. Story URL
Bruce Springsteen has just released a studio recording of “A Rainy Night in Soho” for the upcoming Shane MacGowan tribute album, 20th Century Paddy – The Songs of Shane MacGowan, due out November 13 via Rubyworks. The collection honors the late Pogues frontman who died in November 2023 at the age of 65, and features contributions from Tom Waits, Hozier, Jessie Buckley, David Gray, Dropkick Murphy’s, Primal Scream, Steve Earle, the Libertines, Jesus and Mary Chain, and surviving Pogues members. Springsteen performed the 1986 Pogues classic three times with the E Street Band during their 2024 European tour stops in Ireland. In his statement, Springsteen said “Shane’s voice was so deeply real, profane, and honest, his writing so flashing, alive, and historically rich.” He added “I don’t know who’ll be listening to my music in 100 years, but I know they’ll be listening to Shane’s.” Half the artist royalties will benefit Dublin Simon Community, which supports the city’s unhoused population. (Rolling Stone)
Former Slipknot drummer Jay Weinberg will be selling gear and memorabilia through his Reverb shop starting March 18th. Items include drum kits from his Slipknot tenure, stage-worn masks and outfits, plus equipment used during recording sessions for ‘We Are Not Your Kind’. Proceeds partially benefit MusiCares charity. Weinberg drummed for Slipknot from 2014 to 2023, replacing Joey Jordison. (Story URL)
Morrissey canceled his concert in Valencia, Spain, on Thursday (March 12) citing sleep deprivation caused by festival noise at his hotel. The 66-year-old singer traveled two days by road from Milan to Valencia, arriving late Wednesday at a hotel on Plaza Manises. According to a statement on Morrissey Central, “Any form of sleep or rest throughout the night was impossible due to festival noise / loud techno singing / megaphone announcements. This experience has left Morrissey in a catatonic state.” An additional note stated “Tonight’s scheduled show in Valencia has been rendered impossible due to sleep deprivation.” The noise reportedly came from celebrations for Valencia’s Las Fallas festival, which runs through March 19 and features nightly street parties, music, and fireworks. The former Smiths frontman described his hotel as “indescribable hell. It will take me one year to recover. And that is an understatement.” Morrissey is touring in support of his 14th solo album, Make-Up Is a Lie, which was released March 6. (Rolling Stone)