Bob Dylan met with Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday in a brief private audience at the Vatican. The two exchanged gifts — the pope presented Dylan with a rosary, while Dylan gave His Holiness a copy of his autobiography, Chronicles: Volume One. Their meeting included “greetings and a few lighthearted exchanges,” according to Vatican News. Pope Leo had previously cited Dylan’s unpublished 1963 protest song “Go Away You Bomb” in his book, Disarmed and Disarming: Peace Is a Gift. The pope has met several prominent musicians recently, including Bad Bunny during a Spain tour in June and Patti Smith in August. Smith called the encounter “a moment that shall forever produce a smile.” Story URL
Ozzfest has launched a countdown clock set to expire Thursday, November 5th at 10 a.m. ET, hinting at a major announcement for the rebooted metal festival. The hard rock touring event, originally launched by Ozzy Osbourne in 1996, has been teasing fans for weeks with cryptic social media posts. Ozzy’s widow and manager, Sharon Osbourne, confirmed earlier this year she had been in talks with Live Nation about reviving the festival. “It was something Ozzy was very passionate about: giving young talent a stage in front of a lot of people,” she said. Ozzfest has already confirmed a stop at Villa Park in Birmingham, U.K., plus the first U.S. dates in nearly a decade. The festival last took place in 2018 at The Forum in Inglewood, California. Story URL
Elton John’s 1989 single “Sacrifice” has joined YouTube’s billion-views club, becoming the first of his videos to reach the milestone. The maudlin track from his 22nd studio album, Sleeping with the Past, peaked at just No. 18 on the Billboard Hot 100. Its video, directed by Alex Keshishian — known for Madonna: Truth or Dare — stars singer/songwriter Chris Isaak and supermodel Yasmeen Ghauri as a struggling married couple. Surprisingly, “Sacrifice” outpaced all of John’s other videos by a wide margin. John, 79, retired from touring following his legendary Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour, spanning more than five years, 330 shows, and officially ending July 8, 2023. Story URL
Breaking Benjamin have announced a 16-date U.S. tour kicking off February 16th in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, with support from Starset, P.O.D., and Filter. The run wraps March 12th in Atlantic City, New Jersey — though Filter will not appear at that final show. The tour arrives as the band builds momentum toward a new album, following the release of their latest single, “Something Wicked.” Their previous record, Ember, dropped in 2018. Spotify Premium subscribers can access reserved tickets via Ticketmaster before general on-sale. Citi cardmembers may purchase presale tickets beginning November 4th, while the band’s own presale opens November 5th using code WICKED. General on-sale begins November 6th at 10 a.m. local time through the band’s website. Story URL
Guitarist Robin Finck is selling roughly 200 items through his official Reverb shop, which opens November 11th. Highlights include his Gibson Les Paul ’60 Reissue Goldtop “Old Gold,” which he played at Woodstock ’94, and a 1990 Gibson Les Paul Custom. The items will be sold rather than auctioned, so fans are encouraged to shop early. Story URL