Red Hot Chili Peppers to stand in for Foo Fighters at New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival

NEW ORLEANS -- Once silenced by the pandemic, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival opens Friday for the first time in three years — a long awaited 2022 revival that holds echoes of 2006 when the annual celebration of music and culture went on even after Hurricane Katrina.The two-weekend production draws tens of thousands to the city's Fair Grounds Race Course, where as many as 80 musical acts perform daily on more than a dozen stages, complemented by art and craft exhibits and an array of booths featuring foods from Louisiana and beyond.Lionel Richie and Death Cab for Cutie are among Friday's draws. The Who headlines Saturday; the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sunday.

Stevie Nicks has announced a string of solo shows for this summer – tickets will be available from here.The Fleetwood Mac singer was already due to play various US festivals in 2022, including Bonnaroo, Sound On Sound, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Eddie Vedder‘s Ohana Festival.Nicks has now confirmed four new headline concerts, which will take place throughout June. She’ll play in Ridgefield, Washington (June 10), Mountain View, California (12), Salt Lake City, Utah (16) and Noblesville, Indiana (21).Tickets go on general sale at 10am local time this Friday (April 29).

receive the Icon Award during the ceremony. The “Family Affair” songstress has received 10 Billboard awards in her lifetime, including nine statues for female R&B/hip-hop artist of the year and female Hot 100 artist.Past recipients of the Icon Award include superstars Pink, Garth Brooks, Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson and Cher.The 51-year-old Blige gushed over the honor in a statement earlier this month.

Billboard Music Awards are bringing your favorites to the stage! The first set of performers for this year's award show were announced on April 19, including Megan Thee Stallion and The Red Hot Chili Peppers.Megan Thee Stallion is set to make her Billboard Music Award debut at the event, which takes place at Las Vegas' MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 15. In addition to her performance, the 27-year-old rapper is also a finalist for Top Rap Female Artist, the same category she won the Billboard Music Award for in 2021.The Red Hot Chili Peppers, meanwhile, are making their BBMAs comeback after 23 years.

Led Zeppelin‘s Jimmy Page has given an update on new music, revealing that he’s currently working on “multiple projects”.“There’s various things I’m working towards,” Page told Classic Rock magazine in a new interview.“It’s not just one thing, it’s multiple things, and I don’t want to even give a hint, because if you do … you give a one-sentence sound bite, and then if it doesn’t materialise, it’s like: ‘Why didn’t you do a solo album?’ So I don’t want to say what it is that I’ve got planned, because I don’t want to give people the chance to misinterpret it.”Of his new album, he added: “I really can’t put on record what the new record is. I’ll leave it to your imagination.

Jimmy Page has explained why he has refused to appear on Ozzy Osbourne‘s new album.It comes after the Black Sabbath legend confirmed that he’d finished the follow up to his 2020 LP ‘Ordinary Man’ earlier this week.Sharing a photo on social media, Osbourne said “I’m so happy to let everyone know that I finished my new album this week and delivered it to my label Epic Records.”“I’ll be sharing all the information about the album and its upcoming release with you in the next several weeks,” he added.A post shared by Ozzy Osbourne (@ozzyosbourne)Last December, Osbourne’s producer and guitarist Andrew Watt said that Robert Trujillo (Metallica) featured on bass on the album, with the late Taylor Hawkins (Foo Fighters) and Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers) sharing drumming duties.Smith has also recently confirmed that Guns N’ Roses’ Duff McKagan, Eric Clapton, Josh Homme and Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready also feature. He claims Osbourne also tried to get Page to contribute but said “I don’t think he plays anymore”.But the Led Zeppelin legend has now explained that he refused to appear on the album because he was too busy working on his own projects.“There’s various things I’m working towards,” Page told Classic Rock.

Red Hot Chili Peppers‘ new album ‘Unlimited Love’ is the best-selling rock album of 2022 so far.The band’s 12th album topped the Billboard 200 chart and the UK albums chart and it has gone to Number One in several other countries since its release last month.So far it has racked up more than 145million streams and 97,500 album sales, according to data shared in a press release.It’s the Californian band’s best-selling album since their 2006 double LP  ‘Stadium Arcadium’ and their first since guitarist John Frusciante returned to the band after leaving following that particular record.In a four-star review of the record, NME’s Ali Shutler wrote: “There’s a lot to ‘Unlimited Love’, both in scale and ambition. It’s at once familiar – without being boring – and fresh (but never at the expense of the band’s identity).”Meanwhile, the band were among a host of artists including U2‘s Bono and Edge, Bruce Springsteen and Elton John who recently joined Global Citizen’s new ‘Stand Up For Ukraine’ campaign.

Ozzy Osbourne has confirmed he’s finished work on his new album.Sharing a photo on social media, Osbourne said “I’m so happy to let everyone know that I finished my new album this week and delivered it to my label Epic Records.”“I’ll be sharing all the information about the album and its upcoming release with you in the next several weeks,” he added.A post shared by Ozzy Osbourne (@ozzyosbourne)The followup to 2020’s ‘Ordinary Man’ was expected to be released before the end of April according to a financial statement issued by Sony at the end of last year.Last December, Osbourne’s producer and guitarist Andrew Watt said he and his bandmates were “about halfway through” recording the new album. The new band, Watt explained, features Osbourne on vocals, himself on guitar and Robert Trujillo (Metallica) on bass, with the late Taylor Hawkins (Foo Fighters) and Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers) sharing drumming duties.In recent weeks, Smith has also confirmed that Guns N’ Roses’ Duff McKagan, Eric Clapton, Josh Homme and Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready also feature.

NEW ORLEANS -- The group Red Hot Chili Peppers has been added to the lineup of the 2022 New Orleans Jazz Fest, organizers announced Friday.The rock band's appearance is set for Sunday, May 1, and will be its first at the event since 2016.The group has sold 80 million albums, collected six Grammy Awards and been inducted into the Rock and roll Hall of Fame. Their 12th studio album, “Unlimited Love,” was released April 1.Last month, the festival announced plans to find a replacement for the Foo Fighters, which canceled all upcoming concert dates after the death of the band's drummer, Taylor Hawkins.

Red Hot Chili Peppers secure their fifth UK Number 1 album this week with Unlimited Love, 20 years after claiming their first chart-topper.

Red Hot Chili Peppers’ bassist Flea recently performed a wild and distorted rendition of the ‘Star-Spangled Banner’. Watch a clip of him playing below.The rock aficionado wielded a Lakers-branded bass, providing his own intense spin on the song.The performance was inspired by jazz musician Charli Parker and legendary basketball player Kareen Abdul-Jabar.“I was so happy to have had a brief conversation with Kareem Abdul Jabbar before I walked out there,” Flea said via Instagram.He continued: “Knowing Kareem’s deep love for and knowledge of jazz, I told him I would do a Charlie Parker riff, which I did in the second stanza (on the word ‘fight’.)”He also wrote about his fellow RHCP bandmates, noting that frontman Anthony Kiedis and drummer Chad Smith were both in attendance and that “everyone got a bitchin RHCP hoops shirt.”A post shared by Flea (@flea333) The band released their 12th album, ‘Unlimited Love’, last month via Warner.

Red Hot Chili Peppers frontman Anthony Kiedis has become the latest star to respond to Will Smith’s viral slap of Chris Rock at last month’s Oscars.Last month, Smith struck the comedian on-stage during the Academy Awards ceremony following a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head. Following numerous apologies over the incident, Smith resigned from the Academy and described his actions as “shocking, painful, and inexcusable”.Asked by Howard Stern what he thought of the incident, Kiedis originally replied that “too much has been said already.”The band’s guitarist John Frusciante then stepped in, saying: “We love Chris Rock and I’ll stand forward and say he should not have been slapped.” Rock inducted the band into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2012.Kiedis then did give his take though, telling the host: “I love comedy.

Tuesday’s edition of SiriusXM’s “The Howard Stern Show” welcomed Red Hot Chili Peppers, including guitarist John Frusciante, who left the band (for the second time) in 2009, but is back in the fold for their new album, Unlimited Love, and upcoming tour.

Red Hot Chili Peppers are currently leading the pack in the race for this week’s Number One album in the UK.On Friday (April 1), the California icons released their 12th studio LP, ‘Unlimited Love’, marking their first full-length project since 2016’s ‘The Getaway’.The album sees the band reunite with guitarist John Frusciante, who left Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2009. He last appeared on the group’s 2006 Number One album ‘Stadium Arcadium’.In the midweeks, the Official Charts Company has revealed that ‘Unlimited Love’ is outselling its closest competition – Ed Sheeran‘s ‘=’ – by 8:1.

The music world continues to mourn the loss of Foo Fighters’ Taylor Hawkins, who died at age 50 on March 25.

King Crimson founder Robert Fripp and his wife, singer Toyah Willcox, have shared a cover of Red Hot Chili Peppers‘ ‘Can’t Stop’ – watch it below.The cover is a part of the pair’s ‘Sunday Lunch’ video series which was launched in 2020. The series has so far seen the couple share renditions of songs by Ramones, Nirvana, David Bowie, Metallica, Billy Idol, The Rolling Stones, Judas Priest, The Prodigy, Guns N’ Roses, Alice Cooper and many more through Willcox’s YouTube channel.In recent weeks, they’ve covered Neil Young’s ‘Rockin’ In The Free World’, ‘Bullet With Butterfly Wings’ by the Smashing Pumpkins and Kaiser Chiefs‘ ‘I Predict A Riot’; last week’s cover saw the pair deliver their take on Edwin Starr’s ‘War’.For their reworking of ‘Can’t Stop’, taken from RHCP’s 2002 studio album ‘By The Way’, the pair take up residence in their kitchen once more, with a backdrop that includes a painting of a banner that reads: “Red Hot Fripp A-licous.”Willcox, who often performs on top of the couple’s kitchen table, stands alongside Fripp at the front of the screen this week, donning a pair of aviator shades and multi-coloured body paint.“This week Toyah and Robert are RED HOT!!!” Willcox captioned the new video.

Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith has shared a poignant video paying tribute to his late friend and colleague, Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, who died last month at age 50.The two-minute video comprises a handful of humorous interactions between the pair, interview snippets and performance clips, with the Foo Fighters song ‘My Hero’ laid overtop. It was put together by Daniel Catullo, who in 2017 helmed the PBS series Foo Fighters At The Acropolis, which Smith hosted.Opening the video is a snippet of Smith saying in an old interview: “Taylor’s my good buddy, who I’ve known forever.” It ends with a line from Smith’s speech at the Chili Peppers’ Hollywood Walk Of Fame induction ceremony – which took place on Thursday (March 31) – where he said: “I have to give a shoutout to my brother Taylor Hawkins.

Ellise Shafer Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith has shared a tribute video to Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, who died on March 25 at the age of 50.The video is a compilation of Smith and Hawkins’ most memorable moments together captured on camera, including many clips from touring. Foo Fighters first opened for the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 1999 on their “Californication” tour, during which Hawkins and Dave Grohl played an epic prank on Smith by dumping pasta on him while he was drumming. Ever since, the two drummers kept up a playful yet sincere friendship, which is displayed in the video.“Taylor’s my good buddy who I’ve known forever,” Smith says during an interview clip at the beginning of the video.

Red Hot Chili Peppers have shared the new video for their song ‘These Are The Ways’ – you can watch the clip below.The track is taken from the four-piece’s 12th album ‘Unlimited Love’, which is out today (April 1).The Malia James-directed video for ‘These Are The Ways’ has also arrived today to accompany the new album.In the clip, RHCP frontman Anthony Kiedis goes on the run after a police car chase results in the singer rushing in and out of buildings in a bid to escape. The three other members of the band – Flea, John Frusciante and Chad Smith – all make cameos in the video.You can watch Red Hot Chili Peppers’ video for ‘These Are The Ways’ below.The band were awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame yesterday (March 31) to recognise their career.Drummer Smith acknowledged the “amazing turn-out” for the ceremony and gave shout-outs to past members of RHCP, before paying tribute to the late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins.“I have to give a shout-out to my brother Taylor Hawkins, who I love and we’ll all miss so much,” Smith said.

Red Hot Chili Peppers have been honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame to mark the band’s four decades in music.The Los Angeles group, who formed back in 1983, returned with their 12th studio album ‘Unlimited Love’ today (April 1).On the eve of the record’s release, the Chilis’ current line-up – Anthony Kiedis, Flea, Chad Smith and John Frusciante – were in attendance to receive the 2,717th star on the coveted Walk Of Fame.Taking to the podium first, guitarist Frusciante – who returned to RHCP in 2019 after almost a decade – recalled first moving to Hollywood as a teenager in 1987 before thanking “everybody in the world who our music means something to”.Flea then looked back at his longstanding connection to Hollywood Boulevard, telling those in attendance that he “panhandled” there as a youngster and played trumpet at the nearby University Of Southern California.“I know this street inside out, and this street knows me,” he said. “And whenever we’ve travelled around the world, this street has always been a part of me.