Simple Minds herald World Tour with New Live Record out April 25

Simple Minds is such a great band, and so good in concert! I can't wait to hear this live album when it's released this spring...Robert Kinsler

SIMPLE MINDS HERALD ALIVE & KICKING TOUR 2025 WITH LIVE IN THE CITY OF DIAMONDS ALL-NEW DOUBLE LIVE ALBUM FEATURES ELECTRIFYING RENDITIONS  OF CLASSIC TRACKS AND FAN FAVORITES INCLUDING  THE ICONIC #1 HIT, “DON’T YOU (FORGET ABOUT ME)” – LISTEN  LEGENDARY UK BAND’S BIGGEST NORTH AMERICAN LIVE RUN IN FOUR DECADES BEGINS MAY 16 IN RIDGEFIELD, WA ALL DATES WITH SPECIAL GUESTS SOFT CELL AND MODERN ENGLISH LIVE IN THE CITY OF DIAMONDS ARRIVES VIA BMG IN A VARIETY OF FORMATS  ON FRIDAY, APRIL 25 PRE-ORDERS AVAILABLE NOW ICYMI: PERFORMED "DON'T YOU (FORGET ABOUT ME)" ON JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE! - WATCH

Simple Minds are heralding their biggest North American headline tour in four decades with Live in the City of Diamonds, an all-new double live album arriving everywhere via BMG on Friday, April 25. Recorded in concert last April at Amsterdam, NL’s Ziggo Dome as part of the legendary UK band’s epic Global Tour 2024, Live in the City of Diamonds will be available in a variety of formats, including digitally, 2x clear/glitter and standard black vinyl LP (with 18 tracks, housed in gatefold sleeve with hi-spec finish), and 2xCD (with 24 tracks and 24-page Media Book featuring exclusive photos and tour notes). Pre-orders are available now. “All we wanted was to be in ‘a great live band’ and to spend our lives taking our music with us around the world," says Simple Minds co-founder and frontman Jim Kerr. "Decades later we still relish that challenge every night on tour. Live In The City of Diamonds captures both the spirit and fever of Simple Minds live at this moment in time.” Live in the City of Diamonds collects stunning concert performances of classic tracks and fan favorites from across Simple Minds’ monumental body of work thus far, including a spectacular live rendition of their much-beloved Billboard “Hot 100” #1 hit single, “Don’t You (Forget About Me),” premiering today at all DSPs and streaming services.  LISTEN TO “DON’T YOU (FORGET ABOUT ME) (LIVE IN THE CITY OF DIAMONDS)” Last month saw Simple Minds kicking off what looks to be a milestone year with an electrifying US network late night TV performance of “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! (streaming HERE). Indeed, 2025 marks the 40th anniversary of one of the most significant periods in Simple Minds’ extraordinary history, a landmark moment in their legendary career which saw the worldwide chart-topping success of “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” and release of their RIAA Gold-certified seventh studio album Once Upon A Time, not to mention their unforgettable set in front of 135,000 fans – and a TV audience of millions – on the American leg of 1985’s Live Aid. The occasion was further celebrated last month with the digital premiere of a special new 9-track edition of Once Upon A Time featuring the addition of “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” and updated Ruby Anniversary artwork. Physical versions and other anniversary reissues will follow later in the year.  "Hindsight is a glorious thing!,” says Kerr. “40 years on and it now feels right for Simple Minds to have ‘Don't You (Forget About Me)’ included in this classy new nine track edition of Once Upon A Time." WATCH “DON’T YOU (FORGET ABOUT ME) (LIVE ON JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE!)” STREAM/DOWNLOAD ONCE UPON A TIME (RUBY ANNIVERSARY EDITION) Produced by Live Nation, Simple Minds’ Alive & Kicking Tour 2025 gets underway May 16 at Ridgefield, WA’s RV Inn Style Resorts Amphitheater and then continues though a June 22 finale at Noblesville, IN’s Ruoff Music Center. Support on all dates comes from Soft Cell and Modern English. Highlights include shows at such famed arenas and amphitheaters as Seattle, WA’s Climate Pledge Arena (May 17), Inglewood, CA’s Kia Forum (May 22), Denver, CO’s Ball Arena (May 27), Woodlands, TX’s Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion (May 31), Columbia, MD’s Merriweather Post Pavilion (June 10), Wantagh, NY’s Northwell at Jones Beach Theater (June 13), Mansfield, MA’s Xfinity Center (June 15), and Toronto, ON’s Budweiser Stage (June 18). For complete details and ticket availability, please visit simpleminds.com/tour. A variety of different VIP packages and experiences are also available allowing fans to take their concert experience to the next level. Packages vary but include premium tickets, behind-the-scenes tour, group photo in front of the stage, exclusive VIP merch item & more. VIP package contents vary based on the offer selected. For more information, please see vipnation.com. # # # ABOUT SIMPLE MINDS: Inimitable musical pioneers for nearly half a century, Simple Minds are among the most successful UK bands of all time, having achieved more than 1B global streams on Spotify alone (with over 8.3M monthly listeners on Spotify alone) and total worldwide sales in excess of 60M, including six #1 albums in the UK and chart-topping releases in countless other territories including Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Australia, and New Zealand.   Coalescing around childhood friends Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill, Simple Minds emerged in 1978 with an immediately distinctive sound simultaneously rooted in punk, art-rock, and the electronic avant-garde. Over the next four decades, the band has pushed their open-armed approach to fashion a broad array of stylistic varieties – spanning pop, funk, gospel, soul, dance music, and more – into their own world-straddling brand of stadium-sized rock. Their continually evolving body of work is highlighted by such landmark LPs as 1982’s New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84), 1984’s Sparkle In The Rain, 1985’s Once Upon A Time, and 1989’s Street Fighting Years, along with a stunning canon of iconic global hit singles spanning “Love Song,” “Someone Somewhere (In Summertime),” “Glittering Prize,” “Promised You A Miracle,” “Up On The Catwalk,” “Speed Your Love To Me,” “Waterfront,” “Belfast Child,” and of course the timeless teen anthem, 1985’s US #1 classic, “Don’t You (Forget About Me),” the latter of course famously featured in the classic John Hughes film, The Breakfast Club.   Named as the world’s “Best Live Band” by Q Magazine in 1991, Simple Minds have long commanded the stages of sold-out arenas and stadiums around the planet. Their world-class credentials have been burnished in recent years by an array of equally remarkable accomplishments – from acclaimed new albums (including 2018’s Walk Between Worlds and 2022’s Direction of the Heart, both of which had top 5 chart debuts in the UK), best-selling live albums, career retrospectives, and epic world tours to accolades and honors like a 2014 Q Inspiration Award (presented by avowed fan Manic Street Preachers’ James Dean Bradfield) to a prestigious Ivor Novello Award for “Outstanding Song Collection” – all of which serve as timely reminders to a new generation of Simple Minds’ ongoing appeal as well a springboard for their next burst of creativity. Now as ever, Simple Minds remain a band touched by powerful magic, continually willing to experiment while remaining true to their original instincts.   “The truth is we never fully wound down,’ says Charlie Burchill. “There have been lots of different incarnations of Simple Minds, but we’ve always kept our identity. A legacy can be a burden if you allow it to be. For us, it’s been empowering.”   “We’ve been on one hell of a journey,” says Kerr. “I’m grateful for the career we’ve had, but I’m mad enough to think we can still hit new levels. This is what we do – write, record and play live. One of the things I’m most proud of is that people say to me, what Simple Minds are you talking about? The avant-garde, the art-rock, the pop, the ambient, the instrumental group, the political, the folk, the stadium band? To play all those different styles but at the same time be quintessentially Simple Minds is an amazing thing.”

L : Jim Kerr, R: Charlie Burchill / Photo Credit: Dean Chalkley  # # # SIMPLE MINDS – ALIVE & KICKING TOUR 2025 All Dates w/ Special Guests Soft Cell and Modern English

Photo Credit: Anton Corbijn

MAY 16 - Ridgefield, WA – Cascades Amphitheater 17 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena 20 – Concord, CA – Toyota Pavilion at Concord 22 – Inglewood, CA – Kia Forum 23 – Greater Palm Springs, CA – Acrisure Arena 24 – Chula Vista, CA – North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre 25 – Phoenix, AZ – Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre 27 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena 30 – Austin, TX – Moody Center 31 – Woodlands, TX – Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion   JUNE 1 – Irving, TX – The Pavillion at Toyota Music Factory 4 – Rogers, AR - The Walmart AMP 5 – Maryland Heights, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre 7 – Atlanta, GA – Cadence Bank Amphitheatre at Chastain Park 10 – Columbia, MD – Merriweather Post Pavilion 11 – Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center 13 – Wantagh, NY – Northwell at Jones Beach Theater 14 – Philadelphia, PA – The Mann Center 15 – Mansfield, MA - Xfinity Center 17 – Montreal, QC – Centre Bell 18 – Toronto, ON – Budweiser Stage 20 – Chicago, IL – Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island 21 – Clarkston, MI – Pine Knob Music Theatre 22 – Noblesville, IN – Ruoff Music Center # # # SIMPLE MINDS LIVE IN THE CITY OF DIAMONDS (BMG) Release Date: Friday, April 25, 2025

Tracklist: Waterfront Love Song Sons and Fascination Sweat in Bullet This Fear of Gods Let There Be Love She’s a River Once Upon a Time Glittering Prize Promised You a Miracle New Gold Dream Belfast Child Someone Somewhere (in Summertime) Don’t You (Forget About Me) Book of Brilliant Things See The Light Alive and Kicking Sanctify Yourself Vision Thing * The American * Solstice Kiss * Premonition * Hunter and The Hunted * Colours Fly and Catherine Wheels * * CD & DIGITAL ONLY # # # CONNECT WITH SIMPLE MINDS SIMPLEMINDS.COM | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TIKTOK | TWITTER | YOUTUBE

New music: Caroline Cotter, Idina Menzel, Julie Christensen

Acclaimed artists Caroline Cotter, Idina Menzel and Julie Christensen are back with essential new albums.

Artist: Caroline Cotter
Title: Gently as I Go (Independent)
You might like if you enjoy: Joni Mitchell, Eva Cassidy, Natalie Merchant, Carol Martini
Tell me more: On her newly released album Gently as I Go, Maine-based folk singer Caroline Cotter showcases a lovely soprano heard on a range of introspective and heartfelt originals. The album opener "Coming Your Way" is a beautiful introduction where Cotter's lyrics and vocal yearning paint a picture of two soulmates who share a powerful bond and how no distance can keep them apart. On "The Year Of the Wrecking Ball," there is a deep sense of melancholy to be sure about the ghosts of childhood and the painful loss of the comfort we find in family: "Inside the bedroom I hear her still on the phone / 33 years of pleading God, please don't leave me alone." The album's first single, "Don't Wait," is a song of encouragement pushing listeners to seize the day; indeed the song's strong call includes the admonition to: "Don't wait for the sun to rise to get out of bed / Don't wait for money to get ahead / Don't wait for praise to feel proud and strong / Don't wait for the true love to feel you belong." Other bewitching tracks on the outstanding independent album include the sweeping "The Call" (written for her 104 year old grandfather's funeral), the heartbreaking "Gently As I Go" that explores a doomed relationship and hopeful album closer "Morning Mantra." The music on Cotter's third album is artfully sparse, with gentle instrumentation adding mood to her poignant and beautiful songs that capture love, loss, hope and the most powerful experiences and emotions that shape our lives. Information: carolinecotter.com. 

Artist: Idina Menzel
Title: Drama Queen (BMG)
You might like if you enjoy: Cheryl Lynn, Cher, ABBA
Tell me more: Acclaimed singer-songwriter and Tony Award-winning performer Idina Menzel conjures up the groundbreaking dance music of the late 1970s and early '80s on her aptly-titled Drama Queen. The album is a true departure from her six past albums, but the aptly-dubbed "Queen of Broadway" brings bona fide vocal firepower and joy to the collection of dance floor-minded anthems on the nine-track album. The lead track "Move" immediately immerses the listener into an infectious disco moodscape, the driving beat catapulting the song forward with every beat. The contemporary R&B track "Beast," ABBA-styled gem "Dramatic," soulful "Paradise" (the latter featuring guest vocals and cool guitar work from Nile Rodgers), funky "Make Me Hate Me" and soaring "Funny Kind of Lonely" further expand Menzel's reach across the outstanding album. In addition to Menzel's talents as a great vocalist and songwriter, a slew of global hitmakers (including the aforementioned Rodgers as well as Jake Shears, Eren Cannata, Simon Wilcox, Lindy Robbins, Michelle Zarlenga and others) bring their skills to elevate the ambitious project. While so much music today is focused on the dangers of romance, self doubt and turmoil across a divided planet, there is something to be said for a stellar collection of songs geared toward escape and the lure of the dance floor.  Information: Website idinamenzel.com. 

Artist: Julie Christensen
Title: The Price We Pay for Love (Wirebird Records)
You might like if you enjoy: Joni Mitchell, Lucinda Williams, Rachael Yamagata
Tell me more: Julie Christensen's latest full-length album The Price We Pay for Love features the New Mexico-based artist teaming up with bassist and string arranger Terry Lee Burns for an album of genuinely moving tracks that flawlessly blend Americana, jazz, blues and singer-songwriter stylings. Delivering a mix of self-penned tracks and original arrangements of material written by other artists, Christensen's emotive vocals shine across the 10-track disc. A mesmerizing 7-minute take on Joni Mitchell's "Hejira" opens the album, with Burns' majestic bass playing bringing a lofty creativity to the musical reading. Christensen brings palpable emotion and forcefulness to the acoustic Michael Moss-penned "Goldbridge Road" as well as the Jimmy Webb classic "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress," the latter enhanced by John Funkhouser's touch on the piano. Other highlights on the wonderful The Price We Pay for Love include the tender original "How He Lost Her," plaintive version of Steve Winwood's "Can't Find My Way Home" and sorrowful closer "Hilltop." Information: Website stonecupid.com or Facebook.com/Juliechristensenmusic. 

Robert Kinsler

John Lee Hooker's 'Alone: Live At Hunter College 1976' 2-LP Set Out June 23 from BMG

This sounds like a terrific concert recording and must-hear for blues fans...Robert Kinsler

JOHN LEE HOOKER

ALONE: LIVE AT HUNTER COLLEGE 1976

 

JOHN LEE HOOKER’S ENTIRE LEGENDARY 1976 SOLO CONCERT RECORDED LIVE AT HUNTER COLLEGE IN NEW YORK CITY SET FOR REISSUE ON 2-LP 180-GRAM VINYL; AVAILABLE JUNE 23

 

Both of the storied sets are packaged together for the first time on vinyl for a global release, featuring performances of “Boom Boom,” “Crawlin’ King Snake,” and “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer.”  

 

“I enjoy sometimes just sitting down, you know, and just playing by myself, alone without the band.  It’s nice to relax, to just sit by yourself and just play, you can do what you want to do.” - John Lee Hooker

 

PRE-ORDER NOW

Los Angeles, CA – May 10, 2023 - BMG is proud to announce the release of John Lee Hooker’s entire legendary 1976 solo concert recorded live at New York’s Hunter College on Feb. 6, 1976, available on June 23, 2023.  Collected for the first time as a 2-LP set for global release on 180g vinyl, Hooker’s two sets of solo guitar/vocal performances include raw and revered recordings of “Boom Boom,” “Crawlin’ King Snake,” and “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer.”  Packaged with brand new artwork in a gatefold jacket and includes new liner notes by Kent Cooper, Alone: Live at Hunter College 1976 presents the whole concert with the reverence it deserves and is available for pre-order today.  This title marks BMG’s first physical release since acquiring the music interests of John Lee Hooker in 2022, with several additional reissues planned for this year and beyond.

 

Known to music fans around the world as the “King of the Boogie,” John Lee Hooker endures as one of the true superstars of the blues genre: the ultimate beholder of cool. His work is widely recognized for its impact on modern music – his raw yet deeply moving songs transcend borders and languages around the globe. Each decade of Hooker’s ever-evolving career brought a new generation of fans. He never slowed down either: As John Lee Hooker entered his 70s, he suddenly found himself in the most successful era of his career – reinvented yet again, and energized as ever, and touring and recording up until his passing in 2001.

 

Tracklisting (Set 1): 

SIDE 1 

1. I Miss You So

2. Jesse James

3. Dark Room

4. I’ll Never Get Out of These Blues Alive

SIDE 2

1. Boogie Chillun

2. When My First Wife Left Me

3. Boom Boom

4. One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer 

 

Tracklisting (Set 2):

SIDE 3

1. Feel Good

2. Some People

3. T.B.

4. Baby, Please Don’t Go

SIDE 4

1. Mama Killed A Chicken

2. Hobo

3. Tired Of Being Your Doggie

4. All Night Long

5. Crawlin’ King Snake

David Crosby releases new live track "Guinnevere" from his first ever live album and full concert DVD set

Celebrated singer-songwriter David Crosby has just released "Guinnevere," an advance track from his first ever live album! I last caught Crosby live at The Troubadour back in 2014 and he was fantastic (revisit my review of that concert HERE)...Robert Kinsler

DAVID CROSBY
RELEASES NEW LIVE TRACK “GUINNEVERE”
FROM HIS HISTORIC FIRST EVER LIVE ALBUM 
AND FULL CONCERT DVD SET
DAVID CROSBY & THE LIGHTHOUSE BAND 
LIVE AT THE CAPITOL THEATRE
OUT DECEMBER 9, 2022 VIA BMG
LISTEN TO “GUINNEVERE (LIVE AT THE CAPITOL THEATRE)” HERE

Photo credit: Maxine Evans

Two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Famer and co-founder of the Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash, David Crosby, today releases another live offering with the song “Guinnevere” from his forthcoming first ever solo live CD/DVD set. The folk-rock legend and cultural force for over fifty years continues his late period renaissance with the release of David Crosby & The Lighthouse Band Live at the Capitol Theatre, arriving December 9, 2022 via BMG. Pre–order/pre-add/pre-save the set on CD and digital here. STREAM / DOWNLOAD / SHARE “GUINNEVERE (LIVE AT THE CAPITOL THEATRE)” HERE WATCH THE PERFORMANCE OF "GUINNEVERE" HERE Continuing to forge new paths in his eighth decade, Crosby again joins forces with Becca Stevens, Michelle Willis and Michael League, the three musicians known as The Lighthouse Band, who he’s been working with since 2016’s Lighthouse album.  Far from just a solo live album/DVD, working with his first new band since CPR (Crosby, Pevar and Raymond), Crosby and The Lighthouse Band quickly discovered their chemistry took a collaborative leap during their 2018 tour together in support of Crosby’s seventh solo album Here if You Listen (2018, BMG) culminating in this live recorded set on the last night of the run.  Recorded and filmed at the historic Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY, in a particularly meaningful turn for Crosby, the sixteen track live offering also includes an uncut gem with the song “1974” - a long-lost demo track that Crosby had floating around on his computer hard drive for decades.  Peter Shapiro (Owner, The Capitol Theatre) says, “Hosting David Crosby at The Capitol Theatre was an honor for us and when David came out and crushed his performance it elevated things even further. We feel very fortunate that this legendary moment was captured forever.”  This very special live performance acts as a celebration of sorts as it spotlights the kindred relationship Crosby shares with League, Stevens and Willis.  Stevens offers, “The Lighthouse band is family. David and I tease about my not “understanding the magnitude of his brilliance”. I didn’t grow up with his music. I knew his name, but that was about it. I’ve gotten to know him purely through my experience of him in the present moment, generous, endlessly inspired, ambitious, and completely insane (in all my favorite ways). A man who has known immense fame, and yet would start a band at seventy something with three youngish weirdos, begging them to share the light with him. There’s something truly wonderful in that, and truly David.”  Willis adds, “He (Crosby) has gifted us his friendship, care, wisdom, humor, family, and community. And in addition, he has given Mike, Becca and I endless tools to create something of beauty to offer. This is because he truly believes in music, and its ability to profoundly change and make better those who encounter it. I’m so grateful to have a fighter like Croz in my life.”

Live at the Capitol Theatre 2018 Photo credit: Scott Harris

David Crosby & The Lighthouse Band Live at the Capitol Theatre  CD & DVD tracklist  The Us Below Things We Do For Love 1974 Vagrants of Venice Regina Laughing  What Are Their Names  By The Light of Common Day Glory The City  Look in Their Eyes Guinnevere Janet Carry Me Déjà Vu Woodstock    Album Credits: Recorded at Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, NY 12/8/18 ​​Produced by David Crosby Mixed by Kevin Madigan, Michael League, David Crosby & Nic Hard Dolby ATMOS Mix by Kevin Madigan Mastered by Brian Lucey at Magic Garden Studios   DVD Production Credits: Director of Photography, Editor - Simon C.F. Yu  Camera Operators - Nikki Birch, Tariq Khan, Brad Wagner, Sloan Copeland, Darah Golub

Photo credit: Anna Webber   CONNECT WITH DAVID CROSBY Official | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram