October 2nd, 2012 | 5:17 pm by Zara Golden (@zaragolden)

Mumford & Sons Flex Their Americana Muscles With Bruce Springsteen And Bob Dylan Covers

For years now, the fine folks at Daytrotter have been doing a great thing where they open their studio doors to bands, big or breaking, for an extra-stripped down set. Over the years, they’ve featured offbeat and intimate sessions with everyone from Bon Iver to the Avett Brothers, Kid Sister to Dawes (three times over). This week, Mumford & Sons get the Daytrotter treatment. Recorded on their tour bus during a stop-over in Illinois, the eight-song session counts Babel closer “Not With Haste” and a slew of covers, two of which are particularly noteworthy: Bruce Springsteen‘s “Atlantic City” and Bob Dylan‘s “Nine Hundred Miles.”

Dylan and Springsteen are giants in the American music landscape, but British Marcus makes for a worthy Dylan and their signature banjo makes for a dark and stormy “Atlantic City.” And we probably should have expected as much, they being the gang of Brits who sparked an Americana revival. Their first new album Babel had a killer first week out, they deserve this flexing victory lap.

Head over to Daytrotter and have a listen for yourself. What songs would you like to hear them cover?

Mumford & Sons and Friends [Daytrotter]

August 23rd, 2012 | 2:02 pm by Jordan Runtagh

Iggy Pop, Tom Morello, John Fogerty: These 2012 Hard Rock Calling Sneaks Will Rock Your World

It’s T-minus two days until the U.S. premiere of Hard Rock Calling 2012 blasts off on Palladia and VH1! Sure that’s pretty soon, but we can’t wait to share the a few of the highlights from the multi-day music festival that rocked so hard that the cops showed up! So direct from us to you, here are some performance sneak peeks to show you what all the fuss is about, and get you even more pumped to see the full two hour feature this Saturday at 9 PM.

First off, we’ve got Iggy Pop, making you forget his age (and that insurance commercial) by tearing into his iconic track, “I Want To Be Your Dog.” The performance was so good, fellow rock legends Jimmy Page and Robert Plant came out to watch! If it’s good enough for those guys, it’s good enough for us. Backed by his old band the Stooges, the inventor of the stage dive does not disappoint.

Rage Against The Machine and Audioslave veteran Tom Morello took to the stage as his alter-ego the Nightwatchman, serving up some searing protest music that touched on everything from the financial crisis to striking firemen. This guy has a lot to say. His set at HRC happened to coincide with what would have been Woody Guthrie’s 100th birthday, so Tom payed his respects by doing a spine-tingling cover of the late singer’s “Ease My Revolutionary Mind.” With his shout outs to the Occupy movement and other current events, Tom made the song more relevant than ever.

We don’t care who you are, for our money they best guitar work of the entire festival was done by former Creedence Clearwater Revival front-man John Fogerty. The gravel-voiced legend shredded better than dudes half his age, and we’re still kind of amazed his strings didn’t melt. This clip of John jamming on “Old Man Down The Road” gives you just a little taste. Tune in on Saturday at 9 PM for more of everybody you’ve just seen and more, including Lady Antebellum, Sound Garden, Paul Simon, Christina Perri and of course Bruce Springsteen’s historic duet with Paul McCartney!

[Photo: Getty Images]

July 24th, 2012 | 4:01 pm by Zara Golden (@zaragolden)

Paul McCartney Poke Fun At Hard Rock Calling Curfew In New Olympic Promo

England may be serious about rules, but not so serious that they can’t laugh at themselves. A new promo for the Olympics — which he is rumored to close with a “Hey Jude” singalong — finds good Sir Paul McCartney mocking the strict curfew keepers who pulled the plug on his headlining set with Bruce Springsteen at Hard Rock Calling in London earlier this month. “We’re all getting excited, we’re ready to rock,” says the former Beatle before diving into a rocking rehearsal. But just halfway through “I Saw Her Standing There,” the sound cuts out and McCartney is left wondering, once again, “Who pulled the plug…?” We like to believe that, if this sort of power-out happens during the real thing, closing ceremonies attendees will be well enough versed in Beatles classics to all together now help take that sad song and make it better. But for the sake of all rock-and-roll moments sacred, let’s hope this is the last time McCartney has to ask that question.

RELATED: Bruce Springsteen And Paul McCartney Get Shut Down By Police For Playing After Curfew At Hard Rock Calling

McCartney Mocks Hard Rock Calling In New Video – Watch [GigWise] Read more…

July 24th, 2012 | 11:22 am by Bené Viera

Bruce Springsteen Wasn’t Just A Partying Rockstar In the 80s, He Battled Depression And Suicidal Thoughts

Bruce Springsteen battled depression & suicidal thoughts

Legendary Bruce Springsteen is still touring and making No. 1 albums at age 62. He’s such a boss that at the Hard Rock Calling concert in England he brought out Sir Paul McCartney, only to have the plug pulled mid set due to a bloody noise curfew rule. Shame on the London police for messing with history! In the new issue of the esteemed New Yorker, Springsteen’s life is chronicled in a 15,000 word profile detailing his childhood in New Jersey to his Wrecking Ball tour. One of the biggest revelations sprawled from the profile was his suicidal thoughts and depression. Springsteen’s longtime friend and biographer, Dave Marsh, said Springsteen has been seeing a therapist since 1982. To which we say, kudos to him! Read more…

July 15th, 2012 | 8:00 am by Jordan Runtagh

Hard Rock Calling Day Two: Bruce Springsteen Brings Out Paul McCartney, Dreams Come True

Bruce Springsteen performs at Day 2 of Hard Rock Calling

Say it with us now: BRUUUUUUUUUUCEEEEE!! It’s Day Two of the 2012 Hard Rock Calling music festival, and though we had a fantastic roaster of rock ‘n’ rollers on the bill today, there’s one name that shines over the rest. No offense Lady Antebellum, John Fogerty, Tom Morello, Dawes, Gary Clark Jr and the rest of the twenty-three acts who got loud in London – but there was something special in the air tonight. And it smelled like the swamps of Jersey. Bruce Springsteen turned rock performance into an Olympic event, offering up one of his frenzied three hour music marathons. We laughed, we cried, we rocked.

Arriving to Hyde Park in the afternoon, we got the impression that the already-massive festival site had somehow grown even bigger! At first we thought it was just in our heads, but apparently it was true. Organizers have reportedly sold 80 thousands tickets, so many that the gates had to be moved farther back to accommodate the influx of international fans wanting to be honorary Garden State-ers for the night.

We got there just in time to see The Nightwatchman, better known as Tom Morello, take to the stage. Never one to hold back, the former Rage Against The Machine guitarist is still raging, offering a passionately political set in which he touched on everything from the worldwide financial crisis to a British fireman’s strike. In honor of what would have been musical protest pioneer Woody Guthrie’s 100th birthday, Morello did a fiery rendition of the late singer’s “Ease My Revolutionary Mind,” fitting in shoutouts to Springsteen, Fogerty and other acts on the bill. ”If he were alive today, he would be on the front lines of Occupy movement,” Morello said of Guthrie, who passed away in 1967.

Read more…

July 14th, 2012 | 7:17 pm by Jordan Runtagh

Bruce Springsteen And Paul McCartney Get Shut Down By Police For Playing After Curfew At Hard Rock Calling

Rules are rules in England, and nobody is above them. Not even Bruce Springsteen and Sir Paul McCartney! The Boss brought out the Beatle to lend at hand at the end of his headlining set for day two of the Hard Rock Calling music festival in Hyde Park. Eighty thousand music fans were treated to two historic duets: “I Saw Her Standing There” and an epic sprawling version of “Twist and Shout” that really let the E-Street band stretch its legs while Bruce and Paul took turns on the call and response vocals. For ten minutes we the crowd was in musical heaven, but then suddenly the tunes started getting quieter and quieter. It was thought (at least by us) that the band was simply playing softer. But soon Bruce went up to speak into the mic and nothing seemed to come out. He spoke for several minutes while Paul and lead guitarist Stevie Van Zandt looked on, but the words were still inaudible to the crowd. Eventually he gave up trying to play another song, shrugged, took a bow with the band and walked off.

Check out video of the incident below (if you want to cut to the chase, fast-forward to about the 10 minute mark):

Read more…

July 12th, 2012 | 5:59 pm by Jordan Runtagh

Legends To Light Up London At The Hard Rock Calling Music Festival: VH1 Will Take You There!

Hard Rock called and we answered! The 7th annual Hard Rock Calling music festival is almost upon us, and VH1′s got your front row ticket and backstage pass. The big event will take place this Friday through Sunday in London’s Hyde Park, and we’ll be there rockin’ out with some of the biggest names in rock ‘n’ roll history! Hard Rock always treats us music fans right, but this year they’ve really spoiled us with some once-in-a-lifetime performances.

Grunge gods Soundgarden will be there playing cuts from their upcoming album, a first in 16 years! Paul Simon is going to celebrate the 25h anniversary of his landmark Graceland album by performing it start to finish, backed by the incredible Ladysmith Black Mambazo group who gave the original recording its timeless sound. Bruce Springsteen will no doubt turn rock ‘n’ roll into an athletic event during his marathon set with the E Street Band, and punk prince Iggy Pop will tear up the stage (and hopefully not himself). Lady Antebellum, Alison Krauss, John Fogerty and Robert Randolph…they’ll all be there to move it and groove it across the pond.

And get this, guys: That’s just the main stage. We’ve got three others to choose from, so get ready for more music than your ears can handle. We’re pleased to report some success stories, as one-time VH1 You Oughta Know artists Dawes and Christina Perri both take the stage. We’ll be sure to catch up with them and see how they like performing along side their idols. There will be tons of surprises along the way, so keep checking back for updates to see what went down in London Town! And also be sure to follow us on twitter (VH1Music) and instagram for up to the minute updates. See ya there!

[Photo: Getty Images]

July 4th, 2012 | 8:00 am by Lauren Olson (Deiman)

33 GIFs Of Famous Musicians Saluting The Stars And Stripes In Their Music Videos

It’s the 4th of July, which means that it’s time to wish another happy birthday to the US of A! In honor of our country’s 236th bday, we’ve put together this spectacular, über-patriotic GIF Wall featuring some of the music industry’s biggest stars paying salute the stars and stripes, everyone from chart legends like Bruce Springsteen and Madonna to up-and-comers like Lana Del Rey and Azealia Banks. Ain’t that America?
Read more…