NATIONALS By Eric Hoffman
S, HOT S T HO T HOT SHO el Rocks
Greeting Rockers ’N’ Rollers! Concerts and mass gatherings continue to be on hold as the world slowly begins to reopen with precautions to the Coronavirus pandemic. However, notable bands/artists have released new albums including: Bob Dylan (Rough and Rowdy Ways) his first new studio release in eight years. Neil Young (Homegrown) previously unreleased album from 1975 but was cancelled. Lady Gaga (Chromatica) her sixth full-length studio release. Danzig (Sings Elvis) the punk singer covers Elvis’s popular songs. The Strokes (The New Abnormal) their first new studio release in seven years. Pearl Jam (Gigaton) their first studio release in nearly seven years. The Sounds (The Things We Do For Love) the Swedish indie rock band’s sixth studio release. Wyldlife (Year of the Snake) the punk/garage band’s fourth full-length album. The guitar Kurt Cobain played during his famous performance on “MTV Unplugged” in 1993 sold for a shocking $6 million at auction. The 1959 Martin D-18E guitar has become a coveted item and the subject of a lengthy court battle. The purchaser Peter Freedman, a businessman from Australia, set multiple records with the acquisition. He now is the owner of the Most Expensive Guitar, Most Expensive Memorabilia, World’s Most Expensive Acoustic Guitar, and World’s Most Expensive Nirvana Memorabilia Sold at Auction. The album, MTV Unplugged in New York, became all the more significant when just five months after the set, the musician took his own life.
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Kurt Cobain’s guitar New Zealand appears to be one of the first countries to welcome back music festivals after all coronavirus restrictions were lifted June 8 after 10 weeks of lockdown. Borders are still restricted and when they will open remains to be seen, so promoters are currently focused on bills with New Zealand acts. All performers 10
Pennsylvania Musician Magazine
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July, 2020