Here's a look at the biggest events in music, in September and October 2021.
SEPTEMBER
- The Bonnaroo Music Festival was canceled because heavy rains in Tennessee wreaked havoc in the area, causing flooded campgrounds.
- Not long after Paul Stanley tested positive for COVID-19, Gene Simmons also tested positive, forcing the cancelation of even more KISS shows.
- The Doobie Brothers hit pause on their 50th-anniversary reunion tour with Michael McDonald. The band postponed four shows after a member of their touring crew tested positive for COVID-19.
- The 50th-anniversary celebrations of John Lennon’s “Imagine” continued, with the song’s lyrics projected on landmarks around the world in honor of the milestone.
- Phil Collins discussed his ongoing health issues, and revealed that he could no longer play the drums.
- Lindsey Buckingham blamed his Fleetwood Mac firing on Stevie Nicks and the band’s manager Irving Azoff, but they both fired back, with Stevie calling it “revisionist history.”
- Rush's Geddy Lee was honored by the nonprofit Artists for Peace and Justice with the Lifetime Achievement Award.
- Bruce Springsteen helped pay tribute to the lives lost at the World Trade Center during the September 11th attacks 20 years ago, performing “I’ll See You In My Dreams,” at the memorial service in downtown Manhattan.
- Don McLean revealed that he disinherited his daughter, singer Jackie McLean, after she opened up about her life with her famous father, describing him to "Rolling Stone" as both mentally and emotionally abusive (but not physically).
- Mick Brigden, who managed acts like the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Peter Frampton, and more, died in a freak accident at his home. He was trying to dig a grave for his family’s dog when the hole collapsed in on him, killing him instantly.
- Metallica celebrated the 30th anniversary of their iconic “The Black Album” reissuing a remastered version of the album, including a deluxe box set with a hardcover book, multiple live albums, demos and rarities DVDs and more.
- Elton John postponed his UK and European dates of his “Farewell Yellow Brick Road” so he could get hip surgery.
- David Byrne’s “American Utopia” returned to Broadway at the St. James Theatre. It also received a special Tony Award.
- The iHeartRadio Music Festival went down in Las Vegas featuring two days of great music and great performances from artists like Cheap Trick and Journey.
- Pearl Jam returned to the stage for the first time in over three years headlining the Sea.Hear.Now festival in Asbury Park, New Jersey.
- Genesis’ Phil Collins announced that the band’s new “The Last Domino? Tour” will be fans’ last chance to see them live. The band kicked off the tour, their first tour since 2007, in Birmingham, England.
- The Rolling Stones returned to the stage for their first show since drummer Charlie Watts’ death. The band headlined a private concert at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts hosted by Patriots owner Robert Kraft.
- Global Citizen Live took place in eight cities, including New York, Paris, London, Los Angeles and more, and featured a lineup of truly stellar performances and even featured a surprise appearance by Paul Simon at New York's Central Park.
- The Rolling Stones kicked off the latest leg of their “No Filter” tour in St. Louis, Missouri. On stage, the band paid tribute to late drummer Charlie Watts.
- Johnny Ramone’s 1965 Mosrite Ventures II electric guitar sold for nearly $1-million at RR Auction to an anonymous bidder.
- John Mellencamp and Bruce Springsteen teamed up on a new single, “Wasted Days.” John wrote and produced the track with The Boss joining him on guitar and vocals.
OCTOBER
- Former President Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen brought their podcast to the page, releasing the book “Renegades: Born in the USA.”
- Billy Joel’s 1977 opus “Scenes From An Italian Restaurant” was brought to life in a new animated visual for the song.
- After David Lee Roth announced several Las Vegas residency dates at Sin City’s House of Blues starting on New Year’s Eve, he revealed that he was retiring after the shows.
- Ringo Starr got back behind a drum kit for a good cause leading over 100 drummers for WhyHunger’s “Drum Together,” with all the musicians joining together to perform The Beatles' classic “Come Together.”
- Elton John, Ringo Starr and more were among the big names mentioned in the leaked Pandora Papers, exposing offshore dealings and assets of the world’s most powerful people.
- A newly unearthed tape from The Beatles’ “Let It Be” sessions reportedly revealed John Lennon suggested replacing George Harrison with Eric Clapton.
- While for years many people believed that Paul McCartney was to blame for The Beatles breaking up over 50 years ago, McCartney revealed in an interview it was John Lennon who was to blame for the split.
- Genesis cut their UK reunion tour short after an unidentified member of the band tested positive for coronavirus.
- An article in “Rolling Stone” reported that Eric Clapton not only donated $1,300 to the UK anti-vaccine rock group Jam for Freedom, but also lent them his touring van, and gave them an undisclosed amount of money to buy a new van.
- Steven Van Zandt lauched the cannabis line, Little Steven’s Underground Apothecary, although it was only available in Lee and Holyoke, Massachusetts.
- Elton John’s single, "Cold Heart (Pnau Remix)," with Dua Lipa, jumped to 32 on the “Billboard” Hot 100, giving him the longest span of Top 40 appearances (excluding holiday songs), with a span of 50 years and 10 months. He first landed in the Top 40 with “Your Song,” December 19th, 1970.
- Eddie Van Halen was honored in his hometown of Pasadena, California with a memorial plaque at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium.
- Paul McCartney seemed to diss the Rolling Stones in an interview, calling them, “a blues cover band,” adding, “I think our net was cast a bit wider than theirs.” During the Stones’ “No Filter” show a SoFi Stadium outside of Los Angeles, Mick Jagger responded, joking that McCartney was in the crowd, adding, “he’s going to help us — he’s going to join us in a blues cover later.”
- Keith Richards revealed The Rolling Stones retired their 1971 hit “Brown Sugar” on their ongoing “No Filter” tour, since the blues classic references slavery in the lyrics.
- Elton John landed a new chart milestone in the UK. The singer’s single “Cold Heart,” with Dua Lipa and remixed by Pnau, landed at two on the Official U.K. Singles Chart, making it his 33rd Top 10 single. Elton became first artist in history to score a U.K. top 10 single in six different decades.
- Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters revealed that he’d tied the knot with Kamilah Chavis, his fifth marriage.
- Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga album “Love For Sale” earned Tony a new Guinness Record. At 95, Tony he earned the record for being the oldest musician to release a collection of new material.
- One person died and two were injured at Phish’s concert in San Francisco after separate falls from an upper level of the Chase Center.
- An old Grateful Dead T-shirt once owned by the band’s longtime soundman Dan Healy sold to the highest bidder for $17,640 during a Sotheby’s auction. That was more than double the original estimates of up to $8,000.
- Brian May made a surprise appearance during Roger Taylor’s show in London hitting the stage of the O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, where Roger concluded a 14-date UK headlining tour in support of his solo album “Outsider.”
- Paul McCartney revealed that he would no longer be signing an autograph or taking selfies with fans, saying it “struck me as a bit strange.”
- Paulina Porizkova’s reached a settlement in her legal battle with her late husband Ric Ocasek’s estate.
- John Lydon’s show in Glasgow, Scotland was canceled at the last minute and the venue’s general manager Iain Gordon said it was canceled due to “the aggression and intimidation made to various members of my staff by John Lydon's tour manager.”
- Minnesota’s Congressional delegation introduced a resolution seeking to award Prince with the Congressional Gold Medal.
- Dave Grohl commented about the lawsuit brought by Spencer Elden the now grown-up baby from the iconic cover of Nirvana’s album “Nevermind.” “I feel the same way most people do in that I have to disagree,” Dave said about the lawsuit. “Listen, he’s got a ‘Nevermind’ tattoo. I don’t. That’s all I’ll say."
- The Estate of the late singer Gregg Allman signed a new deal with Sony Music Publishing, and they'll now be in control of Gregg's catalog of songs, including his solo material, and work with the Allman Brothers Band.
- The 2021 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony took place in Cleveland inducting Tina Turner, Foo Fighters, Carole King, The Go-Go's, Jay-Z and Todd Rundgren. In addition, LL Cool J, Billy Preston and Randy Rhoads were honored with the Musical Excellence Award, and Kraftwerk, Gil Scott Heron and Charley Patton received the Early Influence Award.
- Jon Bon Jovi was forced to cancel a show in Miami Bach last minute after testing positive for COVID.
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