While the Grateful Dead’s Mickey Hart is known for his music, when he’s not onstage he loves making art. His latest collection, the Art of Mickey Hart, is going to be on display in June at two Wentworth Gallery locations, with Mickey set to make appearances at both of them. 

Mickey tells ABC Audio that his first interest in art was “quite accidental,” explaining that years ago while out shopping for a birthday gift for his young daughter he picked up an art kit and decided to bring it home.  

“She didn't think much of it, but eventually I grabbed it and started using it,” he shares. “It was so sensuous; it was so attractive and it was so full of life that I just couldn't put it down.”

Mickey says art is like “a mediation for him,” adding that it’s a “visual component” to his “sonic-driven world.”

“Life is full of beautiful colors,” he says. “These things just start to appear to me and they come out on, on the canvas or the wood or plastic” or whatever other medium he may be using.

Mickey says he feels great making his art, noting, “It’s uplifting, you know, it’s life giving.” He adds, “It’s all of those things that art does.” 

Mickey is set to appear at the Wentworth Gallery at Tysons Galleria in McLean, Virginia, on Sunday, June 4, at 2 p.m., followed by an appearance at the Wentworth Gallery at Short Hills Mall in New Jersey on June 23 at 6:30 p.m. More info on Mickey's appearances can be found at wentworthgallery.com.

Of course, he’s also currently on tour with Dead & Company. They play Bristow, Virginia, on June 3. A complete list of dates can be found at deadandcompany.com.

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U2 is scheduled to open the new Las Vegas venue The MSG Sphere in September with their new residency, U2: UV Achtung Baby Live At Sphere, and it appears Bono took it upon himself to check out the new digs.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports the band's frontman was spotted visiting the venue last Saturday, while the band’s sound man of 45 years, Joe O’Herlihy, was spotted there Friday.

The outlet reports that Bono was there as they tested out the sound of the venue, with Madonna’s “Vogue” heard blasting through the sound system.

U2: UV Achtung Baby Live At Sphere at The Venetian is set to kick off September 29 and run through December 16. A complete list of dates can be found at U2.com.

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MILLIVANILLI, a documentary about the disgraced late '80s/early '90s pop duo, is coming to Paramount+.

The documentary will start streaming this fall on the platform after debuting at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 10. It tells the story of two German models and dancers, Robert Pilatus and Fabrice Morvan, who were recruited by music producer Frank Farian to be the face of his recording project, Milli Vanilli. 

Their debut album, Girl You Know It's True, sold six million copies and spun off three number one hits. In 1990, they won the Best New Artist Grammy. But when it emerged that the duo hadn't sung a note on the album and were simply lip-synching to tracks recorded by other singers, they were forced to return the award.

In a statement, director Luke Korenm says, "For over 30 years, the story of MilliVanilli – in particular Rob and Fab – has been reduced to sensational headlines. With this documentary, we pull back the curtain on pop music."

The movie features interviews with Rob, who died in 1998, and Fab, as well as with Frank Farian, the actual performers on the album, record executives and more.

“Finally – the true story of Milli Vanilli has been told!” says Fab in a statement. "I’m thankful Luke Korem and his team went to the lengths that they did. The journey I returned to during the filming of this documentary didn’t leave any stone unturned. At last I can close this chapter in peace … Get ready to take a walk in our steel-toe boots.”

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Forbes is out with their list of America’s richest self-made women entrepreneurs, executives and entertainers, with Madonna, Dolly Parton and Barbra Streisand all nabbing spots on the list.

Madonna lands at #45 with $580 million, a number which is likely to increase with her upcoming Celebration tour, which kicks off July 15 in Vancouver.

Dolly, who last year was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, comes in at #59 with $440 million, while Babs, who in 2022 re-released her early live album Live at the Bon Soir, is close behind her at #61 with $430 mil.

The trio is just a handful of the famous names to make the list this year. Others include Oprah Winfrey at #13 with $2.5 billion, and Taylor Swift at #34 with $740 million.

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June 1 marks the 50th anniversary of Paul McCartney and Wings' classic "Live And Let Die," and the milestone is not going unnoticed.

The anniversary is being celebrated with a new Dolby Atmos release of the song. It's mixed by Steve Orchard and Giles Martin, son of Beatles producer George Martin, who produced the original song, and mastered by Oli Morgan.

“I think it sounds good, I’m really happy with it,” Giles tells ABC Audio. “It’s nice because it’s my dad’s arrangement and so that’s always quite a nice thing.” He adds, “I’m not trying to be too Martin biased on it, but it is an amazing arrangement."

You can listen to "Live And Let Die" now via digital outlets.

“Live And Let Die” was the theme song for the 1973 James Bond film of the same name, with Roger Moore playing 007. The track marked a reunion of McCartney and The Beatles producer Martin, who also arranged the orchestra that appears on the track.  

The song, which didn’t appear on a McCartney album until 1978’s Wings Greatest compilation, went on to peak at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song, but lost to Barbra Streisand’s “The Way We Were.” 

In 1991 the song was famously covered by Guns N’ Roses for their Lose Your Illusion I album, which earned them a Grammy nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance.

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KISS fans now have more chances to see the band before they say goodbye to the road for good. 

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers just added some more shows to their End of the Road Tour: October 19 in Cincinnati and October 22 in Cleveland.

A presale for the KISS Army begins Monday, June 5, at 10 a.m. local time, with the general on-sale happening Friday, June 9, 10 a.m. local time.

KISS is getting ready to kick off the U.K./European leg of their End of the Road Tour on June 5 in Birmingham, England. The tour is set to wrap for good on December 1 and 2 at New York’s Madison Square Garden. A complete list of KISS dates can be found at kissonline.com.

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The 50th anniversary celebration of Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon continues, with a new box set looking at the visuals associated with the record. 

Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon - Super Deluxe Edition: A visual History by Glenn Povey features a slew of goodies for the Pink Floyd fan. It looks at the complete recording history of the record, along with documentation of all the live performances, with previously unpublished photos, plus reproductions of rare memorabilia from the time period. 

Each set is signed and numbered by Povey, described as one of the leading Floyd authorities. It also includes a CD featuring rare interviews from back in the day, including one with the whole band, recorded in 1972, and a longer one with the late Rick Wright. 

Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon - Super Deluxe Edition: A visual History by Glenn Povey will be released June 16. It is available for preorder now.

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Personal items belonging to Queen’s Freddie Mercury are set to go up for auction at Sotheby’s in September, and a preview exhibit in New York has revealed some interesting info about the band’s classic hit tune “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

The exhibit will feature some of Mercury’s previously unseen handwritten working drafts of songs, including that of “Bohemian Rhapsody,” which spans 15 pages. The draft shows that Mercury originally planned to call it “Mongolian Rhapsody,” before crossing it out and replacing it with “Bohemian.”

The sheets also reveal possible alternative lyrics to the second verse, which begins “Mama, just killed a man.” The lyric sheet reveals Mercury originally intended to sing, “Mama, There’s a war began, I’ve got to leave tonight.” And, in addition to the well-known chants “Galileo,” “Fandango,” “Scaramouche” and “Thunderbolts and lightning,” the pages reveal the words “Matador” and “Belladonna” were almost included, as well.

The estimated value of those lyrics is between about $1 million and $1.5 million.

Also on display will be lyrics for such Queen classics as “Don’t Stop Me Now,” “Somebody to Love,” which spans 19 pages, “We Are the Champions” and more. Many are autographed by Mercury. 

The lyric sheets, along with early notebooks of lyrics, costumes and more, will be on display at Sotheby’s New York June 1-8, before moving to Los Angeles June 14-18 and Hong Kong from June 26-20. The full collection will be on display in London from August 4 to September 5.

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Brian May is revisiting his 1983 all-star collaboration, Brian May + Friends: Star Fleet Project, which featured Eddie Van Halen, Alan Gratzer, Phil Chen and Fred Mandel.

Recorded during a break from Queen, the mini album featured just three tracks: May’s reimagining of “Star Fleet,” a tune from a Japanese kid’s science fiction series; the tune "Let Me Out,” featuring guitar solos from May and Van Halen; and “Blues Breaker,” featuring 13 minutes of May and Van Halen trading guitar licks. 

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the project, a new deluxe box set will be released on July 14, featuring 23 tracks of previously unreleased material, including multiple takes of “Star Fleet” and “Let Me Out.” There are also newly remixed versions of all the songs, with “Star Fleet” out now. The set is made up of two CDs, one vinyl LP and a vinyl single, along with a badge and a booklet with extensive liner notes.

There will also be a separate 7-inch, double A-side single, which will also be released on CD, with the newly mixed versions of the two songs, as well as a red vinyl version exclusive to the Queen online store. 

“We are going to give you everything ... every take of every song, the things that went wrong, the laughing, the finding new things to do,” May shares on the set’s sleeve notes. “But it won’t be just a remaster – we’ve rescued everything from the original multitracks, every detail magnificently remixed, and more! You’ll hear every take from the historic 1983 sessions plus fragments of conversations, outtakes and musical experimentation.”

Brian May + Friends: Star Fleet Project is available for preorder now.

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Billy Joel's historic monthly residency at New York's Madison Square Garden will come to an end next year.

It was announced Thursday that Billy's Garden show in July 2024, the 150th MSG show of his career, will be his final residency performance. Joel's September show at MSG will be his 140th lifetime performance at the Garden; the first of the final 10 concerts is October 20, 2023. 

Since he started the residency 10 years ago, Billy has sold more than 1.6 million tickets.

Billy told reporters on Thursday, "It is an honor to be here. I'm kinda flabbergasted that it did last as long as it did." He joked that his team told him he could keep on going if he wanted, but he said with 150 shows, "It's 'Alright, already!'" He also addressed the fact that he's selling his home in Long Island, but noted, "I'm not leaving New York: I'm just spending a little more time in Florida like old Jewish guys from New York do."

Variety reports that Citicard members can access tickets for the October 20 show in a presale June 5 at 10 a.m. ET. Verizon's presale starts June 6 at 10 a.m. ET. The general on-sale begins June 9 at 10 a.m. ET via Ticketmaster. Tickets will also be available at the Madison Square Garden box office on Saturday, June 10.

Billy hit 100 performances at the Garden in 2018; Bruce Springsteen joined him onstage for that show and then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared it to be Billy Joel Day in New York State.

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On This Day, June 1, 1947 ...

Guitarist Ronnie Wood was born in Hillingdon, England. 

The rocker is known for his work in several bands, including the Birds, Jeff Beck Group and Faces, before joining The Rolling Stones in 1975 after the departure of Mick Taylor. He became an official member of the group in 1976. 

In addition to his work with the Stones, Wood has released several solo records, his most recent being the 2010 release I Feel Like Playing.

Wood was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1989 as a member of the Stones and again in 2012 as a member of Faces.

In addition to music, Wood is an artist, and his paintings, drawings and prints have been shown in galleries.

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Bicyclists who love The Beatles can now show off their fandom thanks to a new capsule collection from State Bicycles.

State Bicycles X The Beatles, available now, features a host of Beatles-inspired bike gear, including jerseys, tech tees and even two limited edition bikes, with images from the band’s album covers and lyrics. 

The bikes include a limited edition Klunker with a "Yellow Submarine" theme, which sells for $450, and a 4130 Road Bike with Abbey Road-inspired paint, which sells for $649.

The jerseys feature "Yellow Submarine," Abbey Road and Magical Mystery Tour-themed designs, which range in price from just under $60 to just under $80.

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June 1 marks the 40th anniversary of Talking Heads' fifth studio album, Speaking in Tongues, which went on to become a commercial breakthrough for band members David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison. 

The record featured the band’s one and only U.S. top 10 hit, “Burning Down The House" (it peaked at #9), along with future classics “Girlfriend Is Better,” “Swamp,” “Slippery People” and "This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)." 

The album peaked at 15 on the Billboard 200 Album chart, which made it their highest charting record. It was certified Platinum by the RIAA.

Talking Heads' tour in support of the album was turned into the critically acclaimed concert documentary Stop Making Sense, directed by Jonathan Demme. Released in 1984, it was filmed over three nights at Hollywood’s Pantages Theatre in December 1983.

Considered one of the best concert documentaries, in 2021 Stop Making Sense was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. 

The upcoming 40th anniversary of the documentary is being marked by a new theatrical release, with the studio A24 releasing a newly restored 4K version of the concert film to theaters later this year. In addition, on August 18 a deluxe edition of the soundtrack will be released, containing the complete Stop Making Sense concert, including previously unreleased songs “Cities” and “Big Business/I Zimbra.”

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Def Leppard and Mötley Crüe are extending their The World Tour once again. The bands just announced they will be bringing the trek to Australia in November.

“After getting back on the road this past summer, we’re beyond thrilled to bring this massive tour to a global audience including some special dates in Australia!” Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott shares.

The two bands will head Down Under for three shows: November 8 in Brisbane, November 11 in Sydney and November 14 in Melbourne. Tickets go on sale Thursday, June 8.

The Def Leppard/Mötley Crüe stadium tour is currently in Europe. It returns to the U.S. on August 8 in Columbus, Ohio. A complete list of dates can be found at defleppard.com and motley.com.

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A new Queen photo exhibit is set to open in London this week.

Queen Will Rock You in 3D will open at London’s Proud Galleries on June 2 to coincide with the return of the band’s musical We Will Rock You, playing at the London Coliseum.

The exhibit, which runs through September 23, tells the band’s history using photos taken by guitarist Brian May with his own stereoscopic (3D) camera lenses.

The exhibit features photos taken onstage, on the road and more, some of which are being shared with the public for the first time. Many of them show the rarely seen private side of the band's late frontman, Freddie Mercury, as viewed by his close friend and bandmate May. It also features fan-shot footage of the current Queen lineup with Adam Lambert, as well as the musical.

Tickets for the exhibit are on sale now. 

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