METALLICA AWARDED POLAR MUSIC PRIZE, HONORED BY TOBIAS FORGE
Metallica was awarded Sweden's prestigious Polar Music Prize on Thursday night (June 14th) at a ceremony in Stockholm, where drummer Lars Ulrich and bassist Robert Trujillo watched Ghost frontman Tobias Forge, along with members of Swedish metal act Candlemass and the duo Vargas & Lagola, honor the band with a performance of the Metallica classic "Enter Sandman."
Swedish singer Loney Dear performed "Wherever I May Roam" and "No Leaf Clover," while Refused frontman Dennis Lyxzen and ex-Motorhead drummer Mikkey Dee covered the song "Whiplash." Reading the citation for Metallica were Deep Purple's Ian Paice and Roger Glover.
Glover said, "In the early '80s, we were riding high, doing a big festival in England. I heard this band . . . Metallica. I'd heard the name, didn't know anything about them. I went on the side of the stage to have a look and I thought, 'Yeah, there's something happening here.' I'll tell you why: because the audience were singing every word they sang. And that's what impressed me. When you touch that many people with your music, there's something special going on."
Ulrich and Trujillo accepted the prize from His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. In his acceptance speech, Ulrich said, "Who would have thought, when Metallica started this musical journey 37 years ago, that one day we would be standing in front of both musical royalty and actual royalty, accepting one of the most prestigious prizes that can be bestowed upon musicians."
Story source: Blabbermouth
FAST FACTS:
- Sweden's biggest music award, the Polar Music Prize was founded in 1989 by Stig "Stikkan" Anderson, the manager, music publisher and sometime co-writer of ABBA. The prize was first presented in 1992.
- Previous winners of the Polar Music Prize include Elton John, Sting, Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Peter Gabriel, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, B.B. King, Quincy Jones, Paul McCartney, Max Martin and Bruce Springsteen.
CHECK IT OUT: Watch excerpts from the ceremony:
FOO FIGHTERS BRING OUT GUNS N' ROSES TO JAM 'IT'S SO EASY'
Foo Fighters surprised fans on Thursday night (June 14th) during their performance at Florence, Italy's legendary Firenze Rocks festival by bringing out Guns N' Roses members Axl Rose, Slash and Duff McKagan. The rock legends joined forces to perform the GN'R classic "It's So Easy." Guns N' Roses is scheduled to play the festival on Friday (June 15th).
Grohl joined Guns N' Roses on stage last November at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma to perform the song "Paradise City." And it was Grohl who lent the throne he had used on tour in 2015 when he broke his leg to Axl in 2016 after the latter broke his foot.
Meanwhile, Foo Fighters have also announced the opening acts for the summer and fall legs of the band's North American tour. Joining the Foos on various dates will be The Struts, Dinosaur Jr., The Joy Formidable, Speedy Ortiz, Melkbelly and Gang Of Youths. The trek begins on July 6th in Columbia, Missouri and winds down on October 18th in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Story source: Blabbermouth
CHECK IT OUT: Watch the Foos and Guns N' Roses play "It's So Easy" (warning - explicit language):