On the heels of the sad news regarding the death of John Lodge of the Moody Blues last week, Matt gets together with author and UCR scribe Gary Graff (501 Essential Albums of the '80s) to talk about a new list of Lodge's musical highlights that Gary assembled for Ultimate Classic Rock. They dig deep into the Moody Blues as a band and also discuss recent rock news, including the reunion of Rush, Jonathan Cain's pending departure from Journey -- and offer up a special birthday tribute to Sammy Hagar, who turned 78 today.

There's only one way to rock and if your answer to that statement is "Sammy Hagar," well, congrats, you are listening to the right podcast. The Red Rocker joined Matt in advance of his annual Birthday Bash concerts at Cabo Wabo to talk about his new live album, how he feels about the David Lee Roth era of Van Halen now, his recent collaboration with Chad Kroeger and Tommy Lee, plus stories behind some of your favorite songs including "Humans Being" and "Rock Candy."

It's the news that many of us never saw coming. Rush will return in 2026. Matt was in attendance last night at the private event at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland where Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson announced their reunion plans and shared some great war stories. The events that followed that incredible night made a summit with Chuck Armstrong necessary to discuss a number of topics. We share our reunion thoughts, of course, plus news of a contest opportunity for UCR and Loudwire fans to win a trip to see Rush in Chicago on July 18. There's some "fly on the wall" style commentary about some of the people who were in attendance, including industry legends Cliff Burnstein and Peter Mensch and also, former WMMS music director Donna Halper, who played "Working Man" for the first time on U.S. radio and helped set an important course for the band here in the States. We even discuss an interesting Rush promo item that you might need to add to your life. Big thanks to the folks at the Rock Hall, particularly Jason Hanley and J.R. Johnson, for letting Matt spend some time in the studio there at the Hall to have this conversation!

UCR comrade Chuck Armstrong is back with Matt to share a conversation he recently had with Yungblud about the forthcoming collaborative EP with Aerosmith, One More Time. Yungblud shares the story behind the new music as well as tales about his longtime friendship with the late Ozzy Osbourne and how the Prince of Darkness was an important and supportive mentor. The One More Time EP is out November 21 and you can visit Ultimate Classic Rock to hear "My Only Angel," the first single.

David Gilmour is back with us again to recap the experience of the special concerts he played in support of his newest album, Luck and Strange. He's commemorated that outing with a new concert film, recorded live at the historic Circus Maximus in Rome. There's also a new live album, The Luck and Strange Concerts. Both will be available in a variety of formats starting October 17. We get into a number of different topics including the fans who are still discovering his music for the first time, how he put together the set list for this latest tour and why visuals have always been such an important part of his performances. As a bonus, we're including our 2024 conversation with David about Luck and Strange in case you missed it.

Mike joins Matt to look back at Dream Theater's epic A Change of Seasons which is marking its 30th anniversary (but as you'll find out, it goes back even further than that). They also discuss the band's latest album, Parasomnia and a number of other topics including past tours / dream outings with Yes and separately, Deep Purple and Emerson, Lake and Palmer. Dream Theater is currently on the road performing both A Change of Seasons and the Parasomnia album in full.

Former Styx vocalist and songwriter Dennis DeYoung is with Matt to discuss the history of two key Styx albums, 1977's The Grand Illusion and 1978's Pieces of Eight. Dennis shares a lot of stories including his recollections of hearing songs like "Renegade" and "Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)" and his own compositions including "The Grand Illusion," "Pieces of Eight" and "I'm O.K." Dennis continues to make progress on his memoir and previews some of the stories fans can expect.

Jerry Cantrell is with Matt for the latest episode of the podcast to discuss the last miles of his I Want Blood tour which kicked off August 16th while offering a preview of what's next. They also discuss the early days of Alice in Chains including milestones like the Clash of the Titans tour and some later highlights, including the SAP EP and MTV Unplugged.

Long before he joined Yes, guitarist Steve Howe had already developed a great love for Bob Dylan's music. A few decades later, he found himself recording 1999's Portraits of Bob Dylan. With the album being reissued alongside 2001's Natural Timbre on CD -- and for the first time, vinyl -- Steve joins Matt to discuss the experience crafting his versions of both Dylan fan favorites and deeper cuts. They also dig into a number of other subjects including touring with Delaney and Bonnie, working with Bruce Fairbairn and Steve's experience guesting on Queen's Innuendo.

The legendary Rob Halford is with Matt to discuss Judas Priest's upcoming tour with Alice Cooper and Corrosion of Conformity. They also get into the story of Rob's experience fronting Black Sabbath and why he has infinite respect for Ozzy. The Metal God shares the tales behind the creation of albums like Nostradamus and Turbo and why Painkiller is still all killer no filler 35 years after its release.