October 11th – October 18th
Lip Bizkit Bassist Dies, Awards & Protests. Pantera drummer weds, Santana sets the record straight, Led Zep doc gets nominated, Ace departs and Bad Omens rise to the top.
Ian Watkins
10/11 Former Lostprophets Singer Killed In Prison
48-year-old Ian Watkins was serving a 29-year sentence for child sex offenses at British maximum-security prison when he had his throat slashed after inmates were unlocked from their cells.
Watkins’s attackers reportedly slashed the singer’s jugular, causing him to die from blood loss. Two men are arrested on suspicion of murder.
Gene Simmons, Carla Harvey and Charlie Benante
10/12 Pantera Drummer Marries
Anthrax/Pantera drummer Charlie Benante and his longtime girlfriend, former Butcher Babies vocalist Carla Harvey, tie the knot at The Secret Garden in Las Vegas.
KISS bassist and co-lead singer Gene Simmons officiates the ceremony, which is attended by more than 200 guests.
Billie Joe Armstrong
Dua Lipa
10/12 Billie Joe Armstrong Hangs With Dua Lipa
At her concert in San Francisco, pop singer Dua Lipa is joined by Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong- to perform the band’s “Wake Me Up When September Ends.”
“Every night we do a different song, we do a surprise song and we do a song by a local artist,” she told the audience before Armstrong joined her on stage.
The performance occurred toward the end of Dua Lipa’s show at the Chase Center.
Every night on her Radical Optimism Tour, Lipa performed a cover of a local artist’s song – but this night was extra special as the frontman of her chosen band was there to perform it with her.
“I immediately thought about San Francisco, and I thought about all of the incredible music that has come out of here. I thought about one band in particular that would be perfect tonight.”
The 3x Grammy winning singer is on her global Radical Optimism Tour.
Carlos Santana
Bad Bunny
10/13 Santana Shoots Down Fake Posts
Following viral Facebook posts claiming Carlos Santana slammed the NFL’s choice of having Bad Bunny headline next year’s Super Bowl, the legendary guitarist put out a statement.
“I congratulate and celebrate Bad Bunny’s success and his position right now with the world and with the Super Bowl,” writes Santana. “However, fear is what motivates ignorant people to put words in my mouth — saying that I didn’t want Bad Bunny to be represented at the Super Bowl. I never said that, nor would I ever. Anything other than that is coming from people’s ignorance.”
Bad Bunny’s upcoming gig at the Super Bowl halftime show has caused an internet uproar, particularly with MAGA – Donald Trump called the choice “absolutely ridiculous” while far-right leadership has threatened to have ICE officers outside Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA (on February 8th) where the game will take place.
Some MAGA-types want Bad Bunny, who has sold over 100-million equivalent album units worldwide, to be deported before the Super Bowl.
However, Bad Bunny was born in Puerto Rico, which is part of the U.S.
Michael Sweet & Lisa
10/15 Stryper Frontman Announces New Foundation
Michael Sweet and his wife Lisa Champagne announce the launch of the Faith In Music Foundation, a non-profit “dedicated to empowering musicians and fostering the next generation of music industry professionals.”
Champagne possesses a strong background in nonprofit leadership and business operations.
Led Zeppelin
10/15 Led Zeppelin Nominated
“Becoming Led Zeppelin” is nominated for “Best Music Documentary” by the 2025 Critics Choice Documentary Awards.
Domestically, the film’s $2.6 million start represented the largest opening weekend for an IMAX-exclusive music documentary. Award winners will be announced November 9th.
Slipknot
10/15 Slipknot Sues Cyber-Squatter
Slipknot files a federal lawsuit alleging that an anonymous web operator has held the domain slipknot.com since 2001 to host pay-for-click advertising that directs users to counterfeit merchandise emblazoned with Slipknot’s trademarks.
Ace Frehley
10/16 Ace Frehley Dies
Founding KISS member Ace Frehley dies after being injured in a fall in September. He was 74.
KISS members Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons said: “We are devastated by the passing of Ace Frehley. He was an essential and irreplaceable Rock soldier during some of the most formative foundational chapters of the band and its history. He is and will always be a part of KISS’s legacy.”
Frehley was the band’s lead guitarist from 1973–1982, 1996–2002. He also released eight solo albums with the last being last year’s “10 ,000 Volts.”
Bad Omens
10/18 “Specter” Takes Bad Omens To The Top
It took a mere eight weeks for Bad Omens’ “Specter” to reach the top of the Billboard Mainstream Rock Airplay chart.
Bad Omens first reached Mainstream Rock’s Top 10 in ’22 when “Like A Villain” peaked at #10.
Bruce Springsteen
10/18 Bruce Springsteen Gets Legacy Award
Bruce Springsteen receives the Legacy Award at Academy Museum of Motion Pictures 5th Annual Gala in L.A.
He performs acoustic versions of the Oscar winning “Streets Of Philadelphia” plus “Atlantic City” and “Land Of Hope and Dreams.”
Dave Grohl
10/18 Dave Grohl Is Honored
Foo Fighters frontman is honored for his community volunteer work at a Hope The Mission gala event at BMO stadium in L.A.
Grohl has donated his time and BBQ skills multiple times for Hope The Mission..
“There’s something about the simple human interaction of handing someone a plate of food that needs food,” explains Grohl. “When you ask them if they’d like beef or pork, and they say, ‘Both, please.’ And you give them both, and they say, ‘God bless you,’ they mean it.”
“Without fanfare, Dave has volunteered for days at a time, preparing and serving meals to people experiencing homelessness and food insecurity,” Hope The Mission writes in a statement.
Jon Bon Jovi
10/18 Bon Jovi Attends ‘No Kings’ Rally
Jon Bon Jovi takes part in a ‘No Kings’ protest, joining demonstrators in New Jersey opposing President Donald Trump’s administration.
Bon Jovi holds a sign reading, “No Kings. No Tyrants. No Sycophants. No Trump.”
The protest is led by No Kings, a coalition of progressive groups around the country.
Sam Rivers
10/18 Limp Bizkit Bassist Passes Away
Sam Rivers dies at the age of 48. “Sam Rivers wasn’t just our bass player — he was pure magic,” the band writes in a statement. “The pulse beneath every song, the calm in the chaos, the soul in the sound.
Rivers founded Limp Bizkit with Fred Durst and John Otto in 1994. He left the band in 2015 due to liver ailments resulting from alcohol abuse.
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