Throughout the Covid pandemic, small venues specializing in live music have been hit especially hard. Many of these venues are where up and coming artists first find an audience, but tragically too many of them around the country are holding on by a shoestring if they haven’t already been shuttered. The nonprofit philanthropic organization Live Music Society has announced a third round of grants to be awarded this fall to small music venues (maximum capacity of 300) across the U.S. to help them hold on and hopefully regain their footing.

Since it came into existence in 2020, Live Music Society (LMS) has been committed to preventing the demise of the small music venue sector by issuing a series of grants. $1.2 Million has been distributed to date to 36 grantees according to LMS Executive Director, Cat Henry, who says the impact of losing small music venues would have a knock-on effect to the industry as a whole.

Rocker Steven Van Zandt has led a rich and multi-faceted career over the last five decades. The longtime guitarist and singer for Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band tells The Maine Edge his life has been so broad and varied in scope that when he sat down to write his new memoir “Unrequited Infatuations” (Hachette Books), he was surprised to discover more than a few things about himself.

How do you deliver a story about a kid obsessed with rock and roll, first as a fan and observer, and then as an active participant in some of its greatest moments? It had to include his life as an anti-apartheid activist, starting in the mid-1980s, and his surprise turn as an actor, beginning with his role as the tough, funny and cool-headed Silvio Dante on 78 episodes of “The Sopranos.”

Van Zandt struck upon the obvious solution when he told his publisher that he would write the book in his voice. If you’ve heard his colorful rock-noir delivery on the radio, you know the voice. The story he tells in that voice is spellbinding, and throughout the book’s voluminous twists and turns, Van Zandt lays it out in often revelatory detail.

It’s almost impossible to predict the next move by progressive rock legend Rick Wakeman. The keyboardist, songwriter, radio and TV host, producer, author and actor has become almost as well known in his native U.K. for his comedic exploits, and that trademark wit was at full throttle during an interview with The Maine Edge. 

Wakeman’s virtuosic keyboard skills graced classic albums by the band YES, along with iconic songs by David Bowie, Elton John, Cat Stevens, T. Rex, and Al Stewart, among others. His solo output is astonishing in breadth and volume, comprising dozens of entries. Wakeman’s gold-selling concept albums include “Journey to the Centre of the Earth” and “The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.”

His sold-out 2019 “The Grumpy Old Rock Star Tour,” a mix of solo piano performance and humorous stories, provided a spellbinding evening for anyone lucky enough to score a ticket. Wakeman says he’s keen to return to America next month to take that concept to the next level with the “Even Grumpier Old Rock Star Tour,” telling The Maine Edge, “I’m calling it that because it was postponed four times. By the time you see me next month, it will be called “The Unbelievably Grumpier Old Rock Star Tour.”

That tour is scheduled to begin October 13 in Natick, MA, followed by dates in Derry, NH, Northampton, MA, New London, CT, and Fall River, MA. You can find the complete schedule at www.RWCC.com.

When the band Tesla took the stage in Roanoke, Virginia, last week, it was a moment that guitarist and founding member Frank Hannon says he won’t forget. August was supposed to be go-time for Tesla’s “Let’s Get Real!” tour when Covid struck each member of the band, setting the trek back more than a month. Now healthy, and with an attitude of gratitude, Hannon says Tesla is recharged and ready to rock.

Hannon, along with bassist and band co-founder Brian Wheat, lead singer Jeff Keith, drummer Troy Luccketta and guitarist Dave Rude, plan to do just that on September 23 when the “Let’s Get Real” tour arrives at the Xfinity Center in Mansfield, Massachusetts, with southern rock legends Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Four decades after the earliest incarnation of Tesla first got together in Sacramento, California, Hannon says he’s most proud that Tesla’s songs that have withstood the test of time. “To see people respond to our songs 35 years later, because the music makes them feel good, that is a feat,” Hannon said, adding “Songwriting is the most important part of what we do.”