As part of the 2018 hennemusic Rock News Awards, the daily news site is counting down the Top 10 Rock News Artists of the past year.
Finalists for the 9th annual hennemusic Rock News Awards are chosen by readers: the Rock News Story Of The Year is determined by page views, while the Rock News Artist Of The Year is based on the combined total page views of the top 50 hennemusic rock news stories of the past twelve months.
The 2018 hennemusic Rock News Awards winners will be announced on Thursday, December 27.
2018 Rock News Artist Of The Year – Top 10
10 – VAN HALEN
09 – SAMMY HAGAR
08 – FOO FIGHTERS
07 – GUNS N’ ROSES
06 – AEROSMITH
05 – ZZ TOP
04 – DEF LEPPARD
Rock News Artist Of The Year No. 3 – FLEETWOOD MAC
Fleetwood Mac opened 2018 by streaming previously-unheard early versions of “Landslide” and “Monday Morning” ahead of the January 19 release of an expanded reissue of their self-titled 1975 album.
The veteran classic rock outfit became the first band honored as MusiCares Person Of The Year at the music industry charity’s January 26 event at Radio City Music Hall in New York.
In March, Mick Fleetwood jammed with AC/DC’s Brian Johnson at the drummer’s restaurant and bar in Maui, Hawaii, marking a rare return to the stage for the singer after leaving the hard rock icons over hearing issues during their “Rock Or Bust” world tour in 2016.
On April 9, Fleetwood Mac announced that they had fired longtime member Lindsey Buckingham ahead of an extensive North American tour, while bringing in Mike Campbell of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers and Neil Finn of Crowded House to handle guitar duties.
The group explained Buckingham’s exit as a disagreement over the tour, with Nicks saying, “We were supposed to go into rehearsal in June and he wanted to put it off until November [2019].”
Buckingham shared his first public remarks on the split during an event in May, where he stated that the band had “lost their perspective”; in August, the rocker announced a fall solo tour that would begin in October – at the same time his former group would be launching their trek.
After months of rehearsals, Fleetwood Mac debuted their new live lineup on an early September episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, with Buckingham performing on Jimmy Kimmel Live a few weeks later.
Fleetwood Mac opened their fall 2018 tour at the BOK Center in Tulsa, OK on October 3, a week before Nicks was named among the nominees for the 2019 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.
While on tour in support of his new compilation, “Solo Anthology – The Best of Lindsey Buckingham”, the guitarist revealed that he learned from Fleetwood Mac’s manager in January that the behind-the-scenes drama of his firing was orchestrated by Nicks over alleged claims of disrespect at the MusiCares event that led the singer to give the band an ultimatum: either he leaves or she will.
Buckingham launched a lawsuit over the dismissal in October that was eventually settled by December.
Fleetwood Mac released their first-ever career-spanning collection, “50 Years – Don’t Stop”, in November as they continued their first tour with the revamped lineup.
Nicks was confirmed as an inductee into the 2019 Rock Hall on December 13, earning her the unique honor of becoming the first woman to enter the Cleveland-based institution on two occasions, following a 1998 honor as a member of Fleetwood Mac.
The group will resume their North American tour in Denver, CO on January 31, with dates ending in April before they play a spring series of dates in the UK and Europe in June.
See also:
Search Fleetwood Mac at hennemusic
2018 hennemusic Rock News Awards announced
The Eagles sweep the 2017 hennemusic Rock News Awards
AC/DC sweep the 2016 hennemusic Rock News Awards
Van Halen and KISS top the 2015 hennemusic Rock News Awards
Van Halen sweep 2014 hennemusic Rock News Awards
Van Halen and Pearl Jam top the 2013 hennemusic Rock News Awards
Van Halen dominate the 2012 hennemusic Rock News Awards
Van Halen win two hennemusic Rock News Awards
Guns N’ Roses named hennemusic’s Rock News Artist of The Year
Jimmy Page’s 2011 plans named hennemusic’s Rock News Story Of The Year
