Ann Wilson of Heart: A Birthday Salute

Brent Porche here to celebrate the birthday of a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer: Ann Wilson. She was born Ann Dustin Wilson on this day, June 19th, back in 1950 in San Diego, California.

She is 74 today, and her and her younger sister Nancy have been members of Heart since the early 70s. Heart was the first hard rock band fronted by women, and paved the way for many more in the decades that followed. They've sold over 35 million records worldwide, placed 29 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 and scored top 10 albums on those charts in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and the 2010s.

In 2013 she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. As you can see in the picture above, today I wore my Heart t -shirt from that same year when Heart and Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin Experience came to Camden, NJ for a show. That's when they were doing a lot of their Zeppelin covers during this particular tour, the Heartbreaker Tour.

To honor Ann Wilson on air today, we played "Crazy On You" in the Afternoon 12-Pack. Here's to one of the leading ladies of rock!

Dead and Company are in the middle of a residency at the brand new $2.3 billion dollar sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada. Brent Porche of WMMR Philadelphia got to witness this immersive experience firsthand. It was a wild ride, and you can see his photos below. Check out some spectacular videos here.

Currently, Dead and Company consists of original Grateful Dead members Bob Weir, Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann. Alongside them on stage are John Mayer, Jeff Chimenti, Oteil Burbridge, and Jay Lane.

The Sphere is the largest spherical structure in the world. That would be impressive on its own, standing at 366 feet high and 516 feet across. The outside is fitted with over a million LED lights to project dynamic images that outshine most of the neon in Vegas. On the inside, there’s a 160,000-square-foot wraparound screen that reaches above and around the viewer, creating an intense and colorful show.

Before Dead & Co’s Dead Forever residency, which runs through August 10th, Phish put on a trippy show at the Vegas venue. U2 broke ground with their run of shows there, celebrating their Achtung Baby album in vivid splendor.

Next up at the Sphere is a residency with the Eagles (the band, not the NFL team – although we’d love to see a Super Bowl in a place like this!). The group just announced that they will perform there in September and October of 2024, and tickets go on sale this Friday (6/21).