Music Notes: Cameron Crowe, Coachella and Queen

This month marks the 25th anniversary of Almost Famous, Cameron Crowe’s landmark semi-autobiographical film. Based on his experiences as a 15-year-old music journalist with Rolling Stone, the movie earned Crowe an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and catapulted Kate Hudson into stardom.

The 2000 film also delivered one of the most celebrated soundtracks of its era, a GRAMMY-winning collection of ’70s classics from The Who, David Bowie, Led Zeppelin, and Elton John (who can forget Penny Lane and the band belting out “Tiny Dancer” on the tour bus?).

Perfectly timed with the silver anniversary, Crowe, 68, is embarking on a book tour for his new memoir, The Uncool. In it, he shares the stories behind the stories — like how touring with the Allman Brothers Band inspired Almost Famous’ fictional group, Stillwater.

Raised in San Diego, Crowe’s ties to the city run deep. He graduated from University of San Diego High School, attended San Diego City College, and at 22 went undercover as a student at Clairemont High to research his 1981 book Fast Times at Ridgemont High: A True Story. Four decades later, Crowe returns to town for The Uncool Book Tour, which stops at The Magnolia in El Cajon on Nov. 13.

Billed as “an intimate conversation with the music journalist and filmmaker,” the evening will be moderated by none other than Hudson. Get your tickets here.

Did Coachella get its ‘Swag’ back?

Coachella 2026 is still six months away — the music festival runs April 10-12 and 17-19 at the Empire Polo Club in Indio — but it’s already breaking records.

On Sept. 22, organizers announced both weekends had sold out, just one week after revealing the full lineup — which includes headliners Sabrina Carpenter, Justin Bieber, and Karol G., and fast-rising acts like Addison Rae, Wet Leg, and Royel Otis. It’s the festival’s fastest sellout in three years.

Some speculate Justin Bieber’s return drove demand. The 31-year-old singer released his buzz-worthy album Swag in July, followed by its 44-song sequel, Swag II, on Sept. 5. Riding high on all the new music, his Coachella performance will be his first show in four years.

But neither the quick sellout nor Bieber’s return is the big news.

It’s that he’s getting paid $10 million for two shows, making him the highest-paid artist in Coachella’s history — topping Beyoncé, The Weeknd, and Ariana Grande, who each earned about $8 million. To his credit, Bieber reportedly negotiated the massive payday directly with promoter Goldenvoice, without an agent. 

Queen might trade tours for residency

Queen guitarist Brian May, 78, says he’s about done with life on the road.

“I’ve had 50 years of touring, and there’s a part of me that thinks it’s enough,” May recently told Rolling Stone. “I had a few experiences recently where stuff happened at home with my family and I could not go home. It got under my skin, and I just thought, ‘I’m not sure if I want this anymore.’ I feel like I’ve given up my freedom too many times.”

Fortunately for Queen fans, May, who suffered a stroke last year, still wants to play shows, and he said he’s not opposed to a Las Vegas residency. In fact, he’s “very keen” on the idea.

He said experiencing the Eagles’ show at the state-of-the-art Sphere got his wheels turning. “I was blown away,” he shared. “I sat there thinking, ‘We should do this. The stuff that we could bring to this would be stupendous.’”

The band — which includes fellow co-founder Roger Taylor on drums and San Diego native and former “American Idol” contestant Adam Lambert on vocals — is currently celebrating the 50th anniversary of “Bohemian Rhapsody” while working out new music in the studio.

But Queen has been teasing new music for the past four years and has yet to deem anything worthy of release. So that Sphere residency might just happen first.

 “We’re having conversations,” May admitted.

Donovan Roche is a longtime music writer based in San Diego. His “Music Notes” column and other work frequently appear in Times of San Diego.