Van Halen to Perform on the 2015 Billboard Music Awards, May 17

Billboard and Dick Clark Productions have announced that one of the greatest rock and roll bands of all-time, Van Halen, will perform on the 2015 Billboard Music Awards, marking the band’s first-ever performance on an awards show with Eddie, Alex, Wolfgang Van Halen and David Lee Roth. Van Halen join previously announced musical performers Kelly Clarkson, Hozier, Nick Jonas, Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith, along with special duet performances by Empire recording artists Jussie Smollett and Bryshere “Yazz” Gray with Estelle, Fall Out Boy featuring Wiz Khalifa, Britney Spears and Iggy Azalea and Meghan Trainor featuring John Legend.

The 2015 Billboard Music Awards will be hosted by Ludacris and Chrissy Teigen and broadcast live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, May 17, on ABC from 8:00 PM–11:00 PM ET.

Since 1980, Guitar World has been the ultimate resource for guitarists. Whether you want to learn the techniques employed by your guitar heroes, read about their latest projects or simply need to know which guitar is the right one to buy, Guitar World is the place to look.

Latest

Lars Ulrich, James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett of Metallica, and producer Bob Rock at the 21st Annual ASCAP Pop Music Awards 2004.

“Please tell the bass players of the world to go easy on me. I did my best to represent you well!” Bob Rock made bass history on Metallica’s St. Anger – quite a feat, since he “never really played bass” before

See more latest ►

“I’ve seen firsthand how technology and innovation have reshaped the six-string landscape”: 5 reasons why new guitar players have never had it so good

“The Uni-Vibe was an excellent alternative to a Leslie and became a mainstay for Jimi Hendrix”: Everything you need to know about modulation, from Leslie emulators and chorus pedals to bucket-brigade chips and phasers

“For me, it’s not how many are watching, it’s who is watching – Tosin engaging made me feel like I was doing something right”: Dante Swan is blurring the lines between djent and trap music – and he wants you to steal his riffs

“For me to be so appreciated, I think I can start to feel guilty and pressured. But I guess it’s a good problem to have”: From playing Steve Vai's guitars to playing with him onstage, Tosin Abasi's rapid ascent made him one of the biggest names in guitar

“I bumped into Eric in a club and I thought we were going to get into a fight! But he went, ‘Hello, man!’ and gave me a big hug”: Jeff Beck took the Yardbirds in a new direction, but the constant Eric Clapton comparisons took years to shake

“We knew listeners usually wanted a memorable song rather than an insane guitar solo or riff, but we wanted to be extreme”: Jason Becker and Marty Friedman on their wild ride making Cacophony’s Go Off! – one of the Eighties’ most in-your-face shred albums

“Like Gretsch’s Duo Jet, it was surely spurred by Gibson’s success with the Les Paul”: The mysterious history of the Guild M-75 Aristocrat, the blue-blooded hollowbody played by John Lee Hooker, John Mayer, St. Vincent and Dan Auerbach

“Top money buys forensically aged details and incredible craft, but you won’t necessarily hear £5k’s worth of difference in the sonic performance”: How close are Gibson's ’59 Burst replicas and their boutique rivals?

“Chris Shiflett has this great AC30 from the ’60s – that’s the main amp on the album. That and a Princeton Reverb – until I blew it up”: How one-man blues rock band Steve Hill cheated death – then found redemption at Foo Fighters’ Studio 606

“This is a guy who worked for Frank Zappa. Frank said to him, ‘Whatever you do, don’t learn how to read music.’ He's all-creative – he's a miracle, really”: Steve Vai on BEAT, being a virtuoso in his 60s – and the Fripp riff he just couldn’t master

“The Grateful Dead wouldn’t let us use their amps. Ray was aghast – he kept saying, ‘Pigpen? Someone named Pigpen won’t let me use his instrument?’” With a volatile lead singer and no bass player, they left an indelible mark on rock

Get The Pick Newsletter

Most Popular