On August 24, 2021, the rock world lost Charlie Watts, the legendary drummer whose steady, sophisticated playing anchored The Rolling Stones for nearly six decades. Watts joined the band in 1963, bringing a jazz musician's restraint and impeccable sense of swing to a group that would become one of the greatest rock and roll bands in history. While Mick Jagger commanded the stage and Keith Richards supplied the riffs, Watts was the calm heartbeat underneath classics like "Paint It, Black", "Jumpin' Jack Flash", "Gimme Shelter", "Brown Sugar", "Start Me Up", and "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction". He rarely overplayed, instead delivering exactly what each song needed with a feel that was deceptively difficult to imitate. His musical chemistry with Richards became one of the foundations of the Stones' unmistakable groove.

On August 24, 2023, Bernie Marsden, the acclaimed British guitarist, songwriter, and former member of Whitesnake, died at the age of 72. A deeply respected blues-rock player, Marsden helped shape the early sound of the band alongside David Coverdale, Micky Moody, Neil Murray, and Jon Lord during the period that established Whitesnake as a major force in British hard rock. Marsden played on albums including Trouble, Lovehunter, Ready an' Willing, Come an' Get It, and Saints & Sinners, contributing to songs like "Fool for Your Loving", "Walking in the Shadow of the Blues", and "Here I Go Again". He co-wrote "Here I Go Again" with Coverdale, creating a song that would later become a worldwide No. 1 hit after Whitesnake re-recorded it during the band's 1980s breakthrough.

On August 24, 2018, Alice in Chains released Rainier Fog, their sixth studio album and third with William DuVall sharing vocals with Jerry Cantrell. The title paid tribute to Seattle and Mount Rainier, while portions of the record were made at Studio X, the same Seattle facility where the band had recorded their self-titled 1995 album more than two decades earlier. Featuring "The One You Know", "So Far Under", "Never Fade", and the title track "Rainier Fog", the album carried the unmistakable darkness of Alice in Chains while continuing the band's evolution beyond its original era. The record also confronted memory, mortality, and the passage of time, with Cantrell acknowledging the Seattle musicians and friends who had been lost along the way. Rainier Fog reached No. 12 on the Billboard 200 and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Album, reaffirming that Alice in Chains remained a vital creative force decades after emerging from Seattle. Produced by Nick Raskulinecz and Alice in Chains.