Blast From The Past
Connecting to archives...
Showing posts with label Live Music​. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Live Music​. Show all posts

5/05/2026

Todd Rundgren Announces New US & Europe Tour Dates

Todd Rundgren - Damned If I Do Tour Promo Art

FAN PRESALE: Wednesday, May 6 @ 10AM ET [PW: VICTORY26]

PUBLIC ON-SALE: Friday, May 8 @ 10AM LOCAL

Legendary producer/songwriter/ guitarist Todd Rundgren is expanding his 2026 Damned If I Do Tour with a major slate of newly added dates! This new leg of the tour includes new locations in the US, as well as extending the tour to the UK and the EU!

This tour promises to include plenty of fan favorite songs. Says Todd, “It’s always a challenge for me because my audience is so diverse, I never know what they’re in the mood for. I want to make sure we have all the musical ammunition we need to satisfy the spectrum.”

The tour commences June 11th at the Arcada Theatre in St. Charles, Illinois and ends July 19th at the Cabot Theater in Beverly, Massachusetts. The second leg commences August 8th at the Bergen PAC in Englewood, NJ and ends September 21st at the Paradiso Main Hall in Amsterdam! The fan presale for the new dates begins at 10 AM ET on May 6th [PW: VICTORY26], and tickets go on sale for the public at 10 AM local time on May 8th.

Todd’s band for the Damned If I Do tour will feature Gil Assayas (Keys), Bruce McDaniel (Guitar), Prairie Prince (Drums), Bobby Strickland (Horns), and Kasim Sulton (Bass).

FOR INTERVIEW REQUESTS CONTACT: Paul Maloney, 21st Century Artists Inc. paul@21stca.com

TODD RUNDGREN “DAMNED IF I DO” TOUR
June 11 – Arcada Theatre – St. Charles, IL
June 12 – Des Plaines Theatre – Des Plaines, IL
June 14 – Vibrant Music Hall – Waukee, IA
June 16 – Majestic Theatre – Dallas, TX
June 17 – House of Blues – Houston, TX
June 19 – Tobin Center for the Performing Arts – San Antonio, TX
June 20 – Golden Nugget – Lake Charles, LA
June 22 – Buckhead Theatre – Atlanta, GA
June 23 – The Parker – Ft. Lauderdale, FL
June 25 – Capitol Theatre – Clearwater, FL
June 26 – Capitol Theatre – Clearwater, FL
June 28 – Circle Square Cultural Center – Ocala, FL
June 30 – Charleston Music Hall – Charleston, SC
July 01 – Carolina Theatre of Durham – Durham, NC
July 03 – The Caverns – Pelham, TN
July 05 – KEMBA Live! – Columbus, OH
July 06 – Riviera Theatre – North Tonawanda, NY
July 08 – Community Arts Center – Williamsport, PA
July 09 – Warner Theatre – Washington, DC
July 11 – Keswick Theatre – Glenside, PA
July 12 – Keswick Theatre - Glenside, PA
July 15 – Patchogue Theatre – Patchogue, NY
July 16 – Tarrytown Music Hall – Tarrytown, NY
July 18 – Bally’s Twin River Casino – Lincoln, RI
July 19 – Cabot Theater – Beverly, MA

August 8, 2026 – Englewood, NJ – Bergen PAC
August 9, 2026 – Ridgefield, CT – Ridgefield Playhouse
August 11, 2026 – Ocean City, NJ – Ocean City Music Pier
August 12, 2026 – Red Bank, NJ – Count Basie Theater
August 14, 2026 – Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE
August 15, 2026 – Newport, KY – MCL Pavilion
August 17, 2026 – Kalamazoo, MI – Bells Beer Garden
August 18, 2026 – Saginaw, MI – Temple Theatre
August 20, 2026 – Royal Oak, MI – Royal Oak Theatre
August 21, 2026 – Cleveland, OH – Agora Theater
August 23, 2026 – Ft. Wayne, IN – Clyde Theater
August 25, 2026 – Minneapolis, MN – Uptown Theatre
August 26, 2026 – Milwaukee, WI – Pabst Theatre
August 28, 2026 – Louisville, KY – Brown Theater
August 29, 2026 – St Louis, MO – The Pageant

September 6, 2026 – Lorica, IT – Campo Sportivo
September 9, 2026 – London, UK – Cadogan Hall
September 10, 2026 – Bristol, UK – Bristol Beacon
September 12, 2026 – Manchester, UK – Opera House Manchester
September 13, 2026 – Glasgow, SCT – Theatre Royal Glasgow
September 18, 2026 – Aalburg, DK – Skraaen
September 19, 2026 – Helsingor, DK – Kulturvaerftet - The Culture Yard
September 21, 2026 – Amsterdam, NL – Paradiso Main Hall

TODD RUNDGREN

Born and raised in Philadelphia, Rundgren began playing guitar as a teenager, going on to found and front The Nazz, the quintessential `60's psychedelic group. In 1969, he left the band to pursue a solo career, recording his debut offering, the legendary Runt. But it was 1972's seminal Something/Anything?, on which he played all the instruments, sang all the vocal parts, and acted as his own producer, that catapulted Todd into the superstar limelight, prompting the press to unanimously dub him 'Rock's New Wunderkind'. It was followed by such landmark LPs as The Hermit of Mink Hollow and the above mentioned A Wizard, A True Star, as well as such hit singles as I Saw The Light, Hello It's Me, Can We Still Be Friends, and Bang The Drum.

In 1974, Todd formed Todd Rundgren’s Utopia (renamed and reconfigured in 1976 as Utopia), an entirely new approach to the concept of interactive musicianship, and embarked on an extensive round of touring and recording. Standout Utopia offerings included Oops! Wrong Planet, Adventures in Utopia, and Oblivion. Along the way, Todd Rundgren’s Utopia combined technical virtuosity and creative passion to create music that initially, for millions, defined the term "progressive rock”, and subsequently, as Utopia, the term “powerpop”.

Rundgren's myriad production projects include albums by Patti Smith, Cheap Trick, Psychedelic Furs, Meat Loaf, XTC, Grand Funk Railroad, and Hall And Oates. Rounding out his reputation as rock's Renaissance Man, Rundgren composed all the music and lyrics for Joe Papp's 1989 Off-Broadway production of Joe Orton's Up Against It (the screenplay commissioned by The Beatles for what was meant to have been their third motion picture). He also has composed the music for the hit film Dumb and Dumber, as well as a number of television series, including Pee Wee’s Playhouse and Crime Story.

In 2009 Rundgren performed his iconic 1973 album A Wizard A True Star in concert in its entirety for the first time ever, and several years later did the same with a double bill: Todd & Healing. He has toured with Ringo Starr as an erstwhile member of the All-Starr Band since 1989, and continues to perform with symphony orchestras both domestically and internationally. In 2018 he toured North America with original Utopians Kasim Sulton and Willie Wilcox for the first time in 33 years. After the release of his long-awaited autobiography The Individualist, he spearheaded the world’s first hybrid concert/book tour highlighting music across his 50-plus-year career.

In 2017 on successive weekends he was awarded honorary doctorates from both the Berklee School of Music and DePauw University.

In 1998 Todd debuted his new PatroNet technology which for the first time allowed fans of a musical artist to subscribe directly to the artist’s musical output via the Internet. This caps a long history of groundbreaking early multimedia "firsts", including:

•1978: The first interactive television concert, broadcast live over the Warner/QUBE system in Columbus, Ohio (the home audience chose each song in real time during the concert by voting via QUBE’s 2-way operating system).
•1978: The first live nationally broadcast stereo radio rock concert (by microwave), linking 40 cities around the country.
•1979: The opening of Utopia Video Studios, a multi-million dollar state-of-the-art facility. The first project produced by Todd there is Gustav Holst’s The Planets, commissioned by RCA Selecta Vision as the first demonstration software for their new videodisc format.
•1980: Creation of the first color graphics tablet, which was licensed to Apple and commercially released as The Utopia Graphics Tablet.
•1981: Time Heals, the first music video to utilize state-of-the-art compositing of live action and computer graphics (produced and directed by Todd), becomes the eighth video to be played during the launch of MTV on August 1, 1981.
•1982: The first live national cablecast of a rock concert (on the USA Network), simulcast in stereo to over 120 radio stations.
•1982: The first two commercially released music videos, one of which was nominated for the first-ever Grammy awarded for “Best Short Form Video” in 1983.
•1992: The first commercially available music downloads via CompuServe.
•1993: The release of “No World Order”, the world’s first interactive record album on CD-i.
•1994: The release of “The Individualist”, the world’s first full-length Enhanced CD.
•1994: The world’s first interactive concert tour.
•1998: Launches PatroNet, the world’s first direct artist subscription service -- predicts that someday "music will be sold by the pound".
•2016: The production of the world's first full length concert shot with multiple Virtual Reality 360º cameras.
•2021: Spearheaded the “Clearly Human” virtual concert tour, featuring 25 live-streamed performances geo-fenced and tailored to a different US city each night.

CONTACT: paul@21stca.com, PH: 212-254-5500

Press inquiries: Glass Onyon PR, PH: 828-350-8158, glassonyonpr@gmail.com

6/21/2023

Concert Review: Martin Barre At The Worthington Country Club

                     Martin Barre Concert-A Brief History of Jethro Tull

The Worthington Country Club, Massachusetts

June 18, 2023

https://martinbarre.com/martin-barre-tour/

Nestled in the country along Route 143 off Worthington Road in Massachusetts is the beautiful Golf Links, owned by David and Helen Pollard. It was my distinct pleasure to attend the concert being held there with Martin Barre. For a few reasons: I knew the Pollards very well and had worked for them for five years in the early 2000s. And I had not seen them in 14 years! Secondly, I am very familiar with Martin’s guitar playing with Jethro Tull, covering several of the reissues of their group’s studio recordings over the years, seeing them play live with the band, and providing coverage before he departed on his solo career. With that in mind and being able to see some old friends, I had been anticipating this event for months.

 

We had a beautiful clear blue sky with the sun shining to usher in this rock legend; however, as the night rolled on, it got a bit nippy, and Martin was warming his fingers to keep them agile.

Martin Barre is one of the finest guitar players in the world and has been for many decades. Now in his 70s, he has not lost a step in showcasing his six-string virtuosity. I was to realize this fully last night as he made his way through two lengthy sets. His band consists of Dan Crisp (lead vocals/keyboards), Alan Thomson (bass), and Darby Todd on Drums. The lead singer bares a remarkable resemblance to a younger Phil Collins. That is what I recognized in short order. And besides that, after belting out the first number with authority, he did a complete turnaround. He sang like a young Ian Anderson, including all the facial expressions and mannerisms of the Jethro Tull mastermind and leader, writer, singer, and musician.

 

Another surprise may have been Martin being an accomplished flute player. I had known this, but many in attendance were surprised. The crowd expressed their delight as Martin handled his second instrument quite well. Quite honestly, and even though I still enjoy Jethro Tull to this day, Ian has lost his voice due to age and wear and tear, and nobody ever could replace Martin on guitar. It has not been the same since he left the band.

 

This night I relived the good old days with Martin wailing away and rocking the crowd and Dan Crisp doing a splendid job with each song from the Tull catalog. There are so many outstanding Tull albums and much ground to cover. Martin and his band are tight and did a marvelous job recreating all the music. Even Ian Anderson would be impressed.

 

The first Tull album I got was Warchild back in the day when there were record and CD clubs that no longer exists. It still stands as my favorite album. Now there are many different choices if you are a vinyl enthusiast to choose from. Hearing them play “Warchild,” “Back Door Angels,” and “Sea Lion” was a treat for the ears and senses. And of course, there are many of the favorites that the audience recognized immediately, such as “Bouree,” “My God,” “Thick As A Brick,” and many more, including the all-out rocking encore numbers “Locomotive Breath” and “Teacher.” Martin and the band ended the show on fire, cranking out those two prog rock classics. Fitting, it ended with plenty of fireworks from Martin’s guitar.

 

It was another night for me to remember, and an honor to be able to see the show and report on it. Thank you, David and Helen, for the night that will forever be in my consciousness and for giving this old rocker a smile from the inside out.

 

If you like the beauty of nature and outdoor music, visiting the Worthington Golf Club this summer is a must. Look at what is on tap for the rest of the season and get your tickets here: https://worthingtongolfclub.com/music-concerts-and-events.

 

Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck

June 19, 2023

First Set:

Look Into The Sun

Someday The Sun

Cat’s Squirrel

We Used To Know

Serenade To A Cuckoo

Bouree

Sossity

Bass Solo

Back To The Family

Nothing To Say

My God

(chat) Thick As A Brick

Passion Play

Whistler

Black Satin Dancer

Back Door Angels

(chat) Warchild

Sea Lion

 

Set Two:

Acres Wild

Jack Frost

(chat) Under Wraps Acoustic

Under Wraps Electric

Protect And Survive

Watching Me

Fallen On Hard Times

Too Old To Rock & Roll

Slow Marching Band

(chat)
Locomotive Breath

Teacher