Author: Josh Bradley

Paul Simon’s been at it for over 60 years. Ever since his days as a part of Tom & Jerry, he’s been recognized as one of the greatest songwriters in history, with and without Art Garfunkel. He recorded the African inspired Graceland, toured as a closer for Brian Wilson, worked with hundreds of gifted musicians, and has been twice inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame.

In 2016, he contemplated retirement, by saying that “showbiz holds no interest” to him anymore. But following the announcement that a new album of revamped deep cuts was in the works, and a successful US tour last June, it felt like he may never stop.

The news came Monday morning.

“I’ve often wondered what it would feel like to reach the point where I’d consider bringing my performing career to a natural end,” he began in a statement. “I think about music constantly.”

Following the announcement last week of a “farewell performance” in England over the summer, Paul Simon has announced Homeward Bound – The Farewell Tour will be his final tour, with the exception of “the occasional performance in a (hopefully) acoustically pristine hall.” As of right now, there are 20 dates on the tour, 2 of which will occur at the Hollywood Bowl, and Florida is not on the list.
Hopefully, some extra dates will be added before Simon heads to the U.K. for his final performances, as there is almost a half month gap in between.

Here are the dates:

May 16 – Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena

May 18 – Seattle, WA @ Key Arena

May 19 – Portland, OR @ MODA Center

May 22 & 23 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Bowl

May 25 – Oakland, CA @ Oracle Arena

May 27 – Las Vegas, NV @ MGM Grand Garden Arena

May 30 – Denver, CO @ Fiddler’s Green

June 1 – Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Arena

June 2 – Houston, TX @ Toyota Center

June 4 – Austin, TX @ Frank Erwin Center

June 6 – Chicago, IL @ United Center

June 8 – St. Paul, MN @ Xcel Energy Center

June 10 – Detroit, MI @ DTE Energy Center

June 12 – Toronto, ON @ Air Canada Centre

June 13 – Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre

June 15 – Boston, MA @ TD Garden

June 16 – Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center

June 19 – Greensboro, NC @ Greensboro Coliseum

June 20 – Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena

This is your shot, and you can’t throw it away. It’ll be nearly impossible to get a ticket, but that doesn’t mean that we’re not gonna try.

Tampa has at least one really big, groundbreaking event for the last few years. 2016 had Beyoncé. 2017 had Paul McCartney. 2018 will have Taylor Swift and Elton John. And one of 2019’s has just been announced.

The touring edition of Hamilton, the legendary Broadway musical conceived by Lin-Manuel Miranda is finally making a stop at Tampa’s Straz Center For The Performing Arts. Or, actually to be more specific, 28 stops. The dates are February 12 through March 10. Almost an entire month.

They know for a fact that this show’s bound to sell out faster than Elton John did this past week, who sold out during the presale. The Straz also stated that right now, the only way to guarantee tickets to it is to buy the 2018-19 Broadway season subscription. No on-sale dates, ticket prices, or additional information have been revealed, but I’ll keep you informed as more info comes out.

Yep, you read that right.

The Yardbird guitar legend has been on the road for a good chunk of his life, including tours with ZZ Top and The Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson. Bad Company’s frontman Paul Rodgers has been touring with the group, as well as a brief run as lead singer of Queen, billed as Queen + Paul Rodgers. And Ann Wilson, half of Heart, toured intimate venues last year. This was because she is in the middle of a nasty band split with her sister Nancy. She says that they hope to finally make up sometime soon, but both seem to be enjoying their solo projects greatly.

But anyway, two Hall Of Famers in one night, one of which inducted twice? That’s right, even though Bad Company should have been inducted years ago.

The Stars Align tour, which will feature Beck and Rodgers onstage together, with Wilson opening, will play the last date of their tour at the Midflorida Credit Union Amphitheater on Sunday, August 26, 2018. Tickets go on sale this Friday, and start at a whopping $15.

This is not a show you are going to want to miss. If there’s ever been a better offer than seeing two Hall of Famers and a guy that temporarily sang in place of Freddie Mercury in one night, it was a long time ago. Back when you could see Led Zeppelin for like $5.

 

The bitch is coming back.

During a live event in New York City, Rock and Roll Hall Of Famer Elton John announced that he will retire touring after 50 years. He denied the same rumor last year, but the Tiny Dancer performer must have changed his mind. The Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour (referencing his legendary Goodbye Yellow Brick Road album) is scheduled to travel the globe until 2021. Yep, a three year tour.

Elton’s starting it in the United States, and Floridians have five chances to see him.

Elton John will play Amalie Arena for what may turn out to be his last ever Florida show on November 28, 2018. Tickets go on sale February 2 and will start at $55.75.

The other four chances to see him are in Miami, Sunrise, and Orlando this year, and Jacksonville in 2019. Seeing him is a once in a lifetime chance. There isn’t anybody who stays current the way Elton does. Even rap loving millennials know who he is. After a few years touring face to face with Billy Joel, doing the soundtrack to The Lion King, (probably what youngsters know him for) and selling millions and millions of records, he said himself today that he had a great run.

Radio pop? Check. Florida frequents? Check. Co-headlining at a sports arena?

…What?

Legendary 80s duo Daryl Hall and John Oates haven’t fallen apart since their coming together in 1970. With hits such as Maneater, Rich Girl, and Kiss On My List, these two college mates have topped the charts a number of times. Usually, they’re in smaller venues. But knowing the act coming along with them, there’s no way that Ruth Eckerd Hall wouldn’t sell out almost immediately.

Train, another small (ish) venue group, have been in Florida as recently as last May. Original lead singer Pat Monahan may be the only original member left, but the Calling All Angels sensations tour almost non-stop. And it doesn’t look like they’ll be stopping anytime soon, knowing their youth.

So, let’s do something crazy, they thought. Let’s team up with a fellow pop group.

Hall & Oates and Train, along with another unannounced guest, have just announced their 2018 tour dates, and one stop is in Tampa. They will rock Amalie Arena on June 22, 2018. Tickets go on sale next week, primarily on LiveNation, with prices starting at a whopping $15.

Even if you’re not a pop fan, you likely won’t regret going to this show. And whomever that third guest may be, this will probably be one of those concerts you’ll reminisce about for years to come.

October 2, 2017 is a day that will remain in infamy. Not only was it the day that there was a mass shooting at a concert in Las Vegas, killing 58 people. It was also the day Tom Petty unexpectedly died, exactly a week after he finished his 40th anniversary tour, perhaps the biggest tour of his career.

Some fans have speculated that The Heartbreakers, Petty’s longtime backing band, would continue to play without him. While they most likely won’t tour together anymore, that doesn’t mean that they’re going to stop playing music, together or solo. Keyboardist Benmont Tench III has played a few very intimate shows in New York and California since Petty’s passing. Lead guitarist Mike Campbell has also scheduled some shows with his band, The Dirty Knobs, mainly in California.

All the rest of the guys are taking a break to recuperate from both the tour, and the loss of their fearless leader. But the music will never die.

It was announced today that at Stephen Stills’ annual Light Up The Blues autism benefit concert at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, on April 21 2018, Campbell, Tench, and drummer Steve Ferrone will be the house band. It is unknown if they will actually stop and play together as “Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers,” or simply The Heartbreakers. But either way, it’s satisfying to know that the music that Tom Petty gifted us will be honored by his band, even if it turns out to be a one-off event.

Stephen Stills will reunite with his former partner Neil Young at the show as well. This is bound to be quite the historical event.

Last year, Brian Wilson announced that his band, fellow original Beach Boy Al Jardine, and himself would tour the world to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the legendary Pet Sounds album from 1966. But there would be something different about these shows: These would be the last shows that played the album in its entirety. Earlier this year, a homecoming concert in California was made out to be the final Pet Sounds show ever. Or so we thought.

Brian and the guys spoil Florida rotten with their music. Playing at least one show a year here since 2015, Brian’s last two stops in this area have been at St. Pete’s Mahaffey Theater for Pet Sounds in 2016 and in 2015 promoting his new album No Pier Pressure. But now, he’s mixing it up.

Brian Wilson’s Pet Sounds: The Final Performances Tour with Al Jardine and Blondie Chaplin, will play Ruth Eckerd Hall on May 18, 2018 at 8:00pm. Tickets go on sale this weekend, and will start at $58.75. This will be Wilson’s first show in Clearwater since his 2013 stop on tour with Yardbird Jeff Beck.

If you’re really into The Beach Boys, Mike Love’s edition of the band will also be playing the Hall next year in February. But though Mike’s show will be full of energy, Brian and Al’s will be full of nostalgia, lead by the true genius behind the band.

2016 got off to a rough start. Exactly a week after David Bowie’s death was announced, one of the Eagles‘ co-founders Glenn Frey passed away of arthritis. After only a full band performance of Take It Easy in tribute to him on the Grammys that year, original frontman and drummer Don Henley claimed that the band would never play again. So as bassist Timothy B. Schmit went off the grid, guitarist Joe Walsh toured with Bad Company and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and Henley toured alone, it looked like the Eagles were indeed history.

But earlier this year, it was announced that they would reunite to headline Classic East and Classic West, two two-day stadium concerts held in New York and California with major names performing. Following the group headlining Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers, the Eagles embarked on a four date tour across the eastern United States. Atlanta was involved, but of course, no Florida.

However, for the first time since 2015, the surviving members of the Eagles, along with Frey’s son Deacon, country legend Vince Gill, and special guests Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefers, will return to the Sunshine State. On April 14 2018, the legends will rock Orlando’s Camping World Stadium. Tickets go on sale December 2.

This clearly looking like an exciting year for Florida concert wise. With Billy Joel, Taylor Swift, and Alice Cooper all on the way to the Tampa area, it looks like we will, just like last year, be showered with legends.

There aren’t many early and original rock legends still standing, let alone performing. With the deaths of rockabilly giants Fats Domino and Chuck Berry this year, that leaves only two. Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis are the only members of the first Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction still alive. Little Richard announced his retirement in 2013, but while he may not tour anymore, he now openly focuses on his religious faith, and is back on the anti-homosexual side, of which he’s gone back and forth over the years. The Killer on the other hand, does not play back to back dates on back to back tours anymore, but he still plays a few shows a year.

The Whole Lotta Shakin’ Going On singer will headline during the Florida Strawberry Festival in Plant City. His date will be March 2, 2018 at 3:30pm. Tickets have not, to my knowledge, gone on sale yet, but will be priced at $30, plus admission to the festival. Lewis’ last time in Florida was six years ago in Naples, so even if you have to take a day off work, or leave early, now is the time to see the last of the rockabilly legends.