Legendary Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman has announced a 24-date solo road trek, dubbed “The Even Grumpier Old Rock Star Tour!” Wakeman kicks things off on October 14th at Derry, New Hampshire's Tupelo Music Hall, with the jaunt wrapping on November 19th in Clearwater, Florida at the Nancy and David Bilheimer Capitol Theatre.
According to the official announcement:
Having made his name creating prog rock extravaganzas, in his solo shows Wakeman returns to his roots with a program packed with virtuosic piano performances and hilarious anecdotes, inspired by his 50-plus-year career.
Repertoire will range from his solo works and his stints in the band Yes through to his early days as a session musician playing keyboards on such classics as David Bowie‘s Life On Mars, plus surprises like his unique interpretations of Beatles‘ hits and many more memorable tunes, adapted for the grand piano.
Rick Wakeman recalled to us that being a keyboardist made touring nearly impossible back in the day: “There wasn't even such thing as keyboard stands — I used to buy old chests of drawers and cut them all up to put my keyboards on. When you look back, it was incredibly primitive days. The biggest rig I took out was something ridiculous like 30-odd keyboards, but that was in the days when every instrument had one good sound, and that was it.”
JUST ANNOUNCED: Rick Wakeman North American tour dates (subject to change):
October 14 – Derry, NH – Tupelo Music Hall
October 15 – Northampton, MA – Academy of Music
October 16 – New London, CT – Garde Arts Center
October 19 – Full River, MA – Garde Arts Center
October 22 – Huntingdon, NY – The Paramount
October 23 – New York, NY – Concert Hall at the New York Society for Ethical Culture,
October 24 – Alexandria, VA – The Birchmere
October 26 – Buffalo, NY – Asbury Hall,
October 27 – Wellmont Theatre – Montclair, NJ
October 28 – Red Bank, NJ, The Vogel – Count Basie Center for the Arts
October 29 – Collingswood, NJ – Scottish Rite Auditorium
October 30 – Ridgefield, CT – Ridgefield Playhouse
November 1 – Kent, OH – The Kent Stage
November 3 – St. Louis, MO – The Sheldon
November 4 – Chicago, IL – Copernicus Center Theater
November 5 – Minneapolis, MN – Pantages Theatre
November 9 – Phoenix, AZ – Celebrity Theatre
November 11 – San Francisco, CA – Palace of Fine Arts Theatre
November 12 – Los Angeles, CA – The Theatre at Ace Hotel
November 13 – El Cajon, CA – Magnolia
November 15 – Seattle, WA – Neptune Theatre
November 17 – Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse
November 18 – Fort Lauderdale, FL – Amaturo Theater at Broward Center for the Performing Arts
November 19 – Clearwater, FL – Nancy and David Bilheimer Capitol Theatre
Rick Wakeman Says Touring As A Keyboardist Used To Be Really Hard :
