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Iconic Musicians Who Are Back on the Road This Year
Chuck Nelson
Taylor Van Arsdale
It's Better to Burn Out Than Fade Away
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted live performances for nearly two years when it took hold of the world in early 2020. But this year, a number of big names are taking to the stage for a triumphant return, and fans just can't seem to get enough. Many of these classic acts have been entertaining audiences for decades, including Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters (though he won't be allowed to perform in Ukraine due to his controversial views on the Russian invasion of Ukraine). Another band returning to the big stage is Roxy Music — performing for the first time in the U.S. in two decades for its 50th anniversary reunion tour.
Kris Scott also contributed to this story.
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After last performing together in 2011, the British rock band — comprised of Bryan Ferry, Andy Mackay, Phil Manzanera, and Paul Thompson — is back on the road this year for a 13-date North American tour. Starting Sept. 7 in Toronto, the musicians made their way down to the U.S. for 10 shows (their last U.S. show is Wednesday at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles), before wrapping up with three performances in Scotland and their native England. Bringing back hit singles, including "Virginia Plain," "Do the Strand, "Love is the Drug," and "More than This," this half-century reunion may just be worth checking out.
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The former Pink Floyd frontman, who turned 79 this year, is finally back on his This Is Not a Drill tour after a two-year delay due to the pandemic. Waters is playing 40 days in the U.S. and Canada as well as Mexico and Europe. He will no longer be playing in Poland, however, after a city councilman in Krakow canceled his two April concerts in a city-owned arena, citing Waters' "objectionable" views about the war in Ukraine. Though the councilman is pushing to declare Waters persona non grata in a symbolic gesture, he's free to perform at a private venue in the city.
Stevie Nicks by Matt Becker (CC BY)
Legend Stevie Nicks is not wasting time between her tour announcement and her concerts — she'll start playing at the Ravinia Festival near Chicago in early September. After that, there are 15 more dates through October, most of them at outdoor venues and festivals with Vanessa Carlton opening.
Despite news of Steven Tyler's recent relapse and rehab, and the subsequent announcement that the band's June and July residency dates in Las Vegas would be canceled, the band is — for now — still slated to play its September dates, along with a couple of other early September shows in Bangor, Maine, and Boston.
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Mike Love's version of the influential band (original members Brian Wilson and Al Jardine aren't involved) always stays busy. They have gigs booked across Europe through July 10, then return to North America for dozens of both Canadian and U.S.-based shows in both 2022 and 2023.
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The sneering "White Wedding" singer is back on the road in August, but will only play a handful of U.S. shows in Arizona, California, and Idaho before heading to South America and Europe.
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The Piano Man's pandemic-shortened 2020 stadium tour continues this year until Oct. 9. Along the way, he'll play five shows at Madison Square Garden, and a handful more in Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Texas.
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BOC will continue to tour this summer before taking off for Europe in the fall, performing some shows with Deep Purple. "The Reaper" band also is planning three 50th anniversary shows at NYC's Sony Hall in September, with each show covering one of the Cult's iconic albums in its entirety.
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William Royce "Boz" Scaggs was on the road most of the summer, touring the eastern U.S. His last show was Aug. 27 in Hinckley, Minnesota. The Boz Scaggs website notes no upcoming tour dates.
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This horn-driven, jazz-influenced rock band has a long history of touring, which will continue across the U.S. this summer and into the fall with dozens of dates — including a lot of outdoor venues — in all four corners of the U.S. and lots of places in between. The last show is Oct. 20 at Live at the Garden in Memphis.
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Dead & Co.
It wouldn't be summer if the Dead weren't on the road. After a long strange trip through the pandemic, the psychedelic rockers with Bob Weir wrapped up their summer tour July 16 at Citi Field in New York. The band is looking ahead to 2023 and has scheduled concerts in Riviera Cancun, Mexico, on Jan. 14-17.
British rock band Def Leppard is touring through Sept. 9, which in and of itself will delight fans. But add Motley Crue, Poison, and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts into the mix, and hard rock fans definitely will want to get on board for Def Leppard's 2022 Stadium Tour.
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The Doobie Brothers
The Doobies' 50th-anniversary tour, which includes Michael McDonald, Tom Johnston, Pat Simmons, and John McFee, continues takin' it to the streets — err, the stage — through Oct. 12.
Duran Duran by Samira Khan (CC BY)
Gen-Xers will be happy to learn that Simon and the boys, who were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year, are touring this summer. They're playing a handful of shows in the U.S. through mid-September. The group's last three shows are Sept. 9-11 at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.
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Earth, Wind & Fire
The band is back on the road this summer and fall, wrapping up its Miraculous Supernatural tour with Santana. They'll take to the Midwest in July, heading east and playing loads of U.S. locations until the last show at Sol Fest in Cancun, Mexico, on Nov. 9.
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After more than 50 years on the road, much of the Rocket Man's "Farewell Yellow Brick Road" tour had to be rescheduled. But the final U.S. leg began July 15 in Philadelphia, with stops in more U.S. and Canadian locations before wrapping up Nov. 20 in Los Angeles.
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Ranked second on Rolling Stone's list of 100 greatest guitarists of all time, Slowhand himself returns to the stage this year for nearly two dozen shows. If you want to see him in the States, however, you'll have to wait until late summer. Starting Sept. 8, he is playing seven shows in Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Massachusetts, and New York — most with Jimmie Vaughan, brother to late Texas blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan.
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The jukebox heroes tour in Europe, South Africa, Mexico, and the U.S. this summer. Their stateside dates kicked off in Texas, and from there they'll keep rockin' out until they wrap things up in Tampa, Florida, on Nov. 15.
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Nearly 50 years after the launch of their first album, the blue-eyed soul duo hits the road again in 2022 for a handful of shows in the U.S. starting Sept. 1 in Canandaigua, New York. They'll play five more concerts in Indiana, New Jersey, Connecticut and (two shows in) Nevada before wrapping things up. As of this update, tickets are still available for all shows.
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Sweet Baby James and his all-star band — with "very special guest" Jackson Browne — continue to crisscross the U.S. and Europe this summer and fall, showering fans with songs from his "American Standard" album and a long list of his hits.
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Jimmy Buffett
With 27 studio albums behind them, it seems like Buffett and his Coral Reefer Band are always on the road, delighting his loyal following of "Parrotheads." This summer is no exception with dates stretching late into the year. In December, Buffet will play in Antarctica in support of ocean conservation. Alas, tickets to this once-in-a-lifetime event are predictably sold out.
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Just like in 2021, the band did what we call a micro-tour this summer, playing just 11 shows between July 15 and Aug. 8 — four of them in Las Vegas. Not all's lost, though. The band has added six performances in September and October, which will take them to Sparks, Nevada, San Juan, Puerto Rico, and two destinations in Mexico. before wrapping up with two shows in Honolulu. What's more, some 2023 shows are already scheduled.
The band's "End of the Road" tour took a detour in 2020, but they're back touring in Europe and Australia through the end of August. After that, they'll return to the States, playing three shows in West Palm Beach, Florida; Louisville, Kentucky; and Sacramento, California.
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The Southern Rock superstars were forced to suspend their "Last of the Street Survivors" farewell tour for 15 months. But the band returned to the road in June 2021 and continue to play some U.S.-based shows this year. You have until Sept. 29 in Hollywood, Florida, to give you at least one more chance to hear "Free Bird" played live.
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The kings of metal will mostly play in Europe this summer, but if you're in New York or Los Angeles, you're in luck. Metallica is playing shows in those cities Sept. 24 and Dec. 16, respectively.
Pearl Jam by Lugnuts (CC BY-SA)
Pearl Jam's legion of mega-devoted fans is ecstatic this year. After canceling its 2020 tour, the band has returned to the stage for a North American tour with dates starting in September.
Red Hot Chili Peppers by Drew de F Fawkes (CC BY)
Anthony Kiedis, Flea, and the rest of the RHCP gang are giving it away across the Europe and North America this summer, after kicking things off in Spain in early June. They headed back to the U.S. for an opening show at Denver's Empower Field at Mile High and continue to play shows through Oct. 16, where they'll cap off the tour at the Austin City Limits Music Festival. From there, it's on to New Zealand.
After two years off due to the pandemic, the ex-Beatle and his All Starr Band have a lineup of shows through October. Most are east of the Mississippi, with a handful in Washington, Oregon, and California in the fall. He'll wrap up with two shows in Mexico City on Oct. 19-20. During the tour, Starr turned 82 (on July 7, when he played the Beacon Theatre in New York). As he recently told ABC News: "I'm a musician. I don't have to retire. As long as I can pick up those sticks, I got a gig."
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Sir Rod Stewart's "The Hits" tour continues with dates across North America through early September. After that, he'll play five shows at Las Vegas's The Colosseum at Caesars Palace between Sept. 23 and Oct. 1, then move on to shows in the U.K. through Dec. 20. Can't make it this year? No worries — Rod the Mod will be touring again in August 2023.
The band continued to tour in 2022, but you would've had to head to Europe to catch a show. Mick, Keith, and the gang played their last show of the year in Berlin on Aug. 3.
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Santana is on the road with Earth, Wind & Fire this year for the Miraculous Supernatural tour — though at least one of the shows was postponed by 74-year-old Santana's on-stage collapse July 5, reportedly due to heat exhaustion. Starting in mid-September and going through November, Carlos and the gang will head to Las Vegas for a 16-show stint at the House of Blues. Those shows are billed as "An Intimate Evening with Santana: Greatest Hits Live."
Scorpions by Carlos Delgado (CC BY-SA)
This German rock band — which formed in 1965 but reached peak popularity in the 1980s — is playing 19 shows nationwide this fall.
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Smashing Pumpkins/Jane's Addiction
These two alternative rock band icons kick things off at Dallas' American Airlines Center on Oct. 2, and then tour across the country through Nov. 19, when they'll conclude the tour at Los Angeles' Hollywood Bowl.
"The Dan" hit the road in 2021 and continued going strong through mid-August, taking the stage in Arizona, Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Georgia, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, New York, Virginia, New Jersey, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Florida, South Carolina, and Connecticut. Opening bands included Snarky Puppy and the Dave Stryker Trio. No new touring dates are scheduled.
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After a Las Vegas residency that ended in mid-June, the former Police frontman hit the road, continuing his My Songs tour across Europe before returning to the U.S. for a series of shows that run through Sept. 11.
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Didn't catch one of the band's 2021 shows? You can still get your Styx fix in 2022 — the band is touring across the U.S. and Canada through mid-October.
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The 2021-minted member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame continues to tour in 2022 with an interesting and mixed-bag lineup of shows. Rundgren is playing some shows with Daryl Hall of Hall & Oates, the last of which is Oct. 1 in Brookville, New York. In October, he begins a "Celebrating David Bowie" tour with Bowie guitarist Adrian Belew and Angelo "Scrote" Bundini for 30 shows running Oct. 6-Nov. 13.
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There's good news if you're a fan of this legendarily cranky "Moondance" crooner. Starting Sept. 1 in Bridgeport, Connecticut, he plays a dozen shows across the U.S., including three in Las Vegas Oct. 7-9.
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The pinball wizards kicked things off in the U.K. over the summer, but by early October, they'll be rocking the house in Detroit with "The Who Hits Back!" tour. They'll continue to play shows in California, Michigan, Ohio, Colorado, and beyond through Nov. 5.
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Despite Dusty Hill's 2021 death, the "little ol' band from Texas" continued to tour this summer with dates that stretch well into the fall — including a five-night stand in Las Vegas on Dec. 3-10. The band's longtime guitar tech, Elwood Francis, has replaced Hill in the lineup.
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