Monday 24 February 2014

Ex-Yes Frontman Jon Anderson Kicking Off Acoustic Solo Tour Tonight


Former Yes singer Jon Anderson has just returned from a new themed cruise called Progressive Nation at Sea that traveled from Florida to the Bahamas and back again this past week, and now he’s heading out on asolo acoustic tour of North America.  The trek gets under way tonight in Austin, Texas, and is plotted out through an April 23-24 stand in Londonderry, New Hampshire.
Fans attending the shows can expect to hear Anderson perform plenty of his classic Yes songs, as well as material from his solo releases and even a few cover tunes.  One song he’s been including in his recent concert is a rendition of the Beatles classic “A Day in the Life,” which he “for some reason” plays on a ukulele.
He explains to ABC News Radio that he chose the tune after a friend of his from Chicago suggested he add a Fab Four song to his live repertoire.
“I thought to myself, ‘OK, I’ll do ‘[A] Day in the Life’ on the ukulele,’” he recalls with a laugh.  “So, I started practicing, and I do it now.”  He adds it’s great to perform the tune in concert because “you can get everybody singing along [because] everybody knows it.”
Anderson says he’s particularly excited about a pair of special events that he’ll be playing in early April in Woodstock, New York, with the Paul Green Rock Academy.  Jon describes the shows as “a wonderful get-together” at which he’ll perform alongside various young musicians.  The Rock Academy is a Woodstock-based program founded by Green, who also created the School of Rock franchise.
Meanwhile, while Anderson has been enjoying performing solo, he tells ABC News Radio that watching Robert Plant in concert recently with his current group The Sensational Space Shifters has got him considering the possibility of forming his own new band.  He says that while the idea is appealing to him, he’s not sure about how he’d go about it.
“It’s one of those delicate things,” Anderson admits.  “Do you get into a band, and how are you going to perform Yes music if you do it?  Do you jump into new music?…The whole concept is such a big operation, you start thinking about it, you know.”  He adds, “We’ll see what happens.”
Here are all of Anderson’s confirmed upcoming North American tour dates:
2/23 — Austin TX, One World Theatre
2/24 — The Woodlands, TX, Dosey Doe — The Big Barn
2/26 — Dallas, TX, Kessler Theater
3/14 — Aspen, CO, Wheeler Opera House
3/27 — Newton, NJ, The Newton Theatre
3/29 — Port Washington, NY, Jean Rimsky Theater
3/30 — Newark, NJ, New Jersey Performing Arts Center — Victoria Theater
4/2 — Glenside, PA, The Keswick Theatre
4/3 — Bethlehem, PA, Musikfest Cafe
4/5 — New York, NY, B.B. King Blues Club & Grill
4/8-9 — Woodstock, NY, Bearsville Theater (with The Paul Green Rock Academy)
4/11 — Niagara Falls, NY, Seneca Niagara Casino and Hotel — The Bear’s Den
4/12 — Albany, NY, Empire State Plaza Performing Arts Center — The Egg Swyer Theatre
4/13 — Ridgefield, CT, The Ridgefield Playhouse
4/17 — Rockport, MA, The Rockport Shalin Liu Performance Center
4/19 — Oakville, Canada, Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts
4/22 — Woonsocket, RI, Stadium Theatre
4/23-24 — Londonderry, NH, Tupelo Music Hall
Copyright 2014 ABC News Radio
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