Earlier this year I was fortunate enough to catch one of my favorite concerts ever when I saw Paul Simon play a sold-out show at the Fillmore here in San Francisco. It was a bittersweet event for me in a few ways because I have a very nostalgic, emotional and personal connection to Simon’s music (who doesn’t) and being forced to rock the show solo was a bummer in a few ways. But once he hit the stage and opened the show with one of my favorite songs ever, “The Boy in the Bubble,” I got chills and everything else melted away as I watched a tremendous musician recreate music and emotion so flawlessly that the crowd was in the palm of his hand.
And he’s been doing this for at least 25 years since the release of the seminal album, Graceland
, and Billboard is running with the amazing exclusive that Simon’s recent shift to Sony is going to mean a box set release commemorating that anniversary along with a tour with the original 1987 band that recorded the album…
A 25th anniversary tour to celebrate Paul Simon’s landmark Graceland album next year is in the early planning stages. The tour would coincide with a “Graceland” box set that Sony Legacy will release in the late spring, most likely in May.
Simon told Billboard.com he intends to reunite musicians who toured with him in 1987, among them the South African vocal group Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
Paul Simon is still on tour following up the So Beautiful Or So What
album; read on for his current dates…
Paul Simon Fall 2011 Tour Dates
10/17/11 Mon Comerica Theatre (formerly Dodge Theatre) Phoenix, AZ
10/19/11 Wed Gibson Amphitheatre Universal City, CA
10/20/11 Thu Greek Theatre Berkeley, CA
10/22/11 Sat Viejas Arena (Formerly Cox Arena) San Diego, CA
10/23/11 Sun Santa Barbara Bowl Santa Barbara, CA
10/24/11 Mon Caesars Palace Las Vegas, NV
10/26/11 Wed 1stBank Center Broomfield, CO
10/28/11 Fri Verizon Theatre Grand Prairie, TX
10/29/11 Sat Mud Island Amphitheatre Memphis, TN
11/04/11 Fri UNO Lakefront Arena New Orleans, LA
11/05/11 Sat Cedar Park Center Cedar Park, TX
11/06/11 Sun Civic Center Music Hall Oklahoma City, OK
11/08/11 Tue The Midland by AMC Kansas City, MO
11/09/11 Wed Qwest Center Omaha, NE
11/11/11 Fri Riverside Theater Milwaukee, WI
11/13/11 Sun Rosemont Theatre Rosemont, IL
11/15/11 Tue Fabulous Fox Theatre St. Louis, MO
11/16/11 Wed I Wireless Center (formerly Mark Of The Quad Cities) Moline, IL
11/18/11 Fri Fox Theatre Detroit, MI
11/19/11 Sat Veteran’s Memorial Auditorium Lima, OH
11/20/11 Sun Indiana University Auditorium Bloomington, IN
11/22/11 Tue The Bank Of Kentucky Center Highland Heights, KY
11/23/11 Wed EJ Thomas Performing Arts Hall Akron, OH
11/27/11 Sun New Jersey Performing Arts Center Newark, NJ
