Some years ago, one of the hottest trends in music was calling it a day. Elton John, Kiss and Lynyrd Syknyrd were among a handful of legacy acts publicly declaring they were embarking on their final tour.Here is an overview of what the future in rock may hold.
Members of classic rock groups start to enter their 80s. Age, of course, is nothing but a number. B.B. King performed until he was 88,
Willie Nelson – 90 will always be on the road. He began his career in 1956, released his debut album,.
Delivered his most recent album, Bluegrass, about a month ago, and shows no signs of retiring from either recording or touring. He is travelling around the US as part of the Outlaw Festival, and has tour dates – and, no doubt, another album – lined up for 2024.
The Rolling Stones Ages: Mick Jagger,80; Keith Richards, 79; Ronnie Wood, 76. Last seen: 31 July 2022 -Friends Arena – Stockholm, Sweden. Over the past decade, the band has traded intensive, 100-plus date arena tours for stadium outings with an average of about 16 shows a year. (It’s a tactic also used by the likes of Taylor Swift and Metallica.)
On Aug. 24, 2021, drummer Charlie Watts died at the age of 80 but it seems clear the guys aren’t quitting the game any time soon.
Paul McCartney Age: 81. Last year, McCartney played 16 shows in the States and a pair in England, including a headlining spot at the legendary Glastonbury Festival. Now is embarkin on another giant tour, Australia 2023 Got Back Tour, Mexico, and more US. dates
Given that his 2022 dates all sold out, earned rave reviews and offered about three dozen songs in just under three hours, McCartney seems as strong as ever. Maybe he’s a realist who wants to go out with a bang.
Judy Collins – 84 Last year Judy Collins released Spellbound, her first full album of original material in a career of 60-plus years. Like Peggy Seeger and Shirley Collins, entering her ninth decade has sparked a creative revitalisation. And there seems to be no stopping her: this month Collins tours the UK and Europe, then returns to the United States, where she has concert dates into early 2024.
Bob Dylan Age 82 Minnesota’s own legendary icon makes his own rules. On June 7, 1988, he started a tour that, for the most part, hasn’t stopped since. He resumed live shows in November 2021 and spent a year playing more than 100 gigs, in both North America and Europe. Dylan’s website bills the outing as running from 2021 to 2024, so expect to have the chance to see him in Minnesota at least once in the next two years. Although knowing Dylan, that may mean a stop in Duluth or Rochester rather than in the metro.
John Cale 81 It’s a long way from a Welsh mining town to the centre of New York’s avant-garde, but John Cale has been there and back – as a short-lived member of Velvet Underground, as a producer and as an acclaimed solo artist – in a career that isn’t slowing down, either operationally or creatively. His latest album, Mercy, came out in January this year; Cale says he has plenty more songs waiting to be released.
Pink Floyd Ages: David Gilmour, 77; Nick Mason,80. Roger Waters 80.
No hope for Gilmour and Waters getting back together. Just this week, Gilmour’s wife Polly Samson took to social media to blast Waters. Waters, meanwhile, will continue what he has called his “first farewell tour” with European dates in the spring.
Fleetwood Mac Ages: Stevie Nicks, 75; Mike Campbell, 74; Neil Finn, 65; Mick Fleetwood, 76; John McVie, 78.
Fleetwood Mac has had numerous lineups over the decades,
Christine McVie died in November (2022) at the age of 79. In February, (2023) Fleetwood was asked about the band’s future: “I truly think the line in the sand has been drawn with the loss of Chris. I’d say we’re done, but then we’ve all said that before. It’s sort of unthinkable right now.” Nicks has returned to her solo career and will play U.S. gigs alone and with Billy Joel.
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
Ages: Springsteen, 74; Steven Van Zandt, 73; Max Weinberg, 72; Nils Lofgren, 72; Roy Bittan, 75; Garry Tallent, 75; Patti Scialfa, 70.
While Springsteen easily has another decade in him, his audience is probably going to look significantly different from this point forward.
When the tour went on sale last summer, Springsteen allowed it to be sold via Ticketmaster’s dynamic pricing program, which sent the cost of some tickets shooting up to $5,000 a pop. In response, the publisher of Backstreets Magazine – one of, if not the, longest-running fan-run magazines/websites/communities in music – announced it would cease publishing and updating its website after one final issue. “Disappointment is a common feeling among hardcore fans in the Backstreets community,” read a lengthy note posted online from editor/publisher Christopher Phillips. “These are concerts that we can hardly afford; that many of our readers cannot afford; and that a good portion of our readership has lost interest in as a result … (we’ve) reached the end of an era.”
Debbie Harry – 78. You wouldn’t think it, but Debbie Harry was almost 30 when she cofounded Blondie. She has been an influential figure in punk-pop ever since, mostly through touring, which takes up most of Blondie’s time – the band supported Sting at his Malahide Castle show in June, and recently headlined a tour of the US west coast. A new album, the follow-up to 2017′s Pollinator, is scheduled for release in 2024.
