Courtesy of Live NationWhat do you get when you bring together one British guitar legend and arguably two of the rock world’s best singers? Why, the Stars Align Tour, featuring Jeff Beck, Heart‘s Ann Wilson and founding Free and Bad Company frontman Paul Rodgers, which kicks off tonight in West Valley City, Utah.
Rodgers tells ABC Radio that he’s excited to be hitting the road with Beck and Wilson. Paul notes that he previously collaborated with Jeff on his 1993 Muddy Waters tribute album Muddy Water Blues, and in 1983 at the ARMS multiple sclerosis charity concerts in the U.S.
“It’s really awesome to be playing together again,” says Rodgers.
As for Wilson, Rodgers declares, “Ann’s a lovely lady and a great singer. And it’s very cool to share the bill with such an enormous talent.”
Asked whether he might team up with Beck and Wilson for some onstage collaborations during the trek, Paul maintains, “Jeff and Ann and I will be focusing on our own sets…But there’s a lot of love and respect for each other, so…who knows?”
Rodgers’ set will feature the singer performing with the same group of musicians who accompanied him on his spring 2017 Free Spirit tour of the U.K., a trek that featured Paul revisiting songs from the Free catalog and that yielded the new Free Spirit concert album and video. Rodgers notes that for the Stars Align Tour, he’ll be adding several Bad Company hits into his set.
“In all, about four, five or six [tunes, including ‘Feel Like Makin’ Love,’]” he tells ABC Radio. “They blend very well, so far, into the ‘Free Spirit’ set.”
Deborah Bonham, the late Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham‘s sister, will open each show with an acoustic set.
Here are all the dates for the Star Align Tour:
7/18 — West Valley City, UT, USANA Amphitheatre
7/20 — Irvine, CA, Five Point Amphitheatre
7/22 — Chula Vista, CA, Mattress Firm Amphitheatre
7/24 — Sugar Land, TX, Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land
7/25 — Irving, TX, The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
7/28 — St. Louis, MO, Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
7/29 — Northerly Island, IL, Huntington Bank Pavilion
7/31 — Clarkston, MI, DTE Energy Music Theatre
8/1 — Toronto, ON, Canada, Budweiser Stage
8/3 — Boston, MA, Blue Hills Bank Pavilion
8/4 — Camden, NJ, BB&T Pavilion
8/8 — Cincinnati, OH, Riverbend Music Center
8/10 — Noblesville, IN, Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center
8/12 — Holmdel, NJ, PNC Bank Arts Center
8/14 — Wantagh, NY, Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater
8/17 — Nashville, TN, Nashville Municipal Auditorium
8/19 — Charlotte, NC, PNC Music Pavilion
8/22 — Atlanta, GA, Chastain Park Amphitheatre
8/23 — Jacksonville, FL, Daily’s Place
8/25 — West Palm Beach, FL, Coral Sky Amphitheatre
8/26 — Tampa, FL, MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
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