Rock fans in the Southern U.S. had best get ready – you get first dibs on a Robert Plant 2016 tour. The classic rocker just announced that he and the Sensational Space Shifters will be headed your way this spring. The 11-city run kicks off March 4th at the Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival in Florida and concludes in Austin, Texas for an Austin City Limits Live performance at Moody Theater. Garage rock hit-makers The Sonics will open on all non-festival dates.
So far, dates are limited to just Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas.
“I’m always eager to return to the hospitality of the Southern states,” Plant said in a statement. “Towns and cities that hold fond memories for me personally, places that gave birth to so much of the music I love.” Best Classic Bands‘ friend Dennis Elsas interviewed Plant recently and the legendary New York disc jockey talked to the Led Zeppelin great about everything from tunes on his latest album with the Space Shifters to his involvement with the Wolverhampton Wanderers of British soccer.
During Elsas’ conversation with Plant, the singer talked about his love for the part of the U.S. that he’ll be visiting on these first dates: “Well I had time in America where I had no calendar and no diary, and I had time to explore. I traveled through West Texas and down into the Mexican borders and stuff. And I traveled to see my friends in town there [in Mississippi]. I was driving now as a total voyeur rather than a musician on a tour, and I was just writing down what I thought and I felt.” Check out the complete interview here.
Pre-sales for “Blues…Roots and Hollers (A Southern Journey)” begin this week, and a general sale starts January 15th. Visit Plant’s website for more details.
03/04-06 – Okeechobee, FL – Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival
03/06 – St. Augustine, FL – St. Augustine Amphitheatre
03/07 – Mobile, AL – Saenger Theatre
03/09 – Jackson, MS – Thalia Mara Hall
03/10 – Baton Rouge, LA – River Center Theatre
03/11 – Shreveport, LA – Shreveport Municipal Auditorium
03/13 – Cain’s Ballroom – Tulsa, OK
03/15 – The Bomb Factory – Dallas, TX
03/17 – San Antonio, TX – Tobin Center for the Performing Arts
03/18 – Midland, TX – Wagner Noel Center Performing Arts Center
03/20 – Austin, TX – ACL Live at Moody Theater
Here’s a fan clip of the band performing “Whole Lotta Love” from 2013…
