Tributes to Robbie Robertson will continue. After announcing a single-night event honoring The Band’s legendary frontman and principal songwriter at Los Angeles’ Kia Forum, Life is a Carnival: A Musical Celebration of Robbie Robertson, on Thursday, Oct. 17, Blackbird Presents has widened its scope for musical celebration with a fully-fledged tour, featuring an all-star lineup of select musician, some of which are already included in the initial night of remembrance.
On the road, this tour will pay homage to The Band’s historic 1976 Thanksgiving concert, which occurred at San Francisco’s Winterland Ballroom, by returning to The Bay and kicking things off at The Warfield on Oct. 19. The expansive tour, which will run through mid-November, includes an all-star cast of musicians including Jamey Johnson. Lukas Nelson, Ryan Bingham, Mike Campbell, Benmont Tench, Don Was, John Medeski, Cyril Neville, Dave Malone, Terrence Higgins and Mark Mullins.
With an expensive array of talent in tow, the tour will continue on Oct. 22 at Revolution Concert House and Event Center in Boise, representing a locational shift en route to the country’s center. Follow-ups are slated for Denver on Oct. 24 and neighboring Boulder, Colo., the next evening, Oct. 25, before the group’s Centennial State closes out on Oct. 26 at Vilar Performing Arts Center in Beaver Creek, Colo.
The outing continues on Oct. 29 in Omaha, Neb., before an ensuing pick up of a Midwest appearance in Rockford, Ill., on Oct. 30. Next on the schedule, the combined ensemble will play at The Louisville Palace in Louisville, Ky., on Nov. 1, prior to a follow up at The Andrew J Brady Music Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Nov. 2. On the East Coast, gigs will occur at Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank, N.J., on Nov. 4, just before a night at New York’s Beacon Theatre, Nov. 6.
The tour will head to the esteemed Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, N.Y., for two nights, Nov. 7 and 8, representing the only back-to-back concerts at identical locations. The group of talented musicians will depart to Philadelphia’s The Met on Nov. 9, followed by an evening at Boston’s Orpheum Theatre. Returning to The Empire State, homages to Robertson continue at Proctors in Schenectady, N.Y., and the Kodak Center in Rochester, N.Y., before a final date, at Toronto’s Meridian Hall, on Nov. 16.
Tickets go on sale August 16. For more information, visit the tour’s official website.
