Beach Boys genius Brian Wilson has just rolled out a 25-city joint summer trek with Chicago. As always, joining Wilson on the road is his crack solo band of the past 21 years — featuring fellow Beach Boys Al Jardine and Blondie Chaplin.
The tour kicks off on June 7th at Phoenix, Arizona's Ak-Chin Pavilion before wrapping on July 26th in Clarkston, Michigan at DTE Energy Music Theatre. Along the way, the trek will be making stops across the U.S. in Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, Tampa, Cincinnati, and more.
Chicago and the Beach Boys have a long history together — with the Beach Boys supplying backing vocals on Chicago's 1974 classic, “Wishing You Were Here,” touring together in 1975 for the legendary joint “Beachago” tour, and again in 1989. The Beach Boys' late-co-founder Carl Wilson teamed up with Chicago's Robert Lamm and America's Gerry Beckley for the posthumously released 2000 album, Like A Brother.
Chicago co-founders James Pankow and Robert Lamm explained that there were certain structures to all of the band's most timeless songs: (James Pankow): “In our case, the brass participation is a main character in the song. It's a lead line with its own hook, if you will. And you take the horns out and there's empty spaces.” (Robert Lamm): “When I was writing the song, knowing it's for Chicago, I knew there needed to be a place to let these guys shine, because the three of them are amazing together. We'd write the songs, we'd rehearse the songs, we'd record the songs, go out on the road and play the songs — and then come back and start the whole process again.”
Brian Wilson, who has long suffered debilitating bouts of stage fright, admitted to us that he doesn't just worry about singing, he also stresses about talking in between songs and often rehearses what he'll say: “I'm looking forward to making a little bit more humorous jokes and being a little bit more funny, a little bit more funny than it is.”
We asked Wilson if he’s ever sat down and thought about how many lives he’s changed through his music: “Yes, I have. When I sing it makes me happy. I think I’ve brought a lot of joy to people, yeah, with my tours, yeah.”
JUST ANNOUNCED: Chicago and Brian Wilson with Al Jardine and Blondie Chaplin tour dates (subject to change):
June 7 – Phoenix, AZ – Ak-Chin Pavilion
June 9 – Los Angeles, CA – The Forum
June 10 – Irvine, CA – FivePoint Amphitheatre
June 11 – Concord, CA – Concord Pavilion
June 14 – Salt Lake City, UT – USANA Amphitheatre
June 16 – Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre
June 18 – Maryland Heights, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
June 20 – Kansas City, MO – Starlight Theater
June 21 – Rogers, AR – Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion
June 24 – Dallas, TX – Dos Equis Pavilion
June 25 – The Woodlands, TX – Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
June 28 – Tampa, FL – MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre
June 29 – Alpharetta, GA – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
July 1 – Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion
July 10 – Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center
July 11 – Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center
July13 – Camden, NJ – BB&T Pavilion
July 14 – Bethel, NY – Bethel Woods Center for the Arts
July 15 – Wantagh, NY – Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater
July 17 – Saratoga Springs, NY – Saratoga Performing Arts Center
July 20 – Noblesville, IN – Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center
July 22 – Burgettstown, PA – The Pavilion at Star Lake
July 23 – Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center
July 24 – Tinley Park, IL – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
July 26 – Clarkston, MI – DTE Energy Music Theatre
Chicago plays on Friday night (December 3rd) at Charleston, West Virginia's Charleston Municipal Auditorium.
Al Jardine Family & Friends will next perform on January 22nd at Miramar, Florida's Miramar Cultural Center. The show will feature his son Matt Jardine and Brian Wilson's daughters Carnie and Wendy Wilson.