Just as Elton John played his final concert on Saturday (July 8) in Stockholm, Sweden, a number of other artists are following suit and saying goodbye to their touring days in 2023. Earlier in 2023, Ted Nugent revealed that he wasn’t done making music, but it was “Adios Mofo” when it came to touring. He is set to go on the road one last time this year.
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On July 16, 2023, Dead & Company, formed in 2015 with John Mayer and Grateful Dead guitarist and vocalist Bob Weir, and drummers Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann, are playing their final show together (sans Kreutzmann). The group will take its final bow where it all began, in the Grateful Dead’s hometown of San Francisco, California.
For some acts, the farewell tour has been endless. Devo has been advertising their shows as The Farewell Tour, Celebrating 50 Years for several years now, while George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic have also been on their unending Funk of It! Final Tour?!? for a few years with no end in sight.
In 2020, David Coverdale was forced to postpone his farewell tour with Whitesnake due to the pandemic. He also canceled several European shows and a North American tour with the Scorpions in 2022 following treatment for an upper respiratory infection and other health issues. Coverdale said that the band’s farewell tour is unlikely to happen in 2023. “I’m working now on a torn rotator cuff,” said Coverdale. “So literally, this year, I gave my fantastic band the year off.”
With some farewells still in limbo, others appear to be full steam ahead. Here’s a look at seven bands bidding their adieus in 2023.
1. Eagles
After more than 50 years, the Eagles will close the chapter on their touring days with their The Long Goodbye Final Tour. The tour will kick off in the fall of 2023, and dates are expected to run through 2025. The final tour is still in its planning stages, according to the band, with more dates possibly added on at a later date.
“The Eagles have had a miraculous 52-year odyssey, performing for people all over the globe, keeping the music alive in the face of tragic losses, upheavals, and setbacks of many kinds,” said the band in a statement on their 12-date tour, which will feature Steely Dan. “We know how fortunate we are, and we are truly grateful. Our long-run has lasted far longer than any of us ever dreamed. But, everything has its time, and the time has come for us to close the circle.”
Eagles Tickets HERE.
2. Foreigner
Foreigner will close their touring days with their The Historic Farewell Tour, featuring special guest Loverboy. Throughout their final tour, the band will invite choirs to open the shows with an a cappella performance of classic rock songs.
“The time has come,” said singer Kelly Hansen in a statement. “We have more or less lived our lives on the road for almost eighteen years. We have always strived to give you our best and we intend to finish this the same way. Foreigner has a brilliant and increasingly demanding catalogue of songs to sing and I refuse to give them less than they deserve.”
Foreigner Tickets HERE.
3. Mr. Big
Mr. Big reunited, to say a proper goodbye in 2023. For each show during their last tour, the band will perform their 1991 album, Lean into It — including their sing-along ballad hit “To Be With You” — in its entirety.
Originally comprised of vocalist Eric Martin, guitarist Paul Gilbert, bassist Billy Sheehan, and drummer Pat Torpey, the band first split in 2002. The group later reunited in 2008 and released What If… in 2010, followed by The Stories We Could Tell in 2014, and Defying Gravity in 2017. Torpey died in 2018 from complications with Parkinson’s disease. Nick D’Virgilio of Spock’s Beard will fill in for the late drummer on the band’s final tour.
Mr. Big Tickets HERE.
4. Candlebox
Candlebox vocalist Kevin Martin said that he plans to retire after the 30th anniversary of the band’s eponymous 1993 debut album. For their final tour, Candlebox is taking 3 Doors Down along for the ride on their The Long Goodbye Tour.
The band’s tour will feature a setlist spanning the band’s eight albums, and their 30-year career. The band is releasing their final album together, The Long Goodbye, on August 25. Later this year, the band is also set to release a documentary, Far Behind: The Candlebox Story. In 2022, the band also released their documentary, Far Behind: The Candlebox Story.
Candlebox Tickets HERE.
5. The B-52s
After more than 45 years of touring together, The B-52s have extended their farewell trek with a five-night residency at The Venetian in Las Vegas before their presumed final show at the Darker Waves festival in Huntington Beach, California on November 18. Joining The B-52s’ for their final hurrahs on stage are guests The Tubes and KC & the Sunshine Band.
“Who knew what started as a way to have some fun and play music for our friends at house parties in Athens in 1977 would evolve into over 45 years of making music and touring the world,” said The B-52s’ Kate Pierson in a statement. “It’s been cosmic.”
The B-52s Tickets HERE.
6. Aerosmith
After more than five decades together, Aerosmith revealed their final tour will kick off in 2023. The band’s Peace Out Tour is set to run from September 2023 to January 2024 with special guests The Black Crowes.
Formed in 1970, the band released 15 albums together, including their most recent, Music From Another Dimension!, in 2012. For this tour, founding drummer Joey Kramer, who recently took a temporary leave from the band, will also sit out this final run of dates. John Douglas will fill in for Kramer.
Aerosmith Tickets HERE.
7. KISS
After more than five decades of performing together, KISS recently revealed the final dates of their End of the Road Farewell Tour. The trek will conclude with two shows in their hometown of New York City at Madison Square Garden on December 1 and 2.
The band’s final two shows are taking place nearly 51 years to the day KISS played their very first show together on January 30, 1973, at the Popcorn Club in Queens, New York.
“It’s happy and sad because things come to an end,” Gene Simmons recently told American Songwriter. “Your life and my life, even the planet we’re on at some point is just going to stop and maybe that’s OK.”
KISS Tickets HERE.
Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for A&E
Not part of the rock world, but no less beloved by their many fans, the jazz vocal group Manhattan Transfer will be finishing their 50th Anniversary and final world tour this December.