Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers to come around here once more on their 40th anniversary tour
Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers will be celebrating their 40th anniversary in 2017 with a tour as well as two retrospective box sets which will feature all of the band’s studio LPs on 180-gram vinyl. “I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I was thinking this might be the last big one,” Petty explains to Rolling Stone. “It’s very likely we’ll keep playing, but will we take on 50 shows in one tour? I don’t think so.”
The tour was announced on last night’s episode of The Tonight Show, where Petty told Jimmy Fallon,“I’m really excited. Should be a lot of fun.”
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers released their self-titled debut album on November 9, 1979; the album featured the singles “Breakdown” and “American Girl,” which are still in perpetual rotation on classic-rock radio. The band has, for the most part, remained the same for the past 40 years: Howie Epstein replaced bassist Ron Blair in 1982, only to have Blair come back in the fold when Epstein passed away in 2003, and original drummer Stan Lynch left in 1994, to be replaced by Steve Ferrone after playing with Petty on his solo album Wildflowers.
It would appear that Petty and the band are looking to concentrate on gigs similar to the run of theater shows they did at the Beacon in New York and the Fonda in Los Angeles, diving deep into their catalog for the upcoming tour. Set lists may include the title track to 1978’s You’re Gonna Get It—which the band hasn’t performed live since 1978—as well as plenty of album tracks from their 13 studio records. “If I was a fan and they didn’t play ‘American Girl’ or ‘Free Fallin’’ I’d be disappointed,” explains Petty to Rolling Stone. “But I want to continue with the vibe we had at the theater shows where we represented plenty of popular songs, but also give the longtime fans some really deep stuff, and we can change the show as much as we want from night to night.”
Petty is also considering a tour of smaller, more intimate venues celebrating a deluxe version 1995’s solo album Wildflowers once the 40th anniversary tour winds up.
The tour kicks off at the Chesapeake Energy Center in Oklahoma City on April 20, featuring special guests Joe Walsh and Chris Stapleton. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. on Friday, December 16 for all shows except for New York’s Forest Hills Stadium. (Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers Highway Companions Club members will have access on Wednesday, December 14 at 10 a.m.) West Coast dates have yet to be announced.
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers 40th Anniversary Tour
April 20—Chesapeake Energy Center—Oklahoma City, OK
April 22—American Airlines Arena—Dallas, TX
April 23–Verizon Wireless Arena–Little Rock, AR
April 25–Bridgestone Arena–Nashville, TN
April 27–Philips Arena–Atlanta, GA
April 29–Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion–Houston, TX
May 2–Frank Erwin Center–Austin, TX
May 5—Perfect Vodka Amphitheatre—West Palm Beach, FL
May 6—Amalie Arena—Tampa, FL
May 8—FedEx Forum—Memphis, TN
May 10—StateFarm Center—Champaign, IL
May 12—Scottrade Center—St. Louis, MO
May 13—Klipsch Music Center—Indianapolis, IN
May 29—30—Red Rocks Amphitheatre—Morrison, CO
June 2—Sprint Center—Kansas City, MO
June 3—Xcel Energy Center St.—Paul, MN
June 5—Wells Fargo Arena—Des Moines, IA
June 7—Schottenstein Center—Columbus, OH
June 9—PPG Paints Arena—Pittsburgh, PA
June 10—Quicken Loans Arena—Cleveland, OH
June 12—US Bank Arena—Cincinnati, OH
June 14—XFINITY Theatre—Hartford, CT
June 16—Prudential Center—Newark, NJ
June 17—Mountain Jam Festival—Hunter, NY
June 29—Wrigley Field—Chicago, IL
July 1—Wells Fargo Arena—Philadelphia, PA
July 2—CMAC Performing Arts Center—Canandaigua, NY
July 5-6—Marcus Amphitheater-Summerfest—Milwaukee, WI
July 15—Air Canada Centre—Toronto, ONT
July 18—DTE Energy Music Theatre—Detroit, MI
July 20—TD Garden—Boston, MA
July 23—Royal Farms Arena—Baltimore, MD
July 26-27—Forest Hills Stadium—Queens, NY