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Tom Petty
Through October
Tickets: $20-$71 Opening Acts: Pearl Jam, John Mayer, Allman Brothers Band, Trey Anastasio
Tom Petty nearly decided not to tour this summer, and for good reason: One of his knees is shot. "James Brown used to wear kneepads," says Petty. "But I didn't know that. With all the knee drops and leaping off things, my knee is pretty much toast." But sucking it up for the sake of rock, Petty will lead his Heartbreakers on a summer tour celebrating the group's thirtieth anniversary. At each show - whether it's a headlining slot at the Bonnaroo Festival, a set at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota or a gig at Madison Square Garden -- there will be surprises around every corner. Petty says he'll debut songs from his upcoming release, Highway Companion, bust out old gems and incorporate opening acts such as Pearl Jam and the Allman Brothers Band, who, in various cities, are ready to pay tribute to the living legend. "It's very gracious of all those guys to come along," says Petty, who adds that this may be his last cross-country tour. "I mean, Pearl Jam certainly don't need to be opening up for us."
Fiona Apple
June 19th-August 10th
Tickets: $25-$80
Apple, who says being involved in planning a tour is too
nerve-racking, is taking the hands-off approach for her summer trek
by not even planning her own set list. "I just wait for someone in
the band to tell me what we're playing," says Apple. "I'm trying to
avoid meltdowns." Expect a healthy dose of tracks from last year's
awesome Extraordinary Machine and a few surprise covers.
Bon Jovi
July 10th-29th Tickets: $38-$400
Everybody expected Bon Jovi's Have a Nice Day tour to be
big when the Eighties hitmakers kicked it off last fall -- but
nobody expected it to finish second to U2 on Pollstar's list of the
top first-quarter tours of 2006. This summer the roadshow gets even
bigger, with the Jovi playing seven stadium dates -- including
three for hometown crowds at Giants Stadium in New Jersey. Says the
tour's promoter, AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips, "Based on how big
it's grown beyond our initial projections, I'd have to be honest
and say neither Jon Bon Jovi nor Richie Sambora and the boys
expected it to be this over-the-top."
Jimmy Buffett
Through September 14th
Tickets: $36-$251
It's not financially feasible for most performers to spread just
fifteen summer shows over the course of 105 days -- but Buffett and
his Coral Reefer Band have been redefining the word "leisurely" for
years. "We've been lucky enough to still be on top as we're turning
sixty," says Buffett, who adds that he feels rejuvenated by his
recent performance at Jazz Fest and promises to bring the Big
Easy's Mardi Gras spirit to towns across the U.S. "There's no other
explanation of why people dress up in Cincinnati and Pittsburgh,"
he says. "The ability to revel is in our human nature -- everybody
needs a couple days off."
Kelly Clarkson
June 30th-August 6th
Tickets: $23-$80
Clarkson is taking a break from the studio to hit the road this
summer, and the former American Idol is psyched to test some of her
new Prince-influenced material on a live audience. But fans of
"Since U Been Gone" shouldn't worry: Clarkson will be busting out
the hits -- along with Ray LaMontagne and Patty Griffin covers. And
don't expect to see the same show twice: "I like to change it up,"
says Clarkson. "In the age of the Internet, everyone knows your set
after the first show."
Elvis Costello
Through July 18th
Tickets: $30-$95
With the New Orleans pianist-producer Allen Toussaint, the Crescent
City Horns and his longtime band the Imposters backing him up, the
biggest challenge facing Elvis Costello on his summer tour will be
narrowing down the set list. In addition to tracks from the new
Costello-Toussaint CD, The River in Reverse, the band will play a
bunch of Costello songs, with new R&B-flavored arrangements
courtesy of Toussaint. Which ones? "I don't want to give the game
away!" Costello says. "Put it this way - they range from quite
well-known to songs we've never performed."
Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young
July 6th-September 10th
Tickets: $34-$260
"This tour came together the way they all do," says David Crosby of
CSNY's outing this summer in support of Neil Young's new protest
album, Living With War. "Neil called and said, 'OK, let's
do it,' " Crosby says. "When Neil came to us with the songs, I
said, 'Are you asking me if I want to go out every night and sing
"Let's Impeach the President?" Fuck, yes!' " Crosby estimates the
group will play half the disc, in addition to numerous classics.
"CSNY has such a powerful book of songs that it's really not fair,"
he says. "There are certain songs that you'd feel cheated if you
didn't hear - like 'Wooden Ships' and 'Cinnamon Girl.' "
Dashboard Confessional
June 29th-August 13th
Tickets: $25-$35
Dashboard Confessional's new album, Dusk and Summer, will
have been out only a couple of days when the band kicks off its
summer tour in Montreal. But that's sure to be just enough time for
the emo band's fans to have memorized all the lyrics in preparation
for the massive singalongs that have become a trademark of
Dashboard's live shows. "The first week, we probably won't play
quite as many new songs," says singer-songwriter Chris Carrabba.
"By the time we start working them into the set, the fans will know
every word."
Dave Matthews Band
Through September 23rd
Tickets: $37-$65
After fifteen years together, the Dave Matthews Band have an
extensive repertoire, and it's still growing. So for their
fifty-three-date tour, they will bust out long-dormant tunes like
"Digging a Ditch," "Dreaming Tree" and "Always (#40)," as well as
introduce jams-in-progress like "The Idea of You," culled from
recent sessions. "It's like 'DMB - the next phase,' " says
violinist Boyd Tinsley. "Everyone's pumped. Bringing back the old
stuff is bringing new life into the band."
Dixie Chicks
July 21st-November 11th
Tickets: $40-$90
Country-radio programmers remain perturbed with the Dixie Chicks
since their 2003 anti-Bush comments, but that didn't stop the
trio's new Taking the Long Way from hitting Number One in
its first week. Promoters expect similar success from their first
U.S. outing since the Vote for Change Tour. "I don't think they're
as dependent on airplay as they were at the beginning of their
career," says AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips, who is promoting the
tour. "People are familiar with the songs and know what they're
getting for the money."
Family Values Tour
July 27th-September 16th
Tickets: $7-$64
Five years since the last installment of the hard-rocking Family
Values Tour, it's back -- and the "value" part isn't just
semantics. "We really wanted to do a summer tour, and we wanted to
charge really cheap tickets for the lawn," says Korn frontman
Jonathan Davis, adding that ten-dollar lawn seats make the show
"cheaper than going to the fuckin' movies." Though the second-stage
lineup hasn't been announced, the main stage will host fellow Cali
vets Deftones, whom Korn haven't toured with in a decade. "Deftones
and us came up together," says Davis. "Fans have been waiting for
this for ten years."
Gnarls Barkley
July 18th- September 23rd
Tickets: $20-$30
Don't be surprised if you show up at a Gnarls Barkley show only to
find a hair-metal band called Brushfire taking the stage, complete
with leopard-print spandex and platforms -- it's just funk-soul duo
Danger Mouse and Cee-Lo goofing. The pair, along with their live
band (which includes backup singers and a string section), appear
onstage in a rotating lineup of alter egos, complete with costumes
and fake names. "We're trying to make sure it's still fun for us
and that it's special every time we play," says Danger Mouse. "A
different band shows up each night -- only our stylists know who
it'll be in advance." Among the fake groups are the Mean Ol' Lion
and the Hearts (which involves Wizard of Oz costumes), and Mr. Twig
and the Berries (tuxedos and masks). Only a handful of dates have
been announced so far, but Danger Mouse promises more are
coming.
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The Who
September 7th-December 5th
Tickets: TBA
The Who's 2006 world tour -- which kicks off in Europe before hitting the U.S. in September -- marks the first time guitarist Pete Townshend and singer Roger Daltrey have toured in support of a new album since 1982's It's Hard. In July the band will release a "mini-opera" EP, Wire and Glass, in advance of a full-length due out in October. "This new release is the first truly creative piece from the Who for nearly twenty-five years," Townshend wrote on his Web site. "This is good music. There is a story behind the music, but it doesn't matter much at this point." Though the first leg of the tour will happen outside the U.S., Townshend is doing his best to ensure that fans everywhere can hear what the new material will sound like live: Beginning with a performance in Leeds, England, on June 17th, fans will be invited to stream thirty minutes from several European gigs at thewholive.tv for ninety-nine cents. "I sense this is going to be one of the most interesting times I will ever experience as a rock artist," Townshend tells Rolling Stone.
Jewel/Rob Thomas
Through July 5th
Tickets: $20-$83
Jewel and Thomas won't be afraid to break out the hits on their
joint tour this summer. "When I do my own shows, it's a lot
looser," says Jewel, who will be performing "Who Will Save Your
Soul" -- and yodeling. "If I don't do a hit, I don't feel that much
pressure. On this Rob tour, it's half his crowd and half mine, so
it's a little bit harder." Fans of both should be especially
psyched for the duet they've been rehearsing: the Tom Petty/Stevie
Nicks classic "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around."
Madonna
Through July 23rd
Tickets: $55-$363
"It's all about trying to make you forget about the fact that
you're in a sports arena and make it more like a nightclub," says
Madonna's music director, Stuart Price. The show is divided into
four conceptual sequences, including an "equestrian section,"
complete with dancers dressed as horses. "It's really impressive to
watch," says Price. "Because you have no idea how she's going to
take a Donna Summer-influenced song and turn it into something to
do with horse riding."
John Mayer/ Sheryl Crow
August 24th through Fall
Tickets: TBA
"The opener will be decided by a nightly game of pingpong," Mayer
says about his co-headlining tour with fellow hitmaker Crow. Mayer,
who will release his fourth studio album, Continuum, this fall,
hopes the tour will emphasize each artist's rootsy edge: "I feel
like we're both grittier than we're sometimes known for. I don't
think it'll be long before you see the both of us onstage
together."
Paul Simon
June 28th-July 30th (first leg)
Tickets: $25-$250
Simon's latest disc, "surprise," marries his trademark melodic and
lyrical sensibility with lush electronic textures, courtesy of
Brian Eno. Preparing for Simon's summer tour, his veteran band
plans nine weeks of rehearsals to translate the new sound to the
stage. "Not only will those sounds be in the new songs, we're using
them as a palette," says guitarist Mark Stewart. "Environmental
sounds are even finding their way into 'Slip Slidin' Away.' "
Ringo Starr
Through July 20th
Tickets: $40-$230
Starr is rounding up his buddies -- Edgar Winter, the Zombies' Rod
Argent, Sheila E. and Richard Marx -- for the ninth installment of
the Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band extravaganza. Expect a mix
of Starr's solo hits, Beatles classics and songs by the band
(Sheila E.'s "The Glamorous Life," Winter's "Frankenstein"). "You
end up in a lot of hotels, but playing is what we do, and this is
how it's done," Starr says. "But I'd like to do it all at home and
have the audience come to me. I could make it Ringo's Home
Tour."
Steely Dan
July 7th-September 2nd
Tickets: $20-$200
"We'll be doing a continuous set -- no intermission -- so there
will be an incredible rising line of orgasmic blowing, wailing,
singing, caterwauling and carrying on," Walter Becker says about
Steely Dan's summer tour, on which they will welcome former Dan-man
Michael McDonald as opening act and guest vocalist. Becker promises
a "cavalcade" of hits and rarities: "We're planning a hard-hitting,
super-slamming set -- this is no time for halfway measures."
Taking Back Sunday
June 22nd-July 25th
Tickets: $20-$45
After years of playing clubs and theaters, Taking Back Sunday are
stoked to hit arenas in support of their major-label debut,
Louder Now. "We don't want to overdo it," says singer Adam
Lazzara. "One of the things we've been trying to keep in mind is to
not have it look like one of those Eighties boner-rock shows." That
means designing a stage like a small theater -- complete with red
velvet curtain. Says Lazzara, "We try to make it like you're going
to a party instead of a rock show."
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The Raconteurs
July 16th-September 30th
Tickets: $25-$38
Opener: Kelley Stoltz
"It's unfortunate that we didn't have the privilege to go out and play small bars for years with this band," says Raconteurs co-frontman Jack White. Instead, after a mere five club gigs in the spring, the White Stripes leader's new group -- whose other members include singer-songwriter Brendan Benson, drummer Patrick Keeler and bassist Jack Lawrence -- are stepping up to a full-fledged theater tour. "I guess we'll have to turn up our amps," says Benson. The foursome's shows -- which rock way harder than its debut, Broken Boy Soldiers -- don't feel like the work of a new band. "The last thing I want to do is play songs like they are on the record," says White. "I think what we do best is improvise -- we've been studying each other's music for a long time, so we started developing that intuition." Live, the Raconteurs will play most of their album as well as some covers (previous choices include David Bowie and Love tunes). The band is writing new songs, too, but don't expect to hear many of those: Says White, "It would feel like throwing them away, because of the Internet."
Foo Fighters
July 10th-august 30th
Tickets: $33-$59
Openers: Timmy Curran, Frank Black
Normally, Foo Fighters leader Dave Grohl doesn't get his ears
cleaned before a tour. "I keep the wax so I don't have to wear
earplugs," he says. "But with the acoustic tour, I should be able
to hear what's going on, rather than just screaming my balls off in
a drunken rage." For the first-ever "Afoostic" tour, the band --
bolstered by guitarist Pat Smear (a former Foo), keyboardist Rami
Jaffee (a Wallflower), violinist Petra Haden and percussionist Drew
Hester -- rehearsed for nearly two months, mastering the cuts from
the mellow half of 2005's In Your Honor as well as rearranging
classic Foo rockers. "It's hard to get the vibe right," says Grohl.
"For a band known for its sense of humor, it's tough making the
transition from fart jokes to something beautiful, atmospheric and
dark." Don't miss the Pixies' Frank Black, who'll be opening the
second leg. "In 1991, Nirvana was on a festival tour in Europe, and
Frank Black was doing acoustic sets all by himself in front of
30,000 people," says Grohl. "It was unreal. This is a dream come
true."
Rock & Roll Roadshows
Ozzfest 2006
June 29th-august 13th
Tickets: $20-$135
Lineup: Ozzy Osbourne, System Of A Down, Disturbed and many
more
Ozzy Osbourne will play just ten of Ozzfest's twenty-seven dates.
The rest of the tour will feature System of a Down in the hallowed
headlining slot. "There's a little more pressure on us now," says
SOAD guitarist Daron Malakian. "Those are big shoes to fill." For
Avenged Sevenfold frontman M. Shadows, who attended the festival as
a fan in 2000, rocking Ozzfest is a dream come true. "It was such a
far reach to ever think we'd play something like this," says
Shadows, who plans to bring along his Harley, some workout
equipment and lots of canned tuna. "Catering is really good, but
it'll get you fat really fast."
Vans Warped Tour
Through August 13th
Tickets: $24-$35
Lineup: AFI, Joan Jett, Thursday, Buzzcocks and many
more
"I can only imagine it's gonna be a punk-rock-circus sort of vibe,"
says Joan Jett, who will perform with her Blackhearts on the
twelfth annual Warped Tour. "I'm really looking forward to it!" One
Warped performer who's psyched that Jett will be around? AFI
guitarist Jade Puget. "She's very cute still," he says, adding that
his band can't wait to play cuts from its new disc,
Decemberunderground. Also on Warped's eight stages: more than 100
bands, such as veteran punk rockers Buzzcocks and NOFX,
teen-friendly screamo acts like Thursday and Underoath, and pop
punkers Motion City Soundtrack.
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Also on the road:
The Black Crowes Through August 12th Tickets:
$20-$75
Mary J. Blige June 29th-August 25th Tickets: $21-$126
Built to Spill Through october 4th Tickets: $14-$22
Ray Davies July 1st-22nd Tickets: $25-$60
Def Leppard/Journey June 23rd-September 23rd Tickets: $20-$135
The Flaming Lips Through September 15th Tickets: $28-$42
John Fogerty/ Willie Nelson July 22nd-August 30th Tickets: $20-$61
Ben Harper August 10th-September 17th Tickets: $25-$46
James Gang August 10th-September 9th Tickets: $17-$150
Phil Lesh/ Trey Anastasio June 28th-July 12th Tickets: $28-$54
Lil Wayne/ Dem Franchize Boyz August 11th-October 15th Tickets: TBA
Panic! At the Disco Through August 2nd Tickets: $17-$23
Pearl Jam Through July 23rd Tickets: $49-$74
Bonnie Raitt Through October 7th Tickets: $20-$80
Red Hot Chili Peppers August 6th-November 5th Tickets: $41-$64
Shakira August 9th-September 25th Tickets: $15-$130
Sonic Youth Through September 3rd Tickets: $20-$35
Roger Waters September 6th-October 12th Tickets: $30-$260
Widespread Panic June 21st-August 13th Tickets: $15-$45