Paul Simon wants to know again. A few days after his appearance in the anniversary show for the 50th of “Saturday Night Life” (SNL), he announced an extensive TORIA Tour. The start is on April 4th in the Saenger Theater in New Orleans. On August 3, he puts a (preliminary) end point of his return to the stage in Seattle.
The 83-year-old returns to the stressful live operation, although he had largely lost his hearing on his left ear a few years ago. A new system of stage acoustics was developed for him in a program at the Stanford University called “Initiative to Cure Hearing Loss”. His own production team took over the implementation into practice.
Medium -sized Venues with very good acoustics
The US tour takes place exclusively in medium-sized Venues with very good acoustics. The set up would not be practical for multifunctional halls or arenas.
When Simon played various concerts in 2018, he indicated that he would never go on tour again. “I was often wondering how it would feel like it to reach this point where I have to think about bringing my career as an artist to a controlled end,” he said at the time. “Now I know it: it feels a little worrying, a little amusing and also like a relief.”
Like many other artists in front of him, he came across a change of heart at the end of his tour. Just a year later he was headlining of the “Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival” in San Francisco. He also played some shows on the Hawaii island of Maui.
Celebration of his timeless classics
According to his agency, he will complete the album “Seven Psalms”, which was released in 2023, on the North America trip. As is well known, it is about a 33-minute acoustic piece that is divided into seven different “sections”. There are also changing songs from his long career. There is talk of “a celebration of his timeless classics”.
The exquisite team of musicians will accompany him as a chamber orchestra: Caleb Burhans (bratch), Jamey Haddad (drums), Gyan Riley (guitar), Mick Rossi (piano, keys), Andy Snitzer (Saxophon), Nancy Stagnita (flute), Mark Stewart (guitar) and Eugene Friesen (cello). Steve Gadd and Matt Chamberlin alternate to the drums.
When asked about his congenial ex-partner Art Garfunkel, he said in an interview with the American Rolling Stone in November 2024: He would be interested to perform with him one last time. “You can never know,” he oraked. “When we stopped together, he only said: I’ll show you what I’ve been working on lately. ‘ And then he took out his guitar and played something. And I succumb to him every time he is a genius. ” Perhaps there will be a surprise visit from Garfunkel during the spring/summer tour …