Lynyrd Skynyrd is hitting the road this summer.
After they announced “Last of the Street Survivors Farewell” tour last year, which was ultimately derailed by COVID, the band is gearing up for a new tour called “The Big Wheels Keep On Turnin’ Tour.”
Set to kick off June 13th and go into November, they’ll be joined by a stellar lineup of openers including Tesla, Kansas, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Blackberry Smoke, Allman Betts Band and the Marshall Tucker Band on rotating dates.
Band members Gary Rossington, Johnny Van Zant and Rickey Medlocke recently talked about their decision to finally get back on the road after their three-year run on a previous farewell tour got halted just a few shows in during the third leg of it in 2020.
Hitting The Road Again
Van Zant called music the great healer:
“We were two shows into the end of the three-year plan for the farewell tour, when the virus hit and everything was just gone. Once something is taken away from you – music and touring in our case – you truly realize how important it is and such a part of your life.
Music is a great healer, and that’s what we all turn to when things are good or bad. A Skynyrd show is a family affair, and we want these dates to help heal our fans as much as ourselves.”
According to Rickey, it’s just what they do:
“I heard a great interview that a gal did with Merle Haggard. And she asked Merle Haggard, ‘Why do you go out here and you do this? You don’t need to do it, why is it that you do it?’
And he goes ‘Because I’m a musician, this is what I do. I play.’
That’s what we are, we’re musicians. We play. No matter what comes around, we love to be out here playin’ for the fans. I agree with Johnny and Gary. Music heals. And for the fans, it’s important for us to go back out there and help this nation kinda heal itself.”
Watch Johnny, Gary and Rick discuss how much this pandemic has affected their lives and careers.
Here’s a look at some of the newly-added stops:
2021 BIG WHEELS KEEP ON TURNIN’ TOUR DATES:
6/13/2021 Forest City, IA – Country Thunder Iowa
6/18/2021 Ft. Worth, TX – Billy Bob’s Texas
6/19/2021 Ft. Worth, TX – Billy Bob’s Texas
6/22/2021 Shakopee, MN – Twin Cities Summer Jam
7/23/2021 Minot, ND – North Dakota State Fair
8/9/2021 Canton, OH – Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium
8/10/2021 Jackson, MI – Jackson County Fair
8/13/2021 Atlanta, GA – Cellairis Amphitheatre at Lakewood
8/14/2021 Cullman, AL – Rock The South
8/19/2021 Canandaigua, NY – CMAC
8/20/2021 Bethel, NY – Bethel Woods Center for the Arts
8/22/2021 Wildwood, NJ – Barefoot Country Music Festival
8/27/2021 Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center
8/28/2021 Saratoga Springs, NY – Saratoga Performing Arts Center
9/3/2021 Paducah, KY – Touchdowns and Tunes Tailgate Party
9/4/2021 Durant, OK – Choctaw Grand Theater
9/17/2021 Selbyville, DE – Freeman Arts Pavilion
9/18/2021 Doswell, VA – After Hours Concerts at the Meadow Event Park
9/23/2021 Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center
9/27/2021 Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheater
10/1/2021 Irvine, CA – FivePoint Amphitheater
10/2/2021 Laughlin, NV – Laughlin Event Center
10/8/2021 Noblesville, IN – Ruoff Music Center
10/9/2021 Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center
11/5/2021 Knoxville, TN – Thompson Boling Arena
11/6/2021 Charleston, WV – Charleston Coliseum
11/13/2021 Greensboro, NC – Greensboro Coliseum
11/14/2021 Daytona Beach, FL – Welcome to Rockville
11/19/2021 Bossier City, LA – Brookshire Grocery Arena
Tickets for certain shows are already on sale, and tickets for remaining shows listed on their Instagram post go on sale June 11th.
