Shaw/Blades to tour again

It’s the announcement Shaw/Blades fans have been waiting for. The duo—Styx/Damn Yankees guitarist/vocalist Tommy Shaw and Night Ranger/Damn Yankees bassist/vocalist Jack Blades—will hit the road once again starting November 7 in Petaluma, CA and concluding in December 8 in Nashville, TN in support of their critically acclaimed INFLUENCE album.
After the first round of tour dates ended May 31 in Chicago, Tommy and Jack promised their fans that they would be back for another trek after taking time to tour with their respective bands. In addition to songs from INFLUENCE—which was released March 6 on VH1 Classic Records--fans will get a dose of some of their favorite Styx, Night Ranger and Damn Yankees songs, all performed acoustically. It’s an intimate evening of music courtesy of Tommy, Jack and guitarist Will Evankovich (of American Drag).
Speaking about a concert in Alexandria, VA earlier this year, Rick Landers of Modernguitars.com hailed: “Jack and Tommy have pulled together a winning act out of the ashes of classic rock ballads that is as entertaining as stand up comedy as it is musically. This is a show not to be missed.”
Before the tour kicks off, Jack and Tommy will make a return visit to the “Howard Stern Show” on Wednesday, October 24 to talk about the upcoming tour and perform songs live. The duo first appeared on the Sirius Satellite Radio morning show in March.
INFLUENCE is the duo’s first album since their recently re-released 1995 debut, HALLUCINATION. Like the debut--and unlike their history-carving decades as icons in the more hard-rock minded Styx, Night Ranger and Damn Yankees--the latest release is rooted in acoustic guitar and organic production, harvesting a decade of musical influences into 11 tracks (on which Blades and Shaw played all the music except for drums and the occasional keyboards). With classics from the ‘60s and ‘70s including the Mamas and the Papas’ “California Dreamin’,” Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth” and Steely Dan’s “Dirty Work,” INFLUENCE offers a track-by-track chronology of the musical era that helped define modern rock.
The album has been garnering rave reviews since its release. Greg Prato of All Music Guide praised, “Impressively consistent from beginning to end, INFLUENCE is certainly one of the better ‘all covers' albums of recent times.”
One of the most prolific duos in the history of hard rock, Tommy and Jack have sold more than 50 million albums amongst their three bands, scored 12 Top 10 singles on the Billboard “Hot 100” chart, debuted 16 albums in the Billboard “Top 200” albums chart, and share joint songwriting credits for the likes of Ozzy Osbourne, Aerosmith, Cher and Alice Cooper.

Here are the confirmed tour dates:
Wed 11/7 Petaluma, CA Mystic Theatre Petaluma
Thu 11/8 San Juan Capistrano, CA Coach House
Fri 11/9 San Juan Capistrano, CA Coach House
Sat 11/10 Agoura Hills, CA Canyon Club
Sun 11/11 Las Vegas, NV Canyon Club Las Vegas
Wed 11/14 Indianapolis, IN Music Mill
Thu 11/15 St. Charles, MO Ameristar Casino/Bottleneck Blues Bar
Fri 11/16 Chicago, IL Joe’s
Sat 11/17 Pittsburgh, PA Rex Theatre
Sun 11/18 Akron, OH Tangiers
Wed 11/21 Ft. Lauderdale, FL The Culture Room
Fri 11/23 Duluth, GA Wild Bills Atlanta
Sat 11/24 Mooresville, NC Feeling Lucky Tavern
Mon 11/26 Annapolis, MD Rams Head on Stage
Thu 12/6 Columbus, OH LC Pavilion
Fri 12/7 South Bend, IN Club Fever
Sat 12/8 Nashville, TN Wildhorse Saloon

About VH1 Classic
Launched in 2000, VH1 Classic is a 24-hour network that presents music videos, concerts and music specials all day long, featuring the best rock, soul and pop artists from the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s including The Beatles, The Stones, Tina Turner, Led Zeppelin, Marvin Gaye, The Who, Stevie Wonder, The Police and many more.

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