Credit: Payley Photography
Credit: Payley Photography2019 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees The Zombies launch a new U.S. tour tonight in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The trek starts with a series of headlining shows before the British Invasion legends team up with founding Beach Boy Brian Wilson for a joint outing that begins August 31 in Las Vegas.
Zombies frontman Colin Blunstone tells ABC Radio that the tour’s two segments will be quite different for his band. The headlining dates will feature The Zombies’ current lineup “playing an hour and a half to two hours of some songs from the ’60s and some songs that we’ve recorded since we got back together again [in 1999], and maybe a couple of brand-new songs.”
Blunstone adds, “We’ll be playing ‘She’s Not There,’ ‘Time of the Season,’ ‘Tell Her No’ and a few songs from our last album [before the band’s 1968 breakup], Odessey and Oracle.”
When The Zombies hook up with Wilson, Colin notes, the band’s other surviving original members will join the trek and the group will play two sets, with the first featuring the current lineup playing some hits and obscure tracks, and the second showcasing the original members performing Odessey and Oracle in its entirety.
The 74-year-old singer says The Zombies will be playing one particular new song throughout the trek, revealing that the tune will be part of the band’s next studio album, which may be released in 2020.
As for how he and his band mates feel about touring with Wilson, Blunstone says, “I can assure you that the whole band will be in the wings watching him every night, because we were huge, huge fans of The Beach Boys in the ’60s and we’re huge fans of Brian Wilson now.”
Here are The Zombies’ headlining shows:
8/15 — Oshkosh, WI, Leach Amphitheater
8/17 — Cleveland, OH, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
8/19 — Ocean City, NJ, Ocean City Music Pier
8/21 — Ridgefield, CT, The Ridgefield Playhouse
8/23 — Beverly, MA, The Cabot
8/24 — Derry, NH, Tupelo Music Hall
8/25 — North Truro, MA, Payomet Performing Arts Center
8/27 — Fall River, MA, Narrows Center for the Arts
8/28 — Newark, NJ, Prudential Center – Grammy Museum Experience*
8/29 — Dewey Beach, DE, Bottle & Cork
9/29 — Rockville, MD, Robert E. Parilla Performing Arts Center
And here are the joint concerts with Brian Wilson:
8/31 — Las Vegas, NV, The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel and Casino
9/1 — Indio, CA, Fantasy Springs Casino
9/6 — Phoenix, AZ, Comerica Theatre
9/7 — Pala, CA, Pala Casino
9/8 — Santa Barbara, CA, Arlington Theatre
9/12 — Los Angeles, CA, The Greek Theatre
9/13 — Oakland, CA, The Fox Theatre
9/14 — Murphys, CA, Ironstone Amphitheatre
9/16 — Seattle, WA, Paramount Theatre
9/17 — Portland, OR, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
9/19 — Sandy, UT, Sandy City Amphitheater
9/20 — Denver, CO, Paramount Theater
9/22 — Milwaukee, WI, Riverside Theater
9/23 — Cincinnati, OH, Taft Theatre
9/24 — Detroit, MI, Masonic Temple Theatre
9/26 — New York, NY, Beacon Theatre
9/27 — Waterbury, CT, Palace Theater
9/28 — Upper Darby, PA, Tower Theater
* = conversation and performance with Rod Argent and Colin Blunstone.
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