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Courtesy of Chipster PR

Courtesy of Chipster PR

Former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett kicks off a new North American tour tonight in North Tonawanda, New York. On the trek, the virtuosic musician and his backing group will play Genesis’ entire 1973 album, Selling England by the Pound, as well as songs from his 1979 solo effort, Spectral Mornings, and his latest album, 2019’s At the Edge of Light.

As Hackett explains to ABC Radio, he chose to perform Selling England by the Pound because it’s his favorite Genesis album. He also says he’s proud that John Lennon once revealed that he liked the record, too.

“That’s a very happy memory from that time,” Steve admits.

Hackett also points out that he’s augmenting his performance of Selling England by adding the song “Déjà Vu,” which Genesis started recording during sessions for the album, and he later completed and included on his 1997 solo record, Genesis Revisited.

In addition, Steve says he’ll be playing most of Spectral Mornings in honor of its 40th anniversary.

“It’s a much-loved album by me personally and fans of my early stuff,” Hackett tells ABC Radio, adding, “I heard recently that David Bowie liked it, and I’ve got no way of knowing whether that was true.”

Meanwhile, the new trek marks Hackett’s first North American outing since releasing At the Edge of Light. Steve says he’ll play a few tunes from the record, which he describes as “a rock album [with] a lot of world music sensibility.”

He notes that the record includes contributions from 20 musicians hailing from such countries as Azerbaijan, India and Iceland, as well as the U.K. and U.S.

“It’s a bit of a United Nations of an album,” Hackett says, “and I like that.”

Here are all of Steve’s North American tour dates:

9/12 — North Tonawanda, NY, Riviera Theatre
9/13 — Ithaca, NY, State Theatre
9/15 — Quebec City, QC, Canada, Grand Theatre de Quebec
9/17 — Oakville, ON, Canada, Oakville Centre for Performing Arts
9/18 — Oakville, ON, Canada, Oakville Centre for Performing Arts
9/20 — Toronto, ON, Canada, Danforth Music Hall
9/21 — Montreal, QC, Canada, Place des Arts Threatre Maisonneuve
9/22 — Montreal, QC, Canada, Place des Arts Threatre Maisonneuve
9/24 — Boston, MA, Wilbur Theatre
9/25 — New York City, NY, Beacon Theatre
9/26 — Ridgefield, CT, The Ridgefield Playhouse
9/27 — Glenside, PA, Keswick Theatre
9/28 — Glenside, PA, Keswick Theatre
10/1 — Munhall, PA, Carnegie Music Hall of Homestead
10/2 — Cleveland, OH, Masonic Auditorium
10/3 — Grand Rapids, MI, 20 Monroe Live
10/4 — Milwaukee, WI, The Pabst Theatre
10/5 — Chicago, IL, Copernicus Center
10/7 — Minneapolis, MN, Pantages Theatre of Minneapolis
10/10 — Seattle, WA, Moore Theatre
10/11 — Vancouver, BC, Canada, Vogue Theatre
10/12 — Portland, OR, Revolution Hall
10/16 — Tucson, AZ, Fox Tucson Theatre
10/17 — Phoenix, AZ, The Van Buren
10/18 — Los Angeles, CA, Orpheum Theatre
10/19 — Sacramento, CA, Crest Theatre
10/20 — Oakland, CA, Fox Theater

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