Legendary YES vocalist/songwriter Jon Anderson will tour with the Paul Green Rock Academy starting July 30.
The “Jon Anderson With The Paul Green Rock Academy” tour is a resumption of the tradition started in 2005 when Jon toured with the original School Of Rock all-stars. These shows, over 30 in total between 2006 and 2008, were nothing short of magical, and now Jon Anderson returns to continue that magic with a set of YES classics, deep cuts, mash-ups, and solo works, all with lush arrangements featuring choral singing, horns, and all the other benefits of having a backing band of 25 young musicians.
Says Jon: “The one thing about creating music with young musicians and singers is the adventure of it all. I sang and toured with the Paul Green School Of Rock many years ago… It was a miracle for me to join in with their young energy… And learn from them. Now here we are with the Paul Green Rock Academy… And again, their excitement and joy for making music really makes it all worthwhile. Plus they are a really talented bunch. There is a future in music, and these young souls prove it every time i hear them sing and play… I know you will have a wonderful evening spending time with the future of rock ‘n’ roll. Many blessings…”
Tour dates:
Jul. 30 – Patchogue Theater – Patchogue, NY
Aug. 01 – Blue Ocean Music Hall – Salisbury, MA
Aug. 03 – Rams Head on Stage – Annapolis, MD
Aug. 05 – Ridgefield Playhouse – Ridgefield, CT
Aug. 07 – Colonial Theatre – Phoenixville, PA
Aug. 09 – Ocean City Music Pier – Ocean City, NJ
Aug. 19 – Des Plaines Theatre – Des Plaines, IL
Aug. 21 – Arcada Theatre – St. Charles, IL
Aug. 24 – Palace Theatre – Canton, OH
Aug. 27 – Paramount Theatre – Huntington, NY
Aug. 28 – Stadium Theater – Woonsocket, RI
Anderson co-founded YES in 1968 with bassist Chris Squire, and remained with the band until 2008, when YES replaced him with Benoit David, an Anderson sound-alike who previously fronted the YES tribute band CLOSE TO THE EDGE. David left YES in 2012 and was replaced by Jon Davison.
Last July, Howe told Rolling Stone that there is virtually no chance of the surviving members of YES reuniting for a tour.
“I don’t think [the fans] should stay up late nights worrying about that,” he said. “There’s just too much space out there between people. To be in a band together or even to do another tour like ‘Union’ is completely unthinkable,” referencing the group’s 1990 “Union” LP and tour, which brought together the previous YES album’s lineup (Jon Anderson, Chris Squire, Trevor Rabin, Alan White, Tony Kaye) and the then-ex-YES members’ group ANDERSON BRUFORD WAKEMAN HOWE (Jon Anderson, Bill Bruford, Rick Wakeman and Steve Howe). “It was difficult when we went through that, particularly because of the personalities,” Howe said. “I’m not saying any one person is to blame, but when you get a big hodgepodge like that together, it’s pretty much a nightmare. We made a nightmare of possibly a good thing back in 1990. I don’t think there is the stamina or the appetite for that kind of thing again.”
Anderson, Wakeman and Rabin had started touring as ARW: ANDERSON, RABIN AND WAKEMAN in 2016 and then adopted the YES FEATURING JON ANDERSON, TREVOR RABIN, RICK WAKEMAN moniker shortly after the group’s 2017 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction.
Howe last toured with Anderson and Wakeman in 2004.
YES has released over 20 albums across its career, including its self-titled debut in 1969, “Tales from Topographic Oceans”, in 1973, and its last album, “Heaven & Earth”, which came out in 2014.
Photo credit: Deborah Anderson
