A month before their fall North American tour was set to kick off, Dream Theater have postponed the entire outing due to COVID-19 concerns. The trek will now kick off in February 2022, with the new dates to be announced shortly.
The progressive-metal veterans had planned to kick off the tour on October 28th, which would have timed nicely with the October 22nd release of their new album, A View From the Top of the World. While the LP will still arrive next month, the tour dates will have to wait.
In a post on their social media pages, Dream Theater wrote the following:
“In light of current instabilities to touring that remain due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we feel confident that this is the right decision. Know that we are as disappointed as you are that we will have to wait a little longer to bring Dream Theater music to you live. We miss performing for you all and can’t wait until we can be on stage bringing our new album and fan-favorites to you.
This was an extraordinarily challenging decision to make but needed to be done after taking into consideration the varying local mandates across North America. In an effort to present the absolute most complete and engaging Dream Theater experience that our fans around the globe have come to expect, we feel we are all best served to postpone all touring activities to early 2022. At this time, we ask that everyone hold on to their tickets as we are working frantically to finalize the reschedule of all of these dates. All shows are currently being re-booked to begin in February 2022. Please keep an eye on our website, and we’ll have a complete, updated itinerary shortly. All previously purchased tickets will be honored. Please consult your local point of purchase for any inquiries regarding refunds.
We know that we all have eagerly awaited a return to normalcy, and the opportunity to enjoy live Dream Theater music together again. We apologize profusely but hope that everyone can understand the logic behind this decision.
Playing music for our fans is all we ever want to do. We look forward to seeing each and every one of our fans as soon as possible. We wish it could have been sooner, but we are counting the days until we can see you all again.”
In advance of the new album, Dream Theater have already released the songs “The Alien” and “Invisible Monster.” A View From the Top of the World is available for pre-order from Amazon and various merch outlets.
Stay tuned as new dates are announced for Dream Theater’s North American tour. In the meantime, check out our video interview with Dream Theater guitarist John Petrucci, who discusses the impact Rush had on him as a young fan.