Pick a Day

Music History Events: Tours

September 20, 1995 Ex-10,000 Maniacs frontwoman Natalie Merchant kicks off her first solo tour in New Orleans with her first solo album Tigerlily at #15 on The Billboard 200.

April 12, 1995 Dave Grohl's new band Foo Fighters starts a club tour in Tempe, Arizona, opening for Mike Watt. Grohl is also Watt's drummer for the tour, and an incognito Eddie Vedder is his guitarist.

February 26, 1995 Former Led Zeppelin duo Jimmy Page and Robert Plant kick off a year-long world tour in Pensacola, Florida, supporting their live No Quarter reunion album.

April 20, 1994 Barbra Streisand begins her first tour since 1966, performing in London.

March 30, 1994 In Miami, Pink Floyd begin their last world tour, the Division Bell tour.

June 2, 1993 Jamiroquai kick off a 13-date UK tour at Royal Holloway College in Egham.

June 2, 1993 Aerosmith appear at the Landon Arena in Kansas, the first night on their 169-date Get A Grip world tour.

March 1, 1990 In Miami, Janet Jackson sets out on her first headlining tour, the Rhythm Nation World Tour 1990. The dazzling stage show sees Jackson and her dancers re-creating some of the music videos, culminating with the crisply choreographed "Rhythm Nation." Two days later, a single from the album, "Escapade," hits #1.

February 14, 1990 The Rolling Stones begin their first-ever tour of Japan at Tokyo's Korakuen Dome.

July 23, 1989 Ringo Starr debuts his All Starr Band at a show in Dallas. The band is a rotating cast of musicians who are expected to play some of their hits at every show. At this one, he gets a little help from his friends Joe Walsh ("Life In The Fast Lane," "Desperado," "Rocky Mountain Way"), Dr. John ("Candy," "Right Place, Wrong Time") and Levon Helm of The Band ("The Weight," "Up On Cripple Creek").

June 5, 1989 The Doobie Brothers begin their reunion tour, their first with their original lineup since 1975.

September 24, 1988 Graham Parker opens a solo acoustic tour at the University of Rhode Island.

July 14, 1988 Michael Jackson begins his first-ever UK tour at Wembley Stadium in London.

August 14, 1987 Guns N' Roses kick off their first North American tour at a show in Halifax, Nova Scotia. They're the opening act for The Cult.

July 5, 1984 The The Everly Brothers 1984 Reunion Concert Tour kicks off in Cincinnati. After 10 years apart the group reunited in 1983 for a reunion concert, which led to the album Story of Me and the subsequent tour.

December 11, 1981 George Thorogood completes his 50/50 tour in Pasadena, California, covering all 50 states in 50 days. Many of the venues were chosen because they were on the route, so he ended up playing places like Moorhead, Minnesota and Flagstaff, Arizona.

November 20, 1981 In Pittsburgh, Prince begins his Controversy tour with a band he created, The Time, as his opening act. Members of The Time include Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, who go on to become a top production team, best known for their work with Janet Jackson.

February 22, 1980 In Fort Worth, Texas, Rick James launches his first headlining tour, with Prince as opening act. Both released their debut albums in 1978, but James is the more popular artist at this point.

March 16, 1979 CBS airs the Wings Over the World documentary, chronicling the adventures of Paul McCartney's band Wings on their 1975-1976 tour.

September 9, 1975 Paul McCartney and Wings begin their historic 13-month world tour. US performances will be recorded as the double LP Wings Over America. The group plays to over two million fans total during the course of the tour.

March 1, 1974 Queen launch their first headlining tour with a show at Winter Gardens in Blackpool. Tickets are £1 if purchased in advance.

September 23, 1966 The Rolling Stones launch a tour of Britain at Royal Albert Hall in London, with the upstart act Ike & Tina Turner, who have a big UK hit with "River Deep - Mountain High," opening.

April 30, 1965 Bob Dylan begins the tour immortalized in the documentary Don't Look Back, performing at the City Hall in Sheffield, England.

March 20, 1965 The first Motown package tour begins in the UK with a show in North London. On the bill are The Supremes, The Temptations, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, and Martha & the Vandellas.

June 4, 1964 The Beatles begin their first world tour, playing the K.B. Hallen Gardens in Copenhagen, Denmark. Session drummer Jimmy Nicol, wearing Ringo's suit, sits in for the ailing drummer for this and the next five dates.

January 23, 1959 The "Winter Dance Party" tour gets underway with a show at the Million Dollar Ballroom in Milwaukee. Before the tour is over, headliners Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper are killed in a plane crash.More

March 31, 1957 Sun Records stars Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins begin a tour of the South in Little Rock, Arkansas, with Jerry Lee Lewis as a support act.

September 27, 2019 Metallica postpone their WorldWired tour so frontman James Hetfield can go back to rehab. Hetfield has struggled with addiction throughout the band's career.

August 26, 2019 Ed Sheeran wraps up his ÷ (Divide) tour with a show at Chantry Park in Ipswich, England, near his hometown of Framlingham. The tour started on March 16, 2017 and set the record for highest-grossing tour, earning $775.6 million over 255 shows. After two-and-a-half years on the road, he's ready for a rest. "This is my last gig for probably 18 months," he tells the crowd.

October 4, 2017 In San Francisco, T-Pain kicks off an acoustic tour, performing his hits without his famous Auto-Tune.