Renowned keyboardist Rick Wakeman, formerly of Yes, has announced that his final solo tour in the United States will take place soon. According to Wakeman, it is time to “call it a day.” On his official website, the musician disclosed a new series of live solo performances in North and South America which will represent the start of the last-ever stage performances as a “one-man-show.” The artist, however, hopes to continue his career as a musician by concentrating on composing, recording, and collaborating with other artists.
Wakeman will perform nine solo shows in the US in March of this year, which will mark the beginning of his “very last one-man show tours” in the US. The primary bulk of events, which could continue through 2025 if demand persists, will take place in October and November.
Over the course of his career, Wakeman has worked with numerous well-known performers, including Lou Reed, Elton John, Black Sabbath, and David Bowie. He has performed on some of Bowie’s most iconic tracks, including “Space Oddity,” Hunky Dory, and “Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.” Wakeman was with Yes for the majority of the band’s career, and his work appears on every album from their classic 1972 LP “Fragile” to their 1997 live album “Keys to Ascension 2.”
At his upcoming concerts, Wakeman will premiere a new piece of music called “Yessonata,” a 30-minute arrangement that will combine melodies from Yes material into a cohesive sonata form. The musician plans to commemorate his final solo tour with this piece.
The Final Solo Tours in North and South America will debut on March 19 in Ridgefield, Connecticut, at the Ridgefield Playhouse. Wakeman will then perform in other places, including Huntington, New York, and Vienna, Virginia, before travelling to South America for performances in Mexico City, Santiago, and São Paulo. Finally, the tour will end on April 15 at Curitiba, Brazil’s Opera de Arame. Anyone can purchase tickets for the tour from Wakeman’s website, where additional dates will be published shortly
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