Paul Simon coming out of retirement for first tour in 7 years
Paul Simon has announced his first solo tour in seven years.
Paul Simon is coming out of retirement for his first tour since 2018.
The 83-year-old music legend has announced the 50-date 'Quiet Celebration Tour' of North America, which will see him perform songs from his stripped-back 2023 album 'Seven Psalms' and other tracks from his vast catalogue.
Simon has chosen intimate venues after suffering "severe hearing loss" in recent years.
A press release noted: "The evolution of this extraordinary artist continues to unfold.
Simon chose to perform in intimate venues where the acoustics are optimal in consideration of the severe hearing loss that he incurred over the last few years."
The jaunt kicks off on April 4 in New Orleans and takes in 20 cities with multiple nights at the same venues.
Simon first revealed he was suffering hearing loss in May 2023 during an interview with The Times, but it has since improved enough for him to feel "comfortable" singing and performing live.
Speaking at a Q+A at the New York City premiere of his MGM+ docuseries ‘In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon’ last year, he said: “(My hearing has) come back to enough of a degree that I'm comfortable singing and playing guitar and playing a few other instruments.
“That’s good. I can hear my voice the way I want it in the context of the music.”
But if there is an instrument that’s too noisy, he struggles to perform.
He said: “If there's a drum or an electric guitar, it’s too loud and I can’t hear my voice.
“But when I first lost the hearing, I couldn’t get… it threw me off."
The tour announcements comes days after the 'Sound of Silence' singer performed Simon and Grafunkel classic 'Homeward Bound' with pop superstar Sabrina Carpenter on the opening night of the 'SNL50' special.
Meanwhile, Art Garfunkel recently admitted he's "in the mood" to reunite with Simon.
Garfunkel, also 83, and Simon haven't performed together in more than a decade - but he has refused to rule out the possibility of the 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' hitmakers performing together again.
Asked about the possibility of them reuniting, Garfunkel told The Independent: "We’ll see. I don’t know if he’s in the mood to work with me. I’m in the mood to work with him."
He cited Las Vegas as an ideal location for a possible reunion.
The pair recently had an emotional reunion.
The award-winning duo - who had an infamously turbulent working relationship - discussed some of their previous disagreements during lunch.
Garfunkel told The Sunday Times newspaper in November: "I actually had lunch with Paul a couple of weeks back. First time we’d been together in many years. I looked at Paul and said, 'What happened? Why haven’t we seen each other?'
"Paul mentioned an old interview where I said some stuff. I cried when he told me how much I had hurt him. Looking back, I guess I wanted to shake up the nice guy image of Simon and Garfunkel. Y’know what? I was a fool!"
'Quiet Celebration Tour' dates:
April 4 Saenger Theater, New Orleans, LA
April 5 Saenger Theater, New Orleans, LA
April 8 Bass Concert Hall, Austin, TX
April 10 Bass Concert Hall, Austin, TX
April 11 Bass Concert Hall, Austin, TX
April 14 Paramount Theatre, Denver, CO
April 16 Paramount Theatre, Denver, CO
April 17 Paramount Theatre, Denver, CO
April 20 Orpheum Theatre, Minneapolis, MN
April 22 Orpheum Theatre, Minneapolis, MN
April 23 Orpheum Theatre, Minneapolis, MN
April 26 Midland Theatre, Kansas City, MO
April 28 Stifel Theatre, St. Louis, MO
April 29 Stifel Theatre, St. Louis, MO
May 7 AT&T Performing Arts Center, Dallas TX
May 8 AT&T Performing Arts Center, Dallas TX
May 11 Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, TN
May 13 Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, TN
May 14 Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, TN
May 17 Riverside Theater, Milwaukee, WI
May 18 Riverside Theater, Milwaukee, WI
May 21 Symphony Center, Chicago, IL
May 23 Symphony Center, Chicago, IL
May 24 Symphony Center, Chicago, IL
May 27 Massey Hall, Toronto, ON
May 29 Massey Hall, Toronto, ON
May 30 Massey Hall, Toronto, ON
June 6 Wolf Trap, Vienna, VA
June 7 Wolf Trap, Vienna, VA
June 10 Boch Center, Wang Theatre, Boston, MA
June 12 Boch Center, Wang Theatre, Boston, MA
June 13 Boch Center, Wang Theatre, Boston, MA
June 16 Beacon Theater, New York, NY
June 18 Beacon Theater, New York, NY
June 20 Beacon Theater, New York, NY
June 21 Beacon Theater, New York, NY
June 23 Beacon Theater, New York, NY
June 26 Academy of Music, Philadelphia, PA
June 28 Academy of Music, Philadelphia, PA
June 29 Academy of Music, Philadelphia, PA
July 7 Terrace Theater, Long Beach Performing Arts Center, Long Beach CA
July 9 Disney Hall, Los Angeles, CA
July 11 Disney Hall, Los Angeles, CA
July 12 Disney Hall, Los Angeles, CA
July 14 Disney Hall, Los Angeles, CA
July 16 Disney Hall, Los Angeles, CA
July 19 Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco, CA
July 21 Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco, CA
July 22 Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco, CA
July 25 The Orpheum, Vancouver BC
July 26 The Orpheum, Vancouver BC
July 28 The Orpheum, Vancouver BC
July 31 Benaroya Hall, Seattle, WA
August 2 Benaroya Hall, Seattle, WA
August 3 Benaroya Hall, Seattle, WA
