Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell (Photo: Henry Diltz; used with permission)
America co-founders Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell are will resume celebrating their 50th anniversary tour in 2021. The pair shared their thoughts in May about how their lives were affected when their tour was interrupted in March 2020 at the outset of the pandemic.
The band earned seven Top 10 hits, two of which reached #1: their 1972 debut single “A Horse With No Name” and 1975’s “Sister Golden Hair.” Others include such well-known classic rock staples as “Tin Man,” “Ventura Highway” and “Lonely People.” They earned the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1973.
In August 2020, America released a lyric video for a newly recorded song, “Remembering,” which appeared on their 8-disc anniversary box set, Half Century (via America Records). The song, written by Beckley, is harmony-rich, with ringing guitars and a compelling soul-searching lyric. “After 50 years together, this song is about the time spent looking back rather than looking forward…so much to be grateful for,” he says.
By the time they return to touring, the band will have been off the road for a year and a half. “I have never before in my professional life had this much time ‘off’,” says Beckley. “The word is misleading because I’ve remained quite busy with writing and recording, something that usually takes a back seat to our hectic travel and performing schedule.”
“If we knew [the work stoppage] was going to be 14 months,” says Bunnell, “it may have been harder to endure. As each month passed, my mindset changed, slowly realizing it was going to be more of a marathon than simply a long-distance run. Thoughts and projections of when touring might resume seemed to change weekly and I missed the travel/performance life more each month.”
Watch them perform several favorites at the London Palladium in 2018
They were asked if there was anything in particular that they missed about touring?
“There’s a certain rhythm and pattern to life that develops over decades on the road that I treat as a challenge,” says Bunnell. “I’m a creature of habit, so airports and hotels and ground transport vehicles all have certain things in common that I respond to in a similar way each day that makes the experience more comfortable for me. I become more self-sustaining in many ways…doing laundry, carrying supplies and food items like a survivalist. The day is always focused on the evening show and it’s hard to beat the satisfaction I feel getting back to the room later in the evening after a successful show, leaving a happy audience headed home. Then it all starts again the following day.”
What will you be thinking about when you take the stage for the first time in 2021?
“I’m sure I’ll be thinking what a long strange trip it’s been,” says Beckley.
Watch the lyric video for “Remembering”
America 2021 Tour Dates (Tickets are available here and here)
Aug 13 – North Bethesda, MD – Music Center at Strathmore
Aug 14 – Swanzey, NH – Northlands
Aug 21 – Laughlin, NV – E Center at Edgewater Hotel
Aug 27 – Hyannis, MA – Cape Cod Melody Tent
Aug 28 – Cohasset, MA – South Shore Music Circus
Sep 11 – Mulvane, KS – Kansas Star Arena
Sep 17 – Savannah, GA – Johnny Mercer Theatre
Sep 25 – Lawrence, KS – Lied Center of Kansas
Oct 02 – Reno, NV – Silver Legacy Casino
Oct 05 – San Diego, CA – Humphreys Concerts By the Bay
Oct 17 – Durham, NC – Durham PAC
Oct 20 – Sioux Falls, SD – Washington Pavilion
Oct 22 – Mankato, MN – Grand Hall
Oct 23 – Akron, OH – Akron Civic Theatre
Oct 28 – Derry, NH – Tupelo Music Hall
Oct 30 – Joliet, IL – Rialto Square Theatre
Nov 06 – Queen Creek, AZ – Good Life Festival at Schnepf Farms
Nov 14 – San Antonio, TX – Tobin Center H-E-B Perf. Hall
Nov 18 – Clearwater, FL – Ruth Eckerd Hall
Nov 20 – Fort Pierce, fL – Sunrise Theatre
Nov 21 – Sarasota, FL – Van Wezel Perf. Arts Hall
Related: Listings for 100s of classic rock tours
1 Comment so far
Jump into a conversationGod Bless, I kept asking for you to come back to Paducah,Ky. Which you All did, 5/19/2019. My Dad passed away that weekend.
I still Have the Tickets, As I Couldn’t Make it That Evening, It was Mother’s Day. I Hope to Be Able To See You All Again. ✌️