2017 Experience Hendrix Tour Adds Names

Share This:

Update (Jan. 17): Aerosmith’s Brad Whitford and Los Lobos’ David Hidalgo and Cesar Rosas to select dates.

Whitford talks about Hendrix’s impact on him: ““I got to see Hendrix play in ’68 at the Boston Garden, and it was like, ‘Wow!’ I bought a Fender guitar the very next day.”

“I’ve been a fan since ’67, when the first album came out. My older brother brought it home and that was it. I never looked back,” says Hidalgo, who cites Jimi Hendrix as a major influence on Los Lobos.

Our original item when the tour was announced…

The 2017 Experience Hendrix Tour, which will run from February 17-March 26, has announced its headlining musicians. Buddy Guy, Zakk Wylde, Billy Cox, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Beth Hart, Doyle Bramhall II, Dweezil Zappa are all slated to perform at the annual celebration of the music of Jimi Hendrix. This edition of the annual tour will be the most ambitious one to date, according to a press release, encompassing 29 performance dates, including a special engagement in Seattle, Hendrix’s hometown, at the city’s historic Paramount Theater.

Now in its second decade, the Experience Hendrix tour, says the press release, “celebrates the musical genius of Jimi Hendrix by bringing together a diverse array of phenomenal musicians.” Among the participants, Cox had a special relationship with Hendrix, having played bass with the late guitarist during the last years of the guitar icon’s life. The 2016 Experience Hendrix Tour sold out nearly every one of the 27 venues that hosted it.

Said Experience Hendrix Tour veteran Zakk Wylde, “When you listen to all the fellas and the gals that are out there on the tour, it isn’t just the great solos. They are great songs, you know. It’s not just about shredding. I’m totally honored to be part of it.”

Kenny Wayne Shepherd, who has closed every show he’s ever played since the age of 15 with the Jimi Hendrix Experience’s “Voodoo Child (Slight Return),” commented, “The music of Jimi Hendrix has always been a large influence on my life and music—in no small part due to his blues roots. He showed a lot of his influences and the foundation from which he built his music.”

Watch: Kenny Wayne Shepherd plays “Voodoo Chile” on this year’s Experience Hendrix Tour

Next year marks the 50th anniversary of the Jimi Hendrix Experience’s debut album Are You Experienced (released on May 12, 1967) as well as the follow up album Axis: Bold as Love (released in the UK on December 1, 1967).

This week sees the release of a new live Hendrix album Machine Gun: The First Fillmore East Show 12/31/1969, documenting Hendrix’s Band of Gypsys’ (with Cox) first concert ever, in its entirety.

Experience Hendrix Tour Dates (Tickets are available here)
Feb 17–Portland, OR–Schnitzer Hall|
Feb 18–Airway Heights, WA–Northern Quest Theater
Feb 19–Seattle, WA–Paramount Theate
Feb 20–Eugene, OR–Hult Center
Feb 22–Davis, CA–Mondavi Center
Feb 23–Santa Rosa, CA–Luther Burbank Center
Feb 24–Oakland, CA–Fox Theater
Feb 25–Reno, NV–Silver Legacy Casino
Feb 28–Mesa, AZ–Ikeda Theater
Mar 1–Los Angeles, CA–Wiltern
Mar 3–Indio, CA–Fantasy Springs Casino
Mar 4–Valley Center, CA–Harrahs Events Center
Mar 6–Salt Lake City, UT–Eccles Theatre
Mar 7–Denver, CO–Paramount Theater
Mar 9–Grand Prairie, TX–Verizon Theatre
Mar 10–Jackson, MS–Thalia Mara Hall
Mar 11– Houston, TX–Revention Music Center
Mar 12–San Antonio, TX – Majestic Theater
Mar 15–New Orleans, LA–Saenger Theater
Mar 16–Memphis, TN–Orpheum Theater
Mar 17–Tulsa, OK–Hard Rock Casino
Mar 18–St. Louis, MO–Peabody Opera House
Mar 19–Louisville, KY–The Palace Theater
Mar 21–Cincinnati, OH–Taft Theater
Mar 22–Indianapolis, IN–Murat Theatre
Mar 23–Detroit, MI–Fox Theatre
Mar 24-Milwaukee, WI-Riverside Theater
Mar 25–Chicago, IL–Chicago Theatre
Mar 26–Prior Lake, MN–Mystic Lake Casino