Fred Turner (left) and Randy Bachman (Photo from Bachman’s Facebook page)
Legendary guitarist and songwriter Randy Bachman has announced more 2024 concerts for the resurrection of his iconic ’70s rock band Bachman-Turner Overdrive (BTO), with his 55-year-old son, Tal, along with several touring musicians. Randy Bachman’s brothers, Robbie, and Tim, both founding members of BTO, both died in 2023. (Tal is best known for his 1999 solo hit, “She’s So High.”) The latest concerts, revealed today (April 2), will see BTO as the opening act for Heart. A pre-sale for the new dates begins at 12N local time; tickets for the general public go on sale April 5 at 10 a.m. here. See the itinerary below.
Randy Bachman, Fred Turner, and Tal Bachman are also writing and recording new songs and planning more BTO tour dates around the world. A BTO concert movie, filmed in 1976, is slated for 2024 release, as is a double live album recorded that same year at Tokyo’s famed Budokan.
The press announcement noted that original BTO bassist and lead vocalist C.F. “Fred” Turner “is on track to start helping Randy put it all together as soon as he can.” Turner also released a statement, “I am so glad to hear Randy is going forward with Bachman Turner Overdrive. I’m sure it will be a great venture and I hope Randy gets a great kick out of doing this with Tal and the band. The rest of us will be watching and wishing you every success. Go for it my good buddy.”
The new Bachman-Turner Overdrive lineup previewed the new run of dates with a Sept. 22 concert at the Big E Arena in West Springfield, Mass., one of several shows they did in Fall 2023. The 16-song set featured such BTO classics as “Roll On Down the Highway” and “Takin’ Care of Business,” while also performing such Guess Who favorites as “No Time” and “American Woman.”
Tal Bachman performed his solo hit, “She’s So High.”
The sole encore was “Takin’ Care of Business.”
Thanks to audience member Henry LaPierre for the videos.
Bachman, who turned 80 on Sept. 27, teamed with Burton Cummings for a series of 2022 reunion concerts (that had previously been postponed due to the pandemic) where they performed classic rock hits from the Guess Who and BTO as well as Cummings solo material. There was talk of more to come, but that appears to have subsided for now as Cummings has also scheduled dates with his own band.
Related: Bachman and Cummings have filed a lawsuit against a Guess Who “cover band”
Bachman Turner Overdrive in 1974 (L–R: Fred Turner, Robbie Bachman, Randy Bachman, Blair Thornton) (Photo from their Wikipedia page)
Bachman-Turner Overdrive formed in Canada in 1973. The original BTO lineup had Randy Bachman (lead guitar, lead vocals), Fred Turner (bass, lead vocals), Tim Bachman (guitar, vocals) and Robbie Bachman (drums). Following the departure of Tim Bachman and the addition of Blair Thornton on lead guitar, the band’s commercial prospects brightened, with the back-to-back single hits “Takin’ Care of Business,” which reached #12 in the U.S., and “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet,” a #1 hit. Their 1974 album, Not Fragile, reached #1 in the U.S. and Canada.
BTO 2024 Tour Dates (Tickets are available here and here)
Jun 13 – Niagara Falls, ON – Fallsview Casino
Jun 14 – Windsor, ON – Caesars Windsor
Jun 16 – Nashville, IN – Brown County Music Center
Jun 19 – Clear Lake, IA – Surf Ballroom
Jun 20 – Mayetta, KS – Prairie Band Casino & Resort
Jun 21 – Newkirk, OK – First Council Casino
Jun 22 – Tulsa, OK – The Cove Margaritaville at River Spirit Casino Resort
Jul 19 – Henderson, NV – Lee’s Family Forum
Jul 20 – Layton, UT – Kenley Centennial Amphitheater
Jul 22 – Idaho Falls, ID – Mountain America Center
Jul 24 – Airway Heights, WA – Northern Quest Casino
Aug 20 – Vancouver, ON – Pacific Coliseum
Aug 22 – Greenville, OH – Great Drake County Fair
Aug 23 – Northfield, OH – MGM Northfield
Aug 30 – Saint Michael, ND – Spirit Lake Casino & Resort
Sep 13 – Atlantic City, NJ – The Borgata
Sep 20 – Staten Island, NY – St. George Theatre
Sep 22 – Greensburg, PA – Palace Theater
Sep 23 – Bloomsburg, PA – Bloomsburg Fair
Nov 24 – Winnipeg, MB – Canada Life Centre*
Nov 27 – Saskatoon, SK – SaskTel Centre*
Nov 29 – Edmonton, AB – Rogers Place*
Nov 30 – Calgary, AB – Scotiabank Saddledome*
*Opening for Heart
More dates to be announced.
Related: Listings for 100s of classic rock tours
Watch Bachman and Turner perform a BTO favorite (with Paul Shaffer)
BTO’s recordings are available here.
4 Comments so far
Jump into a conversationHopefully, Blair Thornton will be included in this regrouping, particularly in light of the passing of Robbie and Tim Bachman (R.I.P.), earlier this year.
Glad to see they are actually touring, and working on a new album – Still enjoy their albums 50 years on.
It’s not BTO without TURNER!
This is a tough call. While Fred and Blair have blessed this, there is no real way it’s BTO without Fred actually being there. He’s just way too integral to so many tunes. Especially if they will dive deep, which they say they will. Not Fragile, Sledgehamner. 4 Wheel Drive etc.really don’t work without him!!
Randy and Fred both sang their share of BTO hits, so my question is, who’s going to sing the Turner songs? Roll on Down the Highway, Let it Ride, Blue Collar, Take it Like a Man, Gimme Your Money Please? This is Bachman – Bachman Overdrive.