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Paul Simon announces farewell tour

By Theresa Seiger, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
By Theresa Seiger, Cox Media Group National Content Desk

Legendary musician Paul Simon announced Monday that he plans to retire from touring over the summer.

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Simon, 76, said he will kick off his “Homeward Bound – The Farewell Tour” on May 16 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The tour will wind through the U.S. and Europe before coming to an end July 15 in London.

“I’ve often wondered what it would feel like to reach the point where I’d consider bringing my performing career to a natural end,” Simon wrote in a statement posted Monday on Twitter. “Now I know: it feels a little unsettling, a touch exhilarating and something of a relief.”

He said the decision came after the death of his friend and lead guitarist Vincent N’guini, who died in December.

“His loss is not the only reason I’ve decided to stop touring, but it is a contributing factor,” Simon said. “Mostly, though, I feel the travel and time away from my wife and family takes a toll that detracts from the joy of playing.”

Simon said that despite his retirement from touring, he’ll likely continue to perform occasionally “in a (hopefully) acoustically pristine hall … to donate those earnings to various philanthropic organizations, particularly those whose objective is to save the planet, ecologically.”

The following tour dates were announced Monday:

Date City Venue
May 16 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Rogers Arena
May 18 Seattle Key Arena
May 19 Portland, Oregon MODA Center
May 22 Los Angeles Hollywood Bowl
May 23 Los Angeles Hollywood Bowl
May 25 Oakland, California Oracle Arena
May 27 Las Vegas MGM Grand Garden Arena
May 30 Denver Fiddler’s Green
June 1 Dallas American Airlines Arena
June 2 Houston Toyota Center
June 4 Austin, Texas Frank Erwin Center
June 6 Chicago United Center
June 8 St. Paul, Minnesota Xcel Energy Center
June 10 Detroit DTE Energy Center
June 12 Toronto, Ontario, Canada Air Canada Centre
June 13 Montreal, Quebec, Caada Bell Centre
June 15 Boston TD Garden
June 16 Philadelphia Wells Fargo Center
June 19 Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro Coliseum
June 20 Nashville, Tennessee Bridgestone Arena
June 30 Stockholm Ericsson Globe
July 1 Oslo, Norway Spektrum
July 3 Copenhagen, Denmark Royal Arena
July 5 Antwerp, Belgium Sportpaleis
July 7 Amsterdam, Holland Ziggo Dome
July 10 Manchester, United Kingdom Manchester Arena
July 11 Glasgow, United Kingdom SSE Hydro
July 13 Dublin RDS Arena
July 15 London Hyde Park, BST Festival

Simon has earned 16 Grammy Awards over a career that has spanned more than six decades. In 2003, he and Art Garfunkel were awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award for their work as the folk rock duo “Simon & Garfunkel.”

Simon has sold more than 100 million records across the globe. He is a member of the Songwriters and the Rock ‘n’ Roll halls of fame.

Tickets for Paul Simon’s “Homeward Bound – The Farewell Tour” will go on sale in the U.S. at 10 a.m. on Feb. 9.

Cox Media Group

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