Steve Vai, Zakk Wylde, Yngwie Malmsteen return for massive Generation Axe tour
Steve Vai's progressive guitar supergroup Generation Axe have announced a sprawling North American tour that will run from November through to the end of the year. The 32-date tour kicks off in Oakland, CA, at the Fox Theater on November 7, and will return to markets where the inaugural tour was celebrated and hit several new cities for the first time, before wrapping up on December 18, in Los Angeles. You can find the full schedule for the tour below.
Generation Axe features five of the most reputed guitarists from the world of rock and metal. Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen, Zakk Wylde, Nuno Bettencourt (Extreme) and Tosin Abisi (Animals as Leaders) come together to play songs from their various catalogs and collaborate onstage in various combinations to play some innovative covers.
The Generation Axe experience goes way beyond simply gathering five guitar greats on one stage to jam,” Steve Vai said in the press release for the trek. “The idea was to create a seamless show with one backing band and five completely accomplished and astonishing guitarists that take to the stage in various configurations, performing some of their solo music and merging together as cohesive co-creators of lushly orchestrated guitar extravaganzas.”
"Guitar Jams like this can get really messy when there is no organization and my idea was to create parts for everybody to play in harmony and off each other so it’s not a mess of noise. This worked out remarkably well. There are places where everyone is playing together in wild harmony."
Joining the guitar maestro quintet for the trek are bassist Pete Griffin (Dweezil Zappa, Stanley Clarke, Edgar Winter), keyboardist Nick Marinovich (Yngwie Malmsteen) and drummer JP Bouvet.
To make this rare event even more special, Generation Axe VIP packages will be offered, giving fans access to these guitars masters and exclusive one-of-a-kind memorabilia. A front row package, a meet-and-greet package, and a VIP tour package will be available. General tickets go on sale on July 13. Check out the official website for more details.
This is the second US tour for Generation Axe, which last joined forces in 2016 (in North America) and 2017 (in Asia). The group’s last tour included covers of classic songs such as Deep Purple’s 'Highway Star' and the Edgar Winter Group’s 'Frankenstein.'
Generation Axe 2018 North American Tour Dates:
Nov. 07 - Oakland, Calif. @ Fox Theater
Nov. 08 - Anaheim, Calif. @ City National Grove
Nov. 09 - Las Vegas, Nev. @ The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Nov. 10 - Tempe, Ariz. @ Marquee Theatre #
Nov. 11 - Albuquerque, N.M. @ El Rey Theater
Nov. 13 - Denver, Colo. @ Paramount Theatre – Denver
Nov. 15 - Kansas City, Mo. @ Uptown Theatre
Nov. 16 - Salina, Kan. @ The Stiefel Theatre
Nov. 17 - Tulsa, Okla. @ Brady Theater
Nov. 18 - Des Moines, Iowa @ Hoyt Sherman Theatre
Nov. 19 - Cincinnati, Ohio @ Taft Theatre
Nov. 20 - Grand Rapids, Mich. @ 20 Monroe Live
Nov. 21 - Detroit, Mich. @ Fillmore Detroit
Nov. 23 - Medford, Mass. @ The Chevalier Theater
Nov. 24 - Niagara Falls, N.Y. @ The Rapids Theatre
Nov. 25 - Kitchener, Ontario @ Centre in the Square
Nov. 27 - Bethlehem, Pa. @ Sands Bethlehem Event Center
Nov. 28 - Port Chester, N.Y. @ Capitol Theatre
Nov. 29 - Albany, N.Y. @ The Palace Theatre
Nov. 30 - Atlantic City, N.J. @ Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City – The Theater
Dec. 01 - Rochester, N.Y. @ Kodak Center
Dec. 03 - Greensburg, Pa. @ The Palace Theatre
Dec. 04 - Westbury, N.Y. @ NYCB Theatre at Westbury
Dec. 05 - Richmond, Va. @ The National
Dec. 08 - Atlanta, Ga. @ Tabernacle
Dec. 09 - Orlando, Fla. @ Hard Rock Live
Dec. 10 - Davie, Fla. @ Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Dec. 11 - Clearwater, Fla. @ Ruth Eckerd Hall
Dec. 13 - Austin, Texas @ The Moody Theater
Dec. 14 - Dallas, Texas @ The Bomb Factory
Dec. 16 - Salt Lake City, Utah @ The Complex – Rockwell
Dec. 18 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ The Wiltern