By DJ Monk

Jethro Tull have announced a run of 11 dates for next Autumn, under the banner of ‘The Prog Years Tour’

This tour will draw heavily on material from Tull’s more ‘prog’ albums, much of it focussing on classic albums such as ‘Stand Up’, ‘Benefit’, ‘Aqualung’, ‘Thick As A Brick’, ‘Passion Play’ and even a touch of ‘Thick As A Brick 2’ from 2012.

Dates are as follows:

  • Wednesday 30 September – Aylesbury, The Waterside
  • Thursday 1 October – Leicester, De Montfort Hall
  • Saturday 3 October – Blackburn, St George’s Hall
  • Sunday 4 October – Perth, Concert Hall
  • Monday 5 October – Glasgow, Pavilion Theatre
  • Tuesday 6 October – Stoke-On-Trent, Victoria Hall
  • Thursday 8 October – London, Shepherd’s Bush Empire
  • Friday 9 October – Brighton, Dome
  • Saturday 10 October – Poole, Lighthouse
  • Monday 12 October – Reading, Hexagon
  • Tuesday 13 October – Bath, The Forum

Tickets go on sale at 9am next Wednesday (6 November) HERE.

Legendary Tull frontman Ian Anderson says of the tour:

“Dusting off many older ‘progressive’ songs amongst my earliest attempts to experiment outside the blues repertoire we began with has proved hugely enjoyable. Along the way, over the last 50 years, there have been a good few pieces that still strongly resonate with me today on either a musical or lyrical level. Hopefully both. Some are really tricky to play; some might sound that way but fall under the fingers quite naturally although the overall arrangements require feats of memory! Test my marbles; come to the party!”

Meanwhile, Anderson will also be appearing at a number of smaller venues for a more intimate evening of chat and archive video footage about his career and the history of Jethro Tull. He will be accompanied by guitarist Joe Parrish and audiences will be invited to “pose interesting and challenging questions”.

Dates confirmed so far, with more to be added, are:

  • Monday 20 April – Yeovil, Westlands
  • Tuesday 21 April – Bristol, St George’s
  • Wednesday 22 April – Cheltenham, Town Hall

Tickets will go on sale in late November. Check www.jethrotull.com for more information.