Last year, Prog Rock/Art Rock legends King Crimson celebrated their 50th anniversary with an extensive tour. They're keeping up the roadwork in 2020 with a just-announced summer North American tour with The Zappa Band, a group featuring members of Frank Zappa's old backing group.
The We Paint Electric Rhythm Colour Tour will be coming to Rose Music Center near Dayton on June 24. Tickets ($23.50-$73) go on sale Friday, March 13 at noon via ticketmaster.com.
Joining Robert Fripp in King Crimson these days are Tony Levin, Pat Mastelotto, Gavin Harrison, Jeremy Stacey, Mel Collins and Jakko Jakszyk.
In a press release, Tony Levin says, "The Summer tour will be a throwback one for us in a few ways; great to be going back to outdoor venues, some of them the ‘sheds’ we played in the 1980’s. And we’ll be travelling by tour bus, old school! As for what pieces we’ll play, that hasn’t been decided yet, but will likely be a wide selection from the 50 years of Crimson repertoire. With 7 players on stage we can cover it all.”
The core Zappa Band features Ray White (lead vocals, guitar), Mike Keneally (guitar, keys, vocals), Scott Thunes (bass) and Robert Martin (keyboards, sax, vocals). Guitarist Jamie Kime and Zappa archivist Joe “Vaultmeister” Travers are also playing with the band.
Though not on the tour, Adrian Belew is the connective thread between the two bands. Belew was a crucial part of Crimson in the ’80s and ’90s and his work with Zappa in the late ’70s/early ’80s was his springboard to success. The Northern Kentucky guitar superhero has been solo-touring and performing alongside Jerry Harrison and Turkuaz at festival shows celebrating the 40th anniversary of seminal Talking Heads album Remain in Light, on which Belew appeared.
