Moody Blues’ John Lodge Announces Solo Tour, New Live Release
Moody Blues bassist John Lodge is heading out on his own again this fall, with both a tour and a new release.
Still promoting his 2015 solo album 10,000 Light Years Ago, Lodge will hit the road with his own band for a 10-date U.S. tour on October 25 in Vienna, Va., playing mostly on the East Coast and wrapping up November 8 at the City Winery in New York.
Meanwhile, November 20 will see the release of John Lodge: Live From Birmingham — The 10,000 Light Years Tour on CD and DVD. Recorded last year in England, the set features Lodge and his band performing material from the album as well as the Moody Blues favorites “Ride My See Saw,” “Isn’t Life Strange,” “Gemini Dream” and others, as well as “Saved By The Music” from his “Blue Jays” project with Moodys bandmate Justin Hayward.
The set is available for pre-order starting September 7 via PledgeMusic.com.
10,000 Light Years Ago was Lodge’s first solo album in 38 years, and he tells us that the Moodys lack of recording inspired him to do his own work again:
“Y’know, I’m a Moody Blue. We’ve been committed to live performances for such a long time, the last 10 years in particular. That has really taken priority, and every time I thought about getting into the studio the record company called, ‘We’ve got to do this box set now called ‘Time Flies,’ ‘ yknow…It just came to the point where I really had to get back in the studio and record the songs I’ve been writing. I had this idea for this album for quite a few years now. The timing was just right for me, just perfect timing. My head was in the right place to finish all the writing and put together the people.”
10,000 Light Years Ago features nine tracks, including a reunion with former Moody Blues members Ray Thomas and Mike Pinder on the track “Simply Magic.”
John Lodge – 2017 Fall U.S. Tour Dates
October 26 – Vienna, VA – The Barns at Wolf Trap
October 28 – Albany, NY – The Egg Center for the Performing Arts
October 29 – Peekskill, NY – Paramount Hudson Valley Theater
October 30 – Sellersville, PA – Sellersville Theatre
November 1 – Portland, ME – Aura
November 2 – Plymouth, NH – The Flying Monkey Movie House and Performance Center
November 3 – Hartford, CT – Infinity Hall
November 5 – Wilmington, DE – The Queen
November 6 – Annapolis, MD – Rams Head on Stage
November 8 – New York, NY – City Winery
Gary Graff is an award-winning music journalist who not only covers music but has written books on Bob Seger, Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen.
