Primus has announced an extensive, 46-date, coast-to-coast extension of its wildly popular ‘A Tribute To Kings’ Tour, paying homage to prog-rock legends, Rush. ‘A Tribute To Kings’ will find the Bay area trio performing Rush’s 1977 album ‘A Farewell To Kings’ in its entirety, following a set of their own music. As bassist Les Claypool told Rolling Stone, the tour is about paying tribute to a band that has given him so much inspiration over the years.
“Hemispheres was my first concert,” Claypool said, referring to Rush’s 1978 album and tour. “Originally we’d always kind of joked around about doing Hemispheres…but we settled on Kings, because A) it was the first Rush record I ever heard and B) it contains ‘Cygnus X-1,’ which has always been my favorite Rush tune. It seems to be a good one for us to tackle; 2112 seemed a little obvious.”
The announcement follows the massive success of the first leg of ‘A Tribute To Kings,’ which was long-delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. It’s just the latest in a long series of Rush-related milestones for Primus, who first opened for their musical heroes in 1992.
“Geddy, Alex and Neil had been superheroes to Larry, Herb and I in our teens,” Claypool recalled, “so when we all became pals while touring together in the early ’90s, we were pretty delighted; partially because of the musical geek-out factor but mostly because the three guys whom we had admired so much from afar, turned out to be truly great, down-to-earth humans, and like us, a tad eccentric.”
Kicking off in Oklahoma City before winding its way throughout the US, the second leg of ‘A Tribute To Kings’ will also include the tour’s first stops in Canada, beginning with two dates in Toronto on May 13-14. Rush was formed in Toronto in 1968. The second leg will also feature special guests Battles, Black Mountain, and The Black Angels.
Primus ‘A Tribute To Kings’ Tour Dates
Friday, April 15 – Oklahoma City, OK – The Criterion *
Saturday, April 16 – San Antonio, TX – Majestic Theatre *
Tuesday, April 19 – Springfield, MO – Gillioz Theatre *
Wednesday, April 20 – Kansas City, MO – Grinders KC *^
Friday, April 22 – Cedar Rapids, IA – McGrath Amphitheatre *^
Saturday, April 23 – Madison, WI – The Sylvee *
Monday, April 25 – Knoxville, TN – Tennessee Theatre*
Wednesday, April 27 – New Orleans, LA – Saenger Theatre *^
Saturday, April 30 – Huntsville, AL – Mars Music Hall, Von Braun Center *
Tuesday, May 3 – Miami Beach, FL – The Fillmore *
Wed, May 4 – St. Petersburg, FL – Mahaffey Theater, Duke Energy Center for the Arts *
Friday, May 6 – North Charleston, SC – North Charleston Performing Arts Center *
Saturday, May 7 – Saint Augustine, FL – The Saint Augustine Amphitheatre *
Monday, May 9 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium *
Tuesday, May 10 – Fort Wayne, IN – The Clyde Theatre *
Friday, May 13 – Toronto, ON – Massey Hall +
Saturday, May 14 – Toronto, ON – Massey Hall +
Monday, May 16 – Montreal, QC – L’Olympia +
Tuesday, May 17 – Quebec, QC – Videotron Centre +
Wednesday, May 18 – Albany, NY – Palace Theatre *
Friday, May 20 – Port Chester, NY – The Capitol Theatre *
Saturday, May 21 – Montclair, NJ – Wellmont Theater *
Sunday, May 22 – Huntington, NY – The Paramount *
Tuesday, May 24 – Washington, D.C. – Warner Theatre *
Wednesday, May 25 – Bethlehem, PA – The Wind Creek Event Center *
Friday, May 27 – Atlantic City, NJ – Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa *
Saturday, May 28 – LaFayette, NY – Beak & Skiff Apple Orchards *
Monday, May 30 – Louisville, KY – Old Forester’s Paristown Hall *
Tuesday, May 31 – Grand Rapids, MI – GLC Live at 20 Monroe *
Thursday, June 2 – Milwaukee, WI – BMO Harris Pavilion *^
Friday, June 3 – Saint Paul, MN – Palace Theatre *
Saturday, June 4 – Winnipeg, MB – Burton Cummings Theatre for the Performing Arts +
Monday, June 6 – Regina, SK – Conexus Arts Centre – Capital Auto Theatre +
Tuesday, June 7 – Saskatoon, SK – TCU Place – Sid Buckwold Theatre +
Thursday, June 9 – Calgary, AB – Grey Eagle Event Centre, Grey Eagle Resort & Casino +
Friday, June 10 – Edmonton, AB – Edmonton Expo Centre +
Sunday, June 12 – Vancouver, BC – The Orpheum +
Tuesday, June 14 – Troutdale, OR – Edgefield ~
Wednesday, June 15 – Redding, CA – Redding Civic Auditorium ~
Friday, June 17 – Sacramento, CA – Sacramento Memorial Auditorium ~
Saturday, June 18 – Reno, NV – Grand Theatre, Grand Sierra Resort and Casino ~
Sunday, June 19 – San Jose, CA – San Jose Civic ~
Tuesday, June 21 – Santa Barbara, CA – Arlington Theatre ~
Thursday, June 23 – Riverside, CA – Riverside Municipal Auditorium ~
Fri, June 24 – Long Beach, CA – Terrace Theater, Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center ~
Saturday, June 25 – Las Vegas, NV – The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas ~^
* with Battles
+ with Black Mountain
~ with The Black Angels
^ Tickets are currently on sale for these performances
