Lynyrd Skynyrd Rethink Farewell: ‘Maybe It’s Not Our Time to Go’
Lynyrd Skynyrd announced their Big Wheels Keep on Turnin' Tour for 2021 — and detailed a goal to continue with a more "selective" approach beyond a live run previously described as their "farewell."
The 30-date U.S. trek begins June 13 in Forest City, Iowa, and wraps Nov. 19 in Bossier City, La. Thirteen of the shows go on sale June 11 at 10AM local time, preceded by a presale launching June 9 at 10AM local time. (Fans can access the latter sale via the Lynyrd Skynyrd site and using the code SKYNYRDBIGWHEELS.)
You can see the full list of dates below.
Tesla will open the majority of the dates. Support acts for other shows include Kansas, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Blackberry Smoke, Allman Betts Band and the Marshall Tucker Band.
The tour news arrives over 15 months after the band was forced to table a planned final tour due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We were two shows into the end of the three-year plan for the farewell tour, when the virus hit and everything was just gone,” singer Johnny Van Zant said in a statement. “Once something is taken away from you - music and touring, in our case - you truly realize how important it is and such a part of your life. Music is a great healer, and that’s what we all turn to when things are good or bad. A Skynyrd show is a family affair, and we want these dates to help heal our fans as much as ourselves."
Guitarist Gary Rossington noted that the pandemic "turned [their] world upside down."
"And since that time, we have been talking amongst the band, and realized that music has such a way of healing," he added. "Maybe it’s not our time to go. And maybe it’s our time to lift people’s spirits and lives and bring back some joy and happiness after so much turmoil this past year. We’re still standing, still keeping the music going."
The band played their first show since the pandemic on June 4 at the Pepsi Gulf Coast Jam in Panama City Beach, Fla.
Lynyrd Skynyrd further detailed their touring plans in a new video interview, which you can watch below.
"There's a saying in the music business: You don't retire from it; it retires you," Rossington said. "I have heart problems. I thought I couldn't get around anymore a year or two ago. But I got it all fixed, so now I'm feeling all right."
"We're gonna finish what the heck we started," Van Zant added. "No pandemic's gonna keep us away from that. And we're gonna play other shows, but we're not gonna do as many. I think we're still gonna calm down what we've done. We're not gonna go out and hit it like we have been for 30-some years — 80, 90 shows. We're not gonna do that many shows. We're gonna be very selective."
Lynyrd Skynyrd 2021 Tour
June 13 - Forest City, Iowa @ Country Thunder Iowa
June 18 - Ft. Worth, Texas @ Billy Bob’s Texas
June 19 - Ft. Worth, Texas @ Billy Bob’s Texas
July 22 - Shakopee, Minn. @ Twin Cities Summer Jam
July 23 - Minot, N.D. @ North Dakota State Fair
Aug. 9 - Canton, Ohio @ Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium
Aug. 10 - Jackson, MI @ Jackson County Fair
Aug. 13 - Atlanta @ Cellairis Amphitheatre at Lakewood
Aug. 14 - Cullman, Ala. @ Rock The South
Aug. 19 - Canandaigua, N.Y. @ CMAC
Aug. 20 - Bethel, N.Y. @ Bethel Woods Center for the Arts
Aug. 22 - Wildwood, N.J. @ Barefoot Country Music Festival
Aug. 27 - Holmdel, N.J. @ PNC Bank Arts Center
Aug. 28 - Saratoga Springs, N.Y. @ Saratoga Performing Arts Center
Sept. 3 - Paducah, Ky. @ Touchdowns and Tunes Tailgate Party
Sept. 4 - Durant, Okla. @ Choctaw Grand Theater
Sept. 17 - Selbyville, Del. @ Freeman Arts Pavilion
Sept. 18 - Doswell, Va. @ After Hours Concerts at the Meadow
Event Park
Sept. 23 - Mansfield, Mass. @ Xfinity Center
Sept. 27 - Morrison, Colo. @ Red Rocks Amphitheater
Oct. 1 - Irvine, Calif. @ FivePoint Amphitheater
Oct. 2 - Laughlin, Nev. @ Laughlin Event Center
Oct. 8 - Noblesville, Ind. @ Ruoff Music Center
Oct. 9 - Cincinnati, Ohio @ Riverbend Music Center
Nov. 5 - Knoxville, Tenn. @ Thompson Boling Arena
Nov. 6 - Charleston, W.V. @ Charleston Coliseum
Nov. 13 - Greensboro, N.C. @ Greensboro Coliseum
Nov. 14 - Daytona Beach, Fla. @ Welcome to Rockville
Nov. 19 - Bossier City, La. @ Brookshire Grocery Arena