Yes Frontman Jon Anderson Announces Tour With Paul Green Rock Academy
Original Yes frontman Jon Anderson is hitting the road with the Paul Green Rock Academy for an 11-city tour of U.S. theaters that kicks off July 30th in Patchogue, New York, and wraps up August 20th in Woonsocket, Rhode Island.
According to a press release, the show will feature “a set of Yes classics, deep cuts, mashups, and solo works, all with lush arrangements featuring choral singing, horns, and all the other benefits of having a backing band of 25 young musicians.”
The Paul Green Rock Academy is an outgrowth of the Paul Green School of Rock Music, which was the inspiration for the 2003 Jack Black film School of Rock. Jon Anderson has been playing with alumni from the school since 2005.
“The one thing about creating music with young musicians and singers is the adventure of it all,” Anderson says in a statement. “I sang and toured with the Paul Green School of Rock many years ago. It was a miracle for me to join with their young energy…and learn from them.”
“Now here we are with the Paul Green Rock Academy,” he continues. “And again, their excitement and joy for making music really make it all worthwhile. Plus, they are a really talented bunch. There is a future in music, and these young souls prove it every time I hear them sing and play.”
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With the lone exception of the 2017 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, Anderson hasn’t performed with Yes since 2004. They now tour with replacement vocalist Jon Davison. For a period from 2016 to 2018, Anderson teamed up with former Yes members Rick Wakeman and Trevor Rabin to form Anderson, Rabin, and Wakeman, which they later named Yes Featuring Jon Anderson, Trevor Rabin, and Rick Wakeman.
This lead to a confusing situation where two incarnations of Yes were on the road at the same time, but ARW split following a 2018 tour. Anderson has expressed a desire several times over the years to reunite with Yes, but guitarist Steve Howe has essentially ruled that out.
“I don’t think [the fans] should stay up late nights worrying about [a possible reunion],” Howe told IndieLand in 2020. “There’s just too much space out there between people. To be in a band together or even to do another tour like [the 1991 reunion tour] Union is completely unthinkable. There’s just too much space out there between people.”
But even without his former bandmates, Anderson is still headed out onto the road to sing the classics.
Jon Anderson Tour Dates
July 30th – Patchogue Theater @ Patchogue, NY
Aug 1st – Blue Ocean Music Hall @ Salisbury, MA
Aug 3rd – Rams Head on Stage @ Annapolis, MD
Aug 5th – Ridgefield Playhouse @ Ridgefield, CT
Aug 7th – Colonial Theatre @ Phoenixville, PA
Aug 9th – Ocean City Music Pier @ Ocean City, NJ
Aug 19th – Des Plaines Theatre @ Des Plaines, IL
Aug 21st – Arcada Theatre @ St. Charles, IL
Aug 24th – Palace Theatre @ Canton, OH
Aug 27th – Paramount Theatre @ Huntington, NY
Aug 28th – Stadium Theater @ Woonsocket, RI
