Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman Announce 'Sweetheart of the Rodeo' 50th Anniversary Tour
Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman have announced a tour celebrating the 50th anniversary of The Byrds' seminal country-rock album, Sweetheart of the Rodeo.
For the tour, the duo will be joined by Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives. You can check out the group's itinerary below.
"On March 9, 1968, Roger McGuinn and I along with many fantastic musicians began recording the Sweetheart of the Rodeo album at Columbia Studios in Nashville," Hillman said in a statement. "It was truly a pivotal moment in our lives taking a turn toward the music we always felt a strong kinship with. We are honored that it has left a strong, long lasting impression on country and rock music."
"We're all looking forward to taking the fans through the back pages of the recording," McGuinn added. "The concert will include songs that led up to that ground breaking trip to Nashville and all the songs from the album."
Stuart usually performs with a 1954 Fender Telecaster that used to be owned by Clarence White, who himself played on Sweetheart of the Rodeo.
"I think I’d be a bit lost without that guitar after all this time," Stuart told Guitar World about the instrument in a 2017 interview. "It’s about like playing a banjo. These days, when I pick up a regular Telecaster, it feels too light."
Organizers have only announced the first five dates of the tour as of right now, but more dates will be announced soon.
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Roger McGuinn/Chris Hillman —Sweetheart of the Rodeo 2018 Tour Dates:
- July 24 – Los Angeles, CA @ Ace Hotel
- July 29 – Saratoga, CA @ Mountain Winery
- September 18 – Albany, NY @ Hart Theater
- September 20 – Hopewell, VA @ Beacon Theatre
- October 3 – Akron, OH @ Akron Civic
Jackson is an Associate Editor at GuitarWorld.com. He’s been writing and editing stories about new gear, technique and guitar-driven music both old and new since 2014, and has also written extensively on the same topics for Guitar Player. Elsewhere, his album reviews and essays have appeared in Louder and Unrecorded. Though open to music of all kinds, his greatest love has always been indie, and everything that falls under its massive umbrella. To that end, you can find him on Twitter crowing about whatever great new guitar band you need to drop everything to hear right now.
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