Steve Vai, Zakk Wylde, Yngwie Malmsteen, Nuno Bettencourt, Tosin Abasi Announce 'Generation Axe' Tour

Steve Vai, Zakk Wylde, Yngwie Malmsteen, Nuno Bettencourt and Tosin Abasi are teaming up once again for the Generation Axe tour.

The Generation Axe tour will crisscross the United States from early November through mid-December. You can check out the full itinerary of the tour below.

Each tour stop will include a variety of collaborations by the five players, including everyone performing together as one cohesive band with a rhythm section including Pete Griffin (Dweezil Zappa, Stanley Clarke, Edgar Winter) on bass, Nick Marinovich (Yngwie Malmsteen) on keys, and JP Bouvet on drums. Vai, Wylde, Malmsteen, Bettencourt and Abasi will perform songs from their various catalogs and join forces on some well-known songs (as well as probably a few unexpected, unearthed gems).

“The Generation Axe experience goes way beyond simply gathering five guitar greats on one stage to jam," Vai continued. "The idea was to create a seamless show with one backing band and 5 completely accomplished and astonishing guitarists that take to the stage in various configurations, performing some of their solo music and merging together as cohesive co-creators of lushly orchestrated guitar extravaganzas. Guitar jams like this can get really messy when there is no organization and my idea was to create parts for everybody to play in harmony and off each other so it’s not a mess of noise. This worked out remarkably well. There are places where everyone is playing together in wild harmony.”

Thank you for reading 5 articles this month**

Join now for unlimited access

US pricing $3.99 per month or $39.00 per year

UK pricing £2.99 per month or £29.00 per year

Europe pricing €3.49 per month or €34.00 per year

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Prices from £2.99/$3.99/€3.49

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.

Latest

“One of the most important guitars in rock and roll history”: George Harrison’s Futurama smashes auction estimate and sets a new record with staggering $1.27 million sale

See more latest ►

“What I do with the trem arm is not an exact science. It’s more like an absurdist alchemy”: Imperial Triumphant guitarist Zachary Ezrin showcases his wild whammy technique on Eye of Mars – and a Gibson with the Midas touch

“He came out to the studio, sick, did the solo and killed it after a couple of passes. I tried to pay him some money, but he wouldn’t accept it”: Jim Suhler on the time Joe Bonamassa played on one of his tracks – and delivered a searing solo while sick

With up to 80% off at Reverb this Black Friday is it time to forget about new models in favour of second-hand?

“You can get a little bit formulaic sometimes when you know where to go next, and alternate tunings definitely take that away”: Soccer Mommy on the power of alternate tunings in pushing her songwriting capabilities

“The missing link”: Line 6 keeps up the pace with the Fender Tone Master Pro by adding EVH 5150-inspired amps for the first time in free bumper Helix update

“I put a crushed cigarette packet underneath it to get it nearer the strings... It helped give the guitar a mysterious sound”: Vic Flick, the guitarist who played the iconic James Bond riff, dies aged 87

“I don't have a vast collection of notable guitars, but I'm open to that idea”: Tom Morello’s ‘Arm the Homeless’ guitar is one of his most iconic instruments – and it could be revived as a signature run

“The crowd got ugly – they were just being assholes, throwing mud at us the whole set, hitting us hard on our bodies and on our guitars”: Donita Sparks tells the story of L7’s infamous set at 1992’s Reading Festival

“When Chicago hit the scene, it stuck out like nothing else”: Steve Vai lays down a smoking alternative solo for South California Purples in this rare fret-melting guest spot at Chicago’s Live at 55 show

“It’s been road-tested, kicked around, X-rayed… We’ve made a guitar that's adaptable to all situations”: Fender and Chris Shiflett cut no corners in creating the new signature ‘Cleaver’ Telecaster – a long-awaited replica of his Masterbuilt model

A Taylor acoustic for the price of a pair of sneakers? Buy one Taylor and get a second for as little as $99 in the ultimate Black Friday deal for acoustic players

Get The Pick Newsletter

Most Popular