Paul Simon comes out of touring retirement

Legendary US singer-songwriter Paul Simon is coming out of retirement after announcing a North American tour.

The 83-year-old retired from touring in 2018, with his headline performance at London’s BST Hyde Park that July billed as his final ever European show.

But Simon, who continued to record music during his live exile – releasing acoustic album Seven Psalms in 2023 – performed alongside Sabrina Carpenter for last week’s televised SNL50: The Homecoming Concert broadcast from New York’s Radio City Music Hall.

He has now taken to social media to confirm his return to the road for a run of dates at concert halls across the United States and Canada later this year.

Paul Simon in Concert: A Quiet Celebration begins at New Orleans’ Saenger Theatre on 4-5 April and includes five-night residencies at both Beacon Theater in New York and Disney Hall in Los Angeles.

The outing finishes with three concerts at Seattle’s Benaroya Hall in Seattle on 31 July & 2-3 August. Tickets go on sale this Friday, 21 February.

Simon’s longtime booking agent, ITB co-founder Barry Dickins, is profiled in the latest issue of IQ Magazine, launching our new series The Architects, which celebrates the work of some of the international live music industry’s pioneers.

The full list of A Quiet Celebration tour dates is as follows:

4-5 April: Saenger Theatre, New Orleans
8, 10-11 April: Bass Concert Hall, Austin
14, 16-17 April: Paramount Theatre, Denver
20, 22-23 April: Orpheum Theatre, Minneapolis
26 April: Midland Theatre, Kansas City
28-29 April: Stifel Theatre, St. Louis
7-8 May: AT&T Performing Arts Center, Dallas
11, 13-14 May: Ryman Auditorium, Nashville
17-18 May: Riverside Theater, Milwaukee
21, 23-24 May: Symphony Center, Chicago
27, 29-30 May: Massey Hall, Toronto
6-7 June: Wolf Trap, Vienna, Washington
10, 12-13 June: Boch Center, Wang Theatre, Boston
16, 18, 20-21 & 23 June: Beacon Theater, New York
26, 28-29 June: Academy of Music, Philadelphia
7 July: Terrace Theater, Long Beach Performing Arts Center, California
9, 11-12, 14 & 16 July: Disney Hall, Los Angeles
19, 21-22 July: Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco
25-26 & 28 July: The Orpheum, Vancouver
31 July, 2-3 August: Benaroya Hall, Seattle

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