Dream Theater may be kicking off their 40th anniversary celebrations in Europe next month (a year early since they formed in 1985), but they’ll celebrate their ruby anniversary properly in their home country next year (for their actual 40th anniversary.)
The prog-metal band, which recently reunited with founding drummer Mike Portnoy, will kick off a run of North American dates in Philly on Feb. 7. The trek, billed as “An Evening With Dream Theater” (which means no opener and more Dream Theater), will wrap in late March with a concert at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall, near their Long Island stomping grounds.
Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. local time on Friday. Full details are on the band’s website.
“The excitement we have felt from the fans since the first tour was announced has been overwhelming!” the band said in a statement. “Now we get to bring the show to our home country and play a bunch of cities that we haven’t been together in for more than a decade. We can’t wait to continue this historic celebration of 40 years together with everyone in North America next year. We still have plenty of more exciting Dream Theater news to share in the coming weeks.”
In April, the full band met with Rolling Stone to talk about their reunion with Portnoy and how they overcame a bitter war of words in the press. “Before the Covid pandemic, if you had asked me or any of these guys, ‘Was a reunion in the cards?’ I probably would’ve said, ‘I doubted that it could happen,’” Portnoy said. “I think if the lockdown hadn’t happened, you guys probably would’ve been on tour, and I would’ve been on tour with one of my 48 bands.”
But during the lockdown, various Dream Theater members reached out to Portnoy and slowly thawed the rivalry. Since then, they’ve been recording and prepping for the tour, which officially kicks off in England on Oct. 20. Portnoy said he’s already feeling the pressure of that concert. “We expect the first show to be an emotional experience — not only for the five of us but for everybody in the audience,” he said. “I have a feeling there will be people coming in from all over the world to be present for the first show together. It’s scary because, under normal circumstances, it takes a bunch of shows to get your sea legs back. But in this case, we need to hit the ground running. That first show is going to be dissected with a magnifying glass in the age of YouTube. We can’t suck.”
An Evening With Dream Theater 40th Anniversary tour dates:
Feb. 7 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Met
Feb. 8 – Raleigh, NC @ Martin Marietta Center
Feb. 10 – Nashville, TN @ Opry House
Feb. 11 – Atlanta, GA @ Coca-Cola Roxy
Feb. 12 – Biloxi, MS @ Hard Rock Café
Feb. 14 – Houston, TX @ 713 Music Hall
Feb. 15 – Dallas, TX @ Texas Trust CU
Feb. 16 – San Antonio, TX @ Majestic
Feb. 18 – Phoenix, AZ @ Arizona Financial Center
Feb. 19 – Highland, CA @ Yaamava Theater
Feb. 21 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Chelsea
Feb. 22 – Los Angeles, CA @ YouTube Theater
Feb. 24 – San Jose, CA @ San Jose Civic
Feb. 25 – Sacramento, CA @ Safe Credit Union Performing
Feb. 27 – Seattle, WA @ Moore Theater
Feb. 28 – Portland, OR @ Keller Auditorium
March 2 – Reno, NV @ Grand Sierra
March 4 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Maverik Center
March 6 – Denver, CO @ Mission Ballroom
March 8 – Chicago, IL @ Chicago Theatre
March 9 – Cleveland, OH @ MGM Northfield Park
March 11 – Toronto, ON @ Coca-Cola Coliseum
March 12 – Montreal, QC @ Place des Arts
March 14 – Wallingford, CT @ Oakdale Theater
March 15 – Boston, MA @ Boch Center
March 17 – Rochester, NY @ Kodak
March 18 – Wheeling, WV @ Capitol Theater
March 19 – Cincinnati, OH @ Brady Music Center
March 21 – Washington, DC @ The Anthem
March 22 – New York, NY @ Radio City Music Hall
