Rick will be touring his piano show in the US in February/March:
And then he will do some shows with The English Rock Ensemble in the UK at the end of March/beginning of April
Rick Wakeman and The English Rock Ensemble UK Tour
Almost twenty years since they last toured the UK with a diverse set, keyboard wizard Rick Wakeman CBE is delighted to announce that he is reforming the English Rock Ensemble for British shows in March/April 2022. The group will be performing at London's O2 Shepherds Bush Empire (30 March), O2 Academy Birmingham (31 March), O2 Academy Glasgow (01 April) and O2 City Hall Newcastle (03 April), as well as headlining HRH Prog XII at O2 Academy Sheffield (02 April).
The English Rock Ensemble was originally founded in 1975 as a solo project by Rick after leaving YES and has continued to play together intermittently over the years with a fluid line-up. Rick explains, "On the rare occasions I am able to get the English Rock Ensemble together, it's always very exciting for me, as the setlist determines the line-up. This particular show will include some songs that various female singers have sung with me over the years and because we will be playing some tracks from The Red Planet, there will also be additional musicians in order to do the music justice."
Consequently, in addition to Rick (of course!) on keyboards, the line-up will consist of:
While the setlist is still under discussion, it will contain music from 1984, The Six Wives…, Journey…, Return To The Centre Of The Earth, The Time Machine, King Arthur…, Softsword "and at least one YES song will get an airing", Rick promises. "It will be solid prog from start to finish!"
Tickets on sale now.
Opening Acts Added
The Academy Events is pleased to announce some classic additions to the bill of Rick Wakeman CBE and the English Rock Ensemble's March/April tour of the UK.
The following acts will open the shows:
March 30 - London O2 Shepherds Bush Empire - Russ Ballard
March 31 - Birmingham O2 Academy - Carl Palmer's ELP Legacy
April 1 - Glasgow O2 Academy - Edgar Broughton
April 3 - Newcastle O2 City Hall - Edgar Broughton
Rick comments, "Russ is one of rock's great writers, as well as being a very talented musician. I haven't seen Edgar for over fifty years, but he's always produced fantastic music, and I really admire the way that Carl is keeping the ELP flag flying in a unique way with his band. He's a great friend too, so between us all, I think there will be a lot of reminiscing!"
The English Rock Ensemble is one of Rick's many varied musical projects and these shows are the first time they have toured the UK with a diverse programme of music in almost twenty years. Their set will feature a wide range of material spanning his career, from his early days in YES through his platinum-selling epic concept albums, right up to his latest prog rock release, The Red Planet.
With the addition of some of his brilliant contemporaries to the bill, the tour will most definitely be, as Rick describes it, 'solid prog from start to finish'!
| 22nd Feb 2022 at 8:00 pm | Neptune Theatre, Seattle, WA, USA | Tickets |
| 24th Feb 2022 at 7:00 pm | The Palace of Fine Arts Theatre, San Francisco, CA, USA | Tickets |
| 25th Feb 2022 at 8:00 pm | The Theatre at Ace Hotel, Los Angeles, CA, USA | Tickets |
| 26th Feb 2022 at 8:00 pm | The Magnolia, El Cajon, CA, USA | Tickets |
| 1st Mar 2022 at 8:00 pm | Rialto Theatre, Tucson, AZ, USA | Tickets |
| 2nd Mar 2022 at 8:00 pm | Celebrity Theatre, Phoenix, AZ, USA | Tickets |
| 4th Mar 2022 at 8:00 pm | Pantages Theatre, Minneapolis, MN, USA | Tickets |
| 5th Mar 2022 at 7:00 pm | Des Plaines Theatre, Des Plaines, IL, USA | Tickets |
| 6th Mar 2022 at 7:30 pm | The Sheldon Concert Hall, St Louis, MO, USA | Tickets |
| 8th Mar 2022 at 8:00 pm | Nancy and David Bilheimer Capitol Theatre, Clearwater, FL, USA | Tickets |
| 9th Mar 2022 at 8:00 pm | Variety Playhouse, Atlanta, GA, USA | Tickets |
| 11th Mar 2022 at 8:00 pm | Broward Center for the Performing Arts, Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA | Tickets |
| 13th Mar 2022 at 8:00 pm | The Kent Stage, Kent, OH, USA | Tickets |
| 14th Mar 2022 at 7:00 pm | Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Toronto, Canada | Tickets |
Rick Wakeman and The English Rock Ensemble UK Tour
Almost twenty years since they last toured the UK with a diverse set, keyboard wizard Rick Wakeman CBE is delighted to announce that he is reforming the English Rock Ensemble for British shows in March/April 2022. The group will be performing at London's O2 Shepherds Bush Empire (30 March), O2 Academy Birmingham (31 March), O2 Academy Glasgow (01 April) and O2 City Hall Newcastle (03 April), as well as headlining HRH Prog XII at O2 Academy Sheffield (02 April).
The English Rock Ensemble was originally founded in 1975 as a solo project by Rick after leaving YES and has continued to play together intermittently over the years with a fluid line-up. Rick explains, "On the rare occasions I am able to get the English Rock Ensemble together, it's always very exciting for me, as the setlist determines the line-up. This particular show will include some songs that various female singers have sung with me over the years and because we will be playing some tracks from The Red Planet, there will also be additional musicians in order to do the music justice."
Consequently, in addition to Rick (of course!) on keyboards, the line-up will consist of:
- Dave Colquhoun – guitars and backing vocals
- TBA – drums and percussion
- Lee Pomeroy – bass and backing vocals
- Hayley Sanderson – vocals
- Adam Wakeman – keyboard, guitars and backing vocals
While the setlist is still under discussion, it will contain music from 1984, The Six Wives…, Journey…, Return To The Centre Of The Earth, The Time Machine, King Arthur…, Softsword "and at least one YES song will get an airing", Rick promises. "It will be solid prog from start to finish!"
Tickets on sale now.
Opening Acts Added
The Academy Events is pleased to announce some classic additions to the bill of Rick Wakeman CBE and the English Rock Ensemble's March/April tour of the UK.
The following acts will open the shows:
March 30 - London O2 Shepherds Bush Empire - Russ Ballard
March 31 - Birmingham O2 Academy - Carl Palmer's ELP Legacy
April 1 - Glasgow O2 Academy - Edgar Broughton
April 3 - Newcastle O2 City Hall - Edgar Broughton
Rick comments, "Russ is one of rock's great writers, as well as being a very talented musician. I haven't seen Edgar for over fifty years, but he's always produced fantastic music, and I really admire the way that Carl is keeping the ELP flag flying in a unique way with his band. He's a great friend too, so between us all, I think there will be a lot of reminiscing!"
The English Rock Ensemble is one of Rick's many varied musical projects and these shows are the first time they have toured the UK with a diverse programme of music in almost twenty years. Their set will feature a wide range of material spanning his career, from his early days in YES through his platinum-selling epic concept albums, right up to his latest prog rock release, The Red Planet.
With the addition of some of his brilliant contemporaries to the bill, the tour will most definitely be, as Rick describes it, 'solid prog from start to finish'!
| 30th Mar 2022 at 7:00 pm | O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire, London, UK | Tickets |
| 31st Mar 2022 at 6:00 pm | O2 Academy Birmingham, Birmingham, UK | Tickets |
| 1st Apr 2022 at 6:00 pm | O2 Academy Glasgow, Glasgow, UK | Tickets |
| 3rd Apr 2022 at 6:30 pm | O2 City Hall Newcastle, Newcastle, UK | Tickets |
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