Classic rock is looking at a major comeback in 2024.
Foreigner and Styx recently announced they’re teaming up for the Renegades and Juke Box Heroes Tour, kicking off in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on June 11.
Kelly Hansen, Foreigner’s lead singer, and Tommy Shaw, Styx’s lead singer, appeared on “Fox & Friends” to discuss their tour plans.
“This is the second year of our farewell tour, it’s always been a two-year farewell tour, and we’re happy to be joining Styx co-headlining this tour along with John Waites,” Hansen said. “We haven’t played together in 10 years on tour, so it’s really great.”
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Kelly Hansen of Foreigner and Tommy Shaw of Styx spoke about their upcoming tour together on “Fox & Friends.” (Getty Images)
Shaw praised his fellow classic rockers, saying, “Those songs, they’re forever. People have grown up with those songs. I remember hearing them for the first time myself, [it] blew my mind.”
Rob Weiner, popular culture librarian at Texas Tech University, noted that “while people say rock is dead, that is not true.”
As he explained to Fox News Digital, “Maybe on the pop charts rock is dead, but in the area of all these classic/vintage rock bands and artists touring, rock lives. Certainly, classic radio stations help keep the songs alive and young people hear them that way.”
“It is the content itself,” he added, “the music-lyrics-timelessness of these artists’ work.”
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Foreigner is one of many classic rock bands hitting the road or continuing their tours in 2024. (Roy Rochlin/Getty Images)
The Eagles and Steely Dan
The Eagles, including Timothy Schmitt, Vince Gill, Don Henley and Joe Walsh, announced their Long Goodbye farewell tour in 2023. (Eagles.com)
The Eagles announced their Long Goodbye farewell tour in July, kicking off in September and continuing into 2024 and possibly 2025.
In a press release on their website, The Eagles wrote, “Our long run has lasted far longer than any of us ever dreamed. But, everything has its time, and the time has come for us to close the circle.”
Per Live Nation’s announcement of the tour, the surviving original band members — Don Henley, Joe Walsh, Timothy B. Schmitt, with Vince Gill and Deacon Frey — will perform “as many shows in each market as their audience demands.”
Earlier this year, founding Eagles member Randy Meisner died at age 77 from complications from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
“Randy was an integral part of the Eagles and instrumental in the early success of the band. His vocal range was astonishing, as is evident on his signature ballad, ‘Take It to the Limit,’” the band said in a social media post.
Walter Becker and Donald Fagen of Steely Dan are shown performing in 2015. They joined The Eagles on tour but had to cancel some performances due to Fagen’s health. (Scott Dudelson/FilmMagic)
Steely Dan is joining the Eagles on their farewell tour and “commemorating their own 50+ year career,” according to the band’s website.
The band had to bow out of some of its dates with the Eagles in October 2023 due to the hospitalization of frontman Donald Fagen. According to the Indianapolis star, Don Henley said onstage that Fagen was in the hospital but “the show must go on.”
Fagen was released shortly after his stay, and per the band’s website, they’re scheduled to perform again in January in Los Angeles.
“The Eagles were able to take a soft/country rock approach and make timeless classics,” Weiner said of the band’s enduring appeal. “They could still be selling out stadiums in 20 years.”
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Aerosmith
Aerosmith began their farewell tour in 2023 but had to postpone due to Steven Tyler’s health issues. (Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images for Janie’s Fund)
Aerosmith began their farewell tour, dubbed The Peace Out tour, in 2023, but had to postpone their dates into 2024 due to lead singer Steven Tyler’s medical issues.
In a statement to the Associated Press when the tour was announced in May, Tyler said, “We’re opening up Pandora’s box one last time to present our fans with the Peace Out tour. Be there or beware as we bring all the toys out of the attic. Get ready.”
The tour kicked off in September, but Tyler faced a serious vocal injury shortly into the run, and the band had to indefinitely postpone the shows.
A statement posted to the group’s social media reads, “Unfortunately, Steven’s vocal injury is more serious than initially thought. His doctor has confirmed that in addition to the damage to his vocal cords, he fractured his larynx which requires ongoing care.”
Steven Tyler had a vocal injury shortly into Aerosmith’s farewell tour, including damage to his vocal cords and a fractured larynx. (Kevin Mazur)
“He is receiving the best medical treatment available to ensure his recovery is swift, but given the nature of a fracture, he is being told patience is essential.”
The band continued by announcing, “As a result, all the currently scheduled PEACE OUT shows must be postponed to sometime in 2024, with new dates to be announced as soon as we know more.”
The announcement also included a message directly from Tyler, reading, “I am heartbroken to not be out there with Aerosmith, my brothers and the incredible Black Crowes, rocking with the best fans in the world. I promise we will be back as soon as we can!”
The Rolling Stones
Ronnie Wood, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones are hitting the road in 2024 for a North American tour. (David M. Benett/Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/Getty Images)
Following the release of their first album in 18 years, “Hackney Diamonds,” The Rolling Stones announced a 2024 North American tour.
The Rolling Stones’ Hackney Diamonds tour is sponsored by AARP, the organization “dedicated to empowering Americans 50 and older to choose how they live as they age.”
The band will play in 16 cities across the U.S. and Canada, and AARP members will have access to a special pre-sale. The tour kicks off next April in Houston and wraps up in July in Santa Clara, California.
Lead singer Mick Jagger celebrated his 80th birthday in July, with Keith Richards close behind at 79 years old and Ronnie Woods at 76.
Rob Weiner, popular culture librarian at Texas Tech University, told Fox News Digital that the band’s new album, “Hackney Diamonds,” exceeded expectations and held its own on the charts against artists like Taylor Swift. (Sven Hoogerhuis/BSR Agency/Getty Images)
The Stones’ longtime drummer, Charlie Watts, passed away in 2021, but the band has yet to specify who will fill in on drums during the tour.
“Well, what can you say about the “World’s Greatest Rock Band” who have defied critics and all expectations? Their 2023 album ‘Hackney Diamonds’ was much better than anyone expected. … Who could have guessed that the Rolling Stones would have a top-10 album in 2023 in an age of Swifties, K-Pop, rapping, and pop everywhere on the charts?” Weiner noted.
He continued, “It comes down to the fact that they have classics that ages 5-100 know, ‘Satisfaction,’ ‘Start me Up,’ ‘Honky Tonk Women,’ ‘Gimmie Shelter.’ Their music has changed with the times and is still relevant in 2023. Yet somehow the music has remained the same. The Stones in 1963 don’t sound that much different than the Stones in 2023, just updated. That is something to celebrate.”
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Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band
Bruce Springsteen had to push some of his tour dates to 2024 due to a peptic ulcer. (Rob DeMartin)
Bruce Springsteen kicked off his Springsteen and The E Street Band Tour in February 2023 and was on track to tour the world into 2024.
After a series of health issues that culminated in a peptic ulcer, Springsteen canceled the remaining 2023 tour dates and postponed them into the new year.
In a statement to social media, his team shared, “Bruce Springsteen has continued to recover steadily from peptic ulcer disease over the past few weeks and will continue treatment through the rest of the year on doctor’s advice. With this in mind, and out of an abundance of caution, all remaining 2023 tour dates for Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band will be postponed until 2024.”
The “Born in the U.S.A” singer said at the time, “Thanks to all my friends and fans for your good wishes, encouragement, and support. I’m on the mend and can’t wait to see you all next year.”
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Bruce Springsteen and Steven Van Zandt performed together on tour before they had to postpone the remainder of 2023’s shows. (Manny Carabel/Getty Images)
Springsteen addressed his health issue on his SiriusXM E Street Radio show, “From My Home to Yours,” in October.
“Let me take a moment and thank my fans affected by our postponed shows for their understanding,” he said, per People magazine. “I am deeply sorry but this belly thing, despite my ability to laugh at it, has been a monster and is still unfortunately rocking my internal world.”
Despite the health issues, Weiner notes that Springsteen is “one of the most inspiring shows in rock history and proves there is no rule book for when you have to retire.”
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Journey and Def Leppard
Journey celebrated 50 years as a band in 2023. (Michael Potts/BSR Agency/Getty Images)
Journey and Def Leppard recently announced their North American stadium tour team-up with several other bands, including Steve Miller Band, Heart, and Cheap Trick.
The two bands previously collaborated on a tour in 2018, and Def Leppard had been touring with Motley Crue in 2023.
“We are thrilled to be back on the road in 2024 with so many good friends as part of this tour. No matter which city you come to this will be an amazing night of music!” Journey said in a statement on their website.
Journey celebrated their 50th anniversary this year and is doing additional touring ahead of the Def Leppard team-up with their “Freedom Tour” in 2024, where they will be joined by Toto.
“We are looking forward to hitting the road again with our very good friends Toto,” Journey guitarist and co-founder Neal Schon said in a press release. “Come join us for a special evening full of fun and rockin’ good memories.”
Def Leppard is going on a summer stadium tour with Journey and other hit bands like Steve Miller Band, Heart, and Cheap Trick. (Per Ole Hagen/Redferns)
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Metallica
Metallica is touring their new album, “72 Seasons,” with “no repeat” weekends, meaning they’ll have fresh set lists for every show. (Scott Legato/Getty Images)
Metallic began touring to promote their latest album, “72 Seasons,” in 2023 and plan to continue into 2024.
According to Billboard, the band is promising a “no repeat weekend,” meaning that at each two-night stop on the tour, the set list of songs will be completely different.
“Metallica shows that there is an audience for hard rock/metal,” Weiner said. “Metallica is one of the few bands whose landmark work continues to be built upon. People both young and old still want to headbang a bit. Their last album, ‘72 Seasons,’ showed they could still rock out and headbang.”
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It may seem surprising that so many bands, especially older acts, are on the road these days, but it often comes down to two things.
“Touring is their bread and butter. There is no rule book which says a musician must stop at a certain age,” Weiner said. “Music is in these artists’ blood. It is who they are, and while, yes, some of them are not at their peak anymore or have lost important members, the songs have staying power. One can’t make millions off of record sales anymore, but through touring one can have a decent lifestyle, especially for ‘vintage’ acts.”
