Since announcing their plans for a reunion and tour earlier this year, the men of pop-punk trio Blink-182 have been in a frenzy of rehearsals and tour preparations. Finally, vocalist/guitarist Tom DeLonge, bassist Mark Hoppus and drummer Travis Barker have lifted the veil on a nearly 50-date tour of North America.
The 10-week venture will launch July 24 at The Joint in Las Vegas, NV, and close after two coast-to-coast circuits on October 3 at the Borgata Events Center in Atlantic City, NJ. The impressive schedule includes an August 6 at the Comcast Center in Boston, MA, performances on August 9 and 31 at Nikon at Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, NY, and a September 17 concert at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater Irvine, CA, among other dates.
Fall Out Boy will provide the main support for most dates of the tour, with Weezer stepping in for just about a third of the dates. The tour will also feature a rotating cast of opening acts from established bands like Panic at the Disco, All-American Rejects and Taking Back Sunday to up-and-coming artists Asher Roth and Chester French.
As if the bevy of big name bands weren’t enough, set designer Martin Phillips is developing a light show for the trek. Phillips has previously completed stage designs for the likes of Daft Punk, Nine Inch Nails and Kanye West.
“We want to use the entire arena as a lighting rig and a stage,” Hoppus explained in a recent interview with Rolling Stone. “We’re being as ambitious as possible.”
Tickets will be available to the public starting May 30 and reportedly have face values ranging in price from $60 down to $20 for lawn seats. The pricing scheme, similar to so many tours this season, is meant to provide an affordable option for Blink fans.
The band, on its first tour since officially splitting in 2005, plans to incorporate a few new songs into the nightly set list. However, the performances will mainly be a retrospective of the band’s hits.
While the trio is working on new material, there are no concrete plans for a new album release. However, band manager Rick Devoe told Billboard that after this outing, the band will not launch another full-scale tour of North America until a new album is complete.
As a prelude to this summer’s tour, Blink-182 played together onstage for the first time in four years during a surprise performance on May 14 at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles. The set was part of a product launch party hosted by T-Mobile and featured previously announced performances by Weezer and TRV$DJ-AM, the side project of Barker and DJ AM (Adam Goldstein).
“To be honest, it was one of the best nights of my life,” Hoppus wrote on his official blog, adding, “Thanks to Travis and Tom. You are my brothers, and it feels amazing to share the stage with you once again.”
Blink-182 itinerary:
(Dates are subject to change.)
| July 24 | Las Vegas, NV | The Joint |
| July 28 | Vancouver, BC | General Motors Place |
| July 30 | Calgary, AB | Saddledome |
| July 31 | Edmonton, AB | Rexall Place |
| August 1 | Saskatoon, SK | Credit Union Center |
| August 2 | Winnipeg, MB | MTS Centre |
| August 4 | Milwaukee, WI | Marcus Amphitheater |
| August 6 | Boston, MA | Comcast Center |
| August 7 | Quebec City, QC | Colisee Pepsi |
| August 8 | Montreal, QC | Bell Centre |
| August 9 | Wantagh, NY | Nikon at Jones Beach Theater |
| August 12 | Hershey, PA | The Star Pavilion |
| August 13 | Cincinnati, OH | Riverbend Music Center |
| August 14 | Pittsburgh, PA | Post Gazette Pavilion |
| August 15 | Chicago, IL | First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre |
| August 16 | Omaha, NE | Westfair Amphitheater |
| August 18 | Minneapolis, MN | Xcel Energy Center |
| August 20 | Indianapolis, IN | Verizon Wireless Amphitheater |
| August 21 | Darien Center, NY | Darien Lakes Performing Arts Center |
| August 22 | Detroit, MI | DTE Energy Music Theatre |
| August 23 | Toronto, ON | Molson Amphitheater |
| August 25 | Holmdel, NJ | PNC Bank Arts Center |
| August 27 | Saratoga, NY | Saratoga Performing Arts Center |
| August 28 | Camden, NJ | Susquehanna Bank Center |
| August 29 | Hartford, CT | New England Dodge Music Center |
| August 30 | Washington, DC | * TBA |
| August 31 | Wantagh, NY | Nikon at Jones Beach Theater |
| September 2 | Cleveland, OH | Blossom Music Center |
| September 3 | Maryland Heights, MO | Verizon Wireless Amphitheater St. Louis |
| September 4 | Kansas City, KS | Capitol Federal Park at Sandstone |
| September 6 | Denver, CO | Fiddlers Green Amphitheater |
| September 7 | Salt Lake City, UT | David O. McKay Events Center |
| September 10 | Seattle, WA | White River Amphitheater |
| September 12 | Wheatland, CA | Sleep Train Amphitheater |
| September 13 | Mountain View, CA | Shoreline Amphitheater |
| September 14 | Santa Barbara, CA | Santa Barbara Bowl |
| September 16 | San Diego, CA | Cricket Wireless Amphitheater |
| September 17 | Irvine, CA | Verizon Wireless Amphitheater |
| September 19 | Tempe, AZ | Tempe Beach Park |
| September 21 | Albuquerque, NM | Journal Pavilion |
| September 23 | The Woodlands, TX | Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion |
| September 24 | Houston, TX | Superpages.com Center |
| September 26 | West Palm Beach, FL | Cruzan Amphitheater |
| September 27 | Tampa, FL | Ford Amphitheater |
| September 29 | Atlanta, GA | Lakewood Amphitheater |
| October 1 | Charlotte, NC | Verizon Wireless Amphitheater |
| October 2 | Virginia Beach, VA | Verizon Wireless Amphitheater |
| October 3 | Atlantic City, NJ | Borgata Events Center |