Elton John tours solo after final ‘Face 2 Face’ dates with Billy Joel

For most of the past year, Elton John has been a fixture on the road thanks to his on-going Face 2 Face Tour with Billy Joel. But even as that co-headlining jaunt ends this week, John will ramble on with a round of spring solo dates in the United States.

One-month national leg begins April 6 at American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, TX, and concludes May 1 at Covelli Centre in Youngstown, OH. Other dates on the current 10-date itinerary include April 10 at Frank Erwin Center in Austin, TX, and April 24 at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, MI.

During a late February satellite interview, John told reporters that the Face 2 Face Tour would not return to the Windy City — or any city, for that matter — in 2010. He explained that he would’ve liked to continue on, but Joel had decided to take a year-long break.

Soon after, Joel cried foul and released his own statement, noting, “I had made up my mind a long time ago that I wasn’t going to work this year.”

Joel later added, “When Elton did that interview, he’d just found out from his booking agent that I wasn’t going to be working this summer, and therefore Elton’s quote puts a spin on it that I’d changed my mind all of a sudden, or suddenly decided to cancel the tour, which is nonsense.”

Whatever the case, John will at least make a solo appearance for Chicago-area fans. His spring trek will hit the nearby suburb of Hoffman Estates for an April 15 gig at the Sears Centre Arena.

Ticket sales for that show, as well as shows in Green Bay and Toledo, begin on March 13. An earlier sale will offer tickets in Reading and Youngstown on March 12, while fans in the Grand Rapids market will have to wait for March 15 onsales.

While John has been booked into arenas in host cities of all sizes, residents of Youngstown, OH, seemed especially surprised to be included on the Rocket Man’s spring routing in place of more typical destinations in Cleveland, Columbus or Cincinnati.

“Words escape me to describe what it means to have an artist such as Elton John performing at The Covelli Centre,” the arena’s general manager Eric Ryan said in a statement. “He is an international icon that has played the largest and most prestigious venues in the world and this show will be a history-making event for our community.”

The upcoming tour will feature John on piano, of course, along with guitarist Davey Johnstone, bassist Bob Birch, percussionist John Mahon, keyboardist Kim Bullard and drummer Nigel Alsson.

The final Face 2 Face concerts for the season take place tonight, March 9, at HSBC Arena in Buffalo, NY, and March 11 at Times Union Center in Albany, NY.

Elton John itinerary:
(Dates are subject to change.)