In the movies, fictional musical groups Spinal Tap and The Folksmen had little in common beyond their humorous and charming dysfunctionality. In real life, however, the hair metal band and folk music trio share something more: both were created and performed by actors Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer.
Now the iconic Hollywood trio has plans to perform, as themselves, original songs from both groups’ catalogues during a six-week acoustic tour of North America. The Unwigged & Unplugged Tour launches April 17 at the Centre in Vancouver for Performing Arts in Vancouver, BC, and closes May 31 at Riverside Theatre in Milwaukee, WI.
Some highlights for the trek are an April 26 show at Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles, CA, a May 9 performance at Fox Theatre in Atlanta, GA, and a May 26 concert at Beacon Theatre in New York, NY. In addition to the opening night, one additional show is booked for Canada on May 21 at Massey Hall in Toronto, ON.
Ticket sales for most stops on the 30-city tour begin today, March 6. More information about the remaining on-sales dates and ticket prices can be found on the Unwigged Web site.
Guest, McKean and Shearer will perform songs from the 1984 hit hard rock mockumentary “This Is Spinal Tap” and its folk music counterpart, 2003’s “A Mighty Wind.” All songs by Spinal Tap and The Folksmen were written and performed by the actors and longtime friends on the films’ soundtracks, as well as the 1992 Spinal Tap album “Break Like the Wind.”
“With this being the 25th Anniversary of the film ‘This is Spinal Tap,’ we thought this would be a fun and at the same time, a little challenging, as we have never performed as ourselves,” the acclaimed actors and multi-instrumentalists said in a joint statement. “Think of the evening as three old friends playing songs in your living room. As opposed to OUR living rooms; we won’t be home.”
The trio continued, “The three of us make each other laugh and that’s why we continue to do this. Why work with somebody who is going to bore you to death? If you have a choice about things like that, no one’s going to choose the guy that puts you to sleep.“
The photo accompanying this article is from Unwigged.com.
Unwigged & Unplugged itinerary:
(Dates are subject to change.)
| April 17 | Vancouver, BC | Centre in Vancouver for Performing Arts |
| April 19 | Portland, OR | Keller Auditorium |
| April 20 | Seattle, WA | Paramount Theatre |
| April 22 | Oakland, CA | Paramount Theatre |
| April 23 | Santa Barbara, CA | Santa Barbara Bowl |
| April 26 | Los Angeles, CA | Wiltern Theatre |
| April 27 | Phoenix, AZ | Dodge Theatre |
| April 29 | Denver, CO | Paramount Theatre |
| May 1 | Houston, TX | Jesse H. Jones Hall |
| May 2 | Dallas, TX | Nokia Theatre |
| May 4 | Jacksonville, FL | Florida Theatre |
| May 5 | Miami, FL | The Fillmore at Jackie Gleason Theater |
| May 6 | Orlando, FL | Hard Rock Live |
| May 8 | St. Petersburg, FL | Mahaffey Theatre |
| May 9 | Atlanta, GA | Fox Theatre |
| May 10 | Nashville, TN | Ryman Auditorium |
| May 12 | Baltimore, MD | Lyric Opera House |
| May 13 | Washington, DC | Warner Theatre |
| May 14 | Philadelphia, PA | Keswick Theatre |
| May 17 | Columbus, OH | Palace Theatre |
| May 19 | Cleveland, OH | State Theatre |
| May 21 | Toronto, ON | Massey Hall |
| May 22 | Mashantucket, CT | MGM Grand Theatre @ Foxwoods |
| May 23 | Boston, MA | Wilbur Theatre |
| May 24 | Atlantic City, NJ | Music Box @ The Borgata |
| May 26 | New York, NY | Beacon Theatre |
| May 29 | Detroit, MI | Fox Theatre |
| May 30 | Chicago, IL | Chicago Theatre |
| May 31 | Milwaukee, WI | Riverside Theatre |
