"A bunch of old guys having fun!" Jethro Tull announce The Curiosity Tour for April and May 2026

(Image credit: Press)

Prog legends Jethro Tull have announced a lengthy UK tour for April and May 2026.

The Curiosity Tour will celebrate the band's most recent album, the acclaimed Curious Ruminant as well as the band's celebrated 24-album career, stretching back to 1968's debut album This Was.

“It was January of 1968 when we began regularly playing at the famous Marquee Club in London," Tull mainman Ian Aderson recall. "Late in the following year, with growing success, we were able to perform in theatres and concert halls up and down the country much as we do today.

“For me, one advantage of a UK tour is that I can often travel by train much of the time and get to see both countryside and cityscapes alike from the tranquil vantage point of a railway carriage. Michael Portillo with a flute, you might say… Albeit less colourful, since my wardrobe is limited to various shades of grey in order to blend in perfectly with a dank and dreary rainy Monday afternoon at a railway station near you.

“Our audiences may have become senior citizens in some cases but, being young at heart, they still venture out to see a bunch of old guys having fun. Which, indeed, we are with our young, nimble and lightning-fast fingers, skittering up and down fretboards and keys with apparent ease and facility. Just don't ask us to put out the recycling or programme the TV controller."

Anderson will be accompanied by long-standing Tull band musicians David Goodier (bass), John O'Hara (keyboards), Scott Hammond (drums) and new boy Jack Clark (guitar), while the show will be enhanced by full-scale video throughout.

At the same time, Anderson will also perform his now customary Christmas shows, Ian Anderson Presents Christmas With Jethro Tull throughout December, appearing at Bath Abbey Dec 18, Peterborough Cathedral 19 and Southwark Cathedral 20.

Tickets for The Curiosity Tour 2026 go on pre-sale from 9am on May 8, and on general sale directly from the venues at 9am on May 9. Ian Anderson presents Christmas With Jethro Tull tickets go on sale at 9am on May 2.

The full list of dates and ticket details is below.

Jethro Tull's The Curiosity Tour 2026

Apr 19: Perth, Concert Hall
Apr 20: Glasgow, Royal Concert Hall
Apr 22: Edinburgh Usher Hall
Apr 23: Newcastle O2 City Hall Newcastle
Apr 25: Blackburn King George's Hall
Apr 26: Salford Quays The Lowry
Apr 28: Liverpool Philharmonic
Apr 29: Sheffield City Hal
May 02: Stoke-on-Trent Victoria Hall
May 03: Birmingham Symphony Hall
May 05: Leicester De Montfort Hall
May 06: London The London Palladium
May 08: Basingstoke The Anvil
May 09: Swansea Brangwyn Hall
May 10: Bristol Beacon Theatre
May 12: Truro Hall for Cornwall
May 13: Bournemouth Pavilion Theatre
May 15: Southampton Guildhall
May 16: Eastbourne Congress Theatre

Get tickets.

Dec 18: Bath Abbey (Get tickets)
Dec 19: Peterborough Cathedral (Get tickets)
Dec 20: Southwark Cathedral (Get tickets)

Writer and broadcaster Jerry Ewing is the Editor of Prog Magazine which he founded for Future Publishing in 2009. He grew up in Sydney and began his writing career in London for Metal Forces magazine in 1989. He has since written for Metal Hammer, Maxim, Vox, Stuff and Bizarre magazines, among others. He created and edited Classic Rock Magazine for Dennis Publishing in 1998 and is the author of a variety of books on both music and sport, including Wonderous Stories; A Journey Through The Landscape Of Progressive Rock.