King Crimson announce North American tour with The Zappa Band

King Crimson
King Crimson

King Crimson have announced a North American summer tour.

The band have lined up a total of 25 shows and, with the exception of their performance at the Ottawa Blues Festival, they’ll be joined on the trip by The Zappa Band.

The tour will kick off on June 4 at the Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater, Florida, and wrap up at the Casino in Rama, Ontario, on July 12.

King Crimson bassist Tony Levin says: “The summer tour will be a throwback one for us in a few ways; great to be going back to outdoor venues, some of them the ‘sheds’ we played in the 80s– and we’ll be travelling by tour bus, old school! 

“As for what pieces we’ll play, that hasn’t been decided yet, but will likely be a wide selection from the 50 years of Crimson repertoire. With seven players on stage, we can cover it all.”

The Zappa Band’s touring unit consists of Ray White, Mike Keneally, Scott Thunes and Robert Martin, who will be joined by Jamie Kime and Frank Zappa archivist Joe ‘Vaultmeister’ Travers. 

They’ll play a selection of Frank Zappa classics along with rare compositions and are described as “the ultimate Zappa alumni band in partnership the Zappa Trust.” It’s also pointed out that this tour will not feature the much talked about hologram of Frank Zappa.

King Crimson 2020 North American tour
Jun 04: Clearwater Ruth Eckerd Hall, FL
Jun 05: St. Augustine Amphitheatre, FL
Jun 06: Miami Mizner Park Amphitheatre, FL
Jun 08: Orlando Dr. Phillips Walt Disney, FL
Jun 09: New Orleans Saenger Theatre, LA
Jun 10: Memphis Graceland Soundstage, TN
Jun 12: Cary Koka Booth Amphitheatre, NC
Jun 13: Portsmouth Union Bank Pavilion, VA
Jun 14: Philadelphia The Mann Center, PA
Jun 16: Glens Falls Cool Insuring Arena, NY
Jun 18: Boston  Rockland Trust Pavilion, MA
Jun 19: New York Forest Hills Stadium, NY
Jun 20: New Haven Westville Music Bowl, CT
Jun 22: New Brunswick State Theatre, NJ
Jun 24: Huber Heights Rose Music Center, OH
Jun 25: Louisville Palace Theatre, KY
Jun 26: Detroit Meadowbrook Amp, MI
Jun 28: Baltimore MECU Pavillion, MD
Jun 30: Vienna Wolf Trap, VA
Jul 01: Lewiston Artpark, NY
Jul 05: Chicago Ravinia, IL
Jul 07: Montreal Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier Palace des Arts, QC
Jul 09: Quebec City Festival d'ete, QC
Jul 11: Ottawa Bluesfest, ON
Jul 12: Rama Casino Rama, ON

Scott Munro
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Scott has spent 35 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott keeps Louder’s buyer’s guides up to date, writes about the best deals for music fans, keeps on top of the latest tech releases and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more. Over the last 10 years, Scott has written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. He's previously written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald newspapers, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.