Latest news with #HomewardBound:TheFarewellTour
Calgary Herald
24-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Calgary Herald
Paul Simon in Vancouver: Concert to highlight new album Seven Psalms plus timeless classics
Article content Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. Article content Paul Simon opened his 2018 Homeward Bound: The Farewell Tour on May 16, 2018 at Rogers Arena. Article content Choosing the more intimate confines of the historic theatre was a deliberate choice for an artist who normally plays large arenas. After all, this is the star who, on the Simon & Garfunkel reunion tour in 1983, broke the existing attendance record for B.C. Place with 45,000 fans in the venue. Article content Article content His website notes under the announcement for the A Quiet Celebration tour that 'Simon, who has been dealing with severe hearing loss, has chosen intimate venues with optimal acoustics for this tour.' Simon had planned to retire from music altogether after his 2018 goodbye shows, but then returned to recording and touring with the release of the Grammy-nominated 2023 album, Seven Pslams. Article content When the 83-year-old finally strums off into the sunset, it will mark the end of a career that first saw him enter the Billboard 100 charts in 1961 when the single Motorcycle by Tico and the Triumphs hit number 99. Article content Article content Article content Beginning with the duo Simon & Garfunkel, the platinum-selling albums just kept coming. After a widely reported acrimonious break up, Simon's solo career took off with his 1972 self-titled Paul Simon. Since then, he has consistently created iconic albums, from Still Crazy After All These Years to Graceland and Stranger to Stranger. He is a rare double-inductee into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with 16 Grammy Awards to his credit. Article content That legacy is one that the artist is constantly reassessing, as he told Vancouver Sun writer Neil McCormick in a September 2018 interview that ran with the headline 'But is it really over?' Even on the eve of his farewell, Simon was excited about his latest recording, In the Blue Light.
Vancouver Sun
24-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Vancouver Sun
Paul Simon in Vancouver: Concert to highlight new album Seven Psalms plus timeless classics
Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. Paul Simon opened his 2018 Homeward Bound: The Farewell Tour on May 16, 2018 at Rogers Arena . This week, the superstar singer/songwriter will play a trio of back-to-back shows July 25, 26 and 28 at the Orpheum Theatre on his A Quiet Celebration Tour. Remaining tickets are on sale at . If this is goodbye, fans are getting spoiled with a wealth of local performances. Get top headlines and gossip from the world of celebrity and entertainment. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sun Spots will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Choosing the more intimate confines of the historic theatre was a deliberate choice for an artist who normally plays large arenas. After all, this is the star who, on the Simon & Garfunkel reunion tour in 1983, broke the existing attendance record for B.C. Place with 45,000 fans in the venue. His website notes under the announcement for the A Quiet Celebration tour that 'Simon, who has been dealing with severe hearing loss, has chosen intimate venues with optimal acoustics for this tour.' Simon had planned to retire from music altogether after his 2018 goodbye shows, but then returned to recording and touring with the release of the Grammy-nominated 2023 album, Seven Pslams. When the 83-year-old finally strums off into the sunset, it will mark the end of a career that first saw him enter the Billboard 100 charts in 1961 when the single Motorcycle by Tico and the Triumphs hit number 99. The cascade of classics that followed is almost overwhelming. Without question, he is an American musical icon with a legacy to rival the Beatles, Bob Dylan and Elvis Presley. Beginning with the duo Simon & Garfunkel, the platinum-selling albums just kept coming. After a widely reported acrimonious break up, Simon's solo career took off with his 1972 self-titled Paul Simon. Since then, he has consistently created iconic albums, from Still Crazy After All These Years to Graceland and Stranger to Stranger. He is a rare double-inductee into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with 16 Grammy Awards to his credit. That legacy is one that the artist is constantly reassessing, as he told Vancouver Sun writer Neil McCormick in a September 2018 interview that ran with the headline 'But is it really over?' Even on the eve of his farewell, Simon was excited about his latest recording, In the Blue Light. 'There's no time to get sentimental,' said Simon. 'I've trained myself to be focused on the performance, as opposed to saying 'Wow, look at all the people and the sun going down and this is the end.' When the sound is good and my voice is good, I give myself the pleasure of just singing, but if I allow myself to get distracted, I'm not doing my job. You don't want to forget your lyrics in front of 65,000 people.' There are no reports of Simon forgetting a line live on this current tour, which began in New Orleans on April 4 and will conclude in Seattle on Aug. 5-6 at McCaw Hall. He has had to cancel dates on the tour due to medical reasons, including two June concerts in Philadelphia, where severe back pain required a minor medical procedure to remedy. In The Guardian's review of opening night of the tour, writer Ramon Antonio Vargas noted the artist still brings his all to performing and his 19-song show, which included career gems such as the Boxer, found the audience 'collectively belting out the song's concluding 'lie-la-lie' refrain and a round of cheers that ultimately rivalled the closing standing ovation later.' Backed by a band including Caleb Burhans, Jamey Haddad, Gyan Riley, Mick Rossi, Andy Snitzer, Nancy Stagnitta, Mark Stewart, Eugene Friesen, Steve Gadd, Soundgarden drummer Matt Chamberlain and Simon's wife Edie Brickell , the concert is divided into two halves that include performing the entirety of Seven Psalms. The set list has been mixing mega hits with deep cuts from across the artist's career, every last one of which appears to receive a uniquely new arrangement reflecting the artist's always-imaginative creative impulses. This has been the singer's practice in previous Vancouver appearances. When he toured with Sting on 2014's On Stage Together , I was floored by all the nuanced and new directions he took tunes so familiar to fans that they could probably recall every note perfectly. 'All you have to do to appreciate Simon's genius is listen to him change his phrasing on Mother and Child Reunion, to completely change the emotion of the lyric, or funk out 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover with a New Orleans second line brass band riff,' The Vancouver Sun review noted. 'And a song as new as Dazzling Blue from 2011's So Beautiful or So What proves he still has the songwriting chops. Plus, a voice that is still awesome.' Only two years later, before his first announced retirement, Simon played a sold-out show at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in 2016. In a Vancouver Sun review, it was noted 'the 24-song set that never flagged, frequently amused and the man can still sing. Like really belt it out. Paul Simon, still vital after all these years.' Whether this is indeed Paul Simon's final road show, it seems unlikely that fans will be hearing the sound of silence from this star any time soon. The set list for Paul Simon's new tour has been broken down into two parts, with an intermission and costume change at the halfway point. While the song choices are changing slightly each night, a search through point to the below list as a likely lineup for the Vancouver concerts. After Set 2 Encore: Encore 2 — With research files from Postmedia librarian Carolyn Soltau sderdeyn@ Love concerts, but can't make it to the venue? Stream live shows and events from your couch with VEEPS, a music-first streaming service now operating in Canada. Click here for an introductory offer of 30% off. Explore upcoming concerts and the extensive archive of past performances.
