Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band set 30th anniversary world tour

Nov. 12, 2018

9:35 AM

Ringo Starr is gearing up for a big year in 2019, including a new book and his 30th anniversary world tour with his All Starr Band.

The tour will kick off March 21 at Harrah’s Resort Southern California in Valley Center. It will be followed by a nine-show leg in Japan, followed by a return to North America.

Other confirmed dates include an Aug. 1 concert at Caesar’s in Windsor, Canada, followed by Aug. 3 and 4 double bills with the Beach Boys at Ravinia, outside Chicago, and Aug. 7 and 8 performances at the Ryman Theater in Nashville.

The tour will conclude Sept. 1 at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, nearly 30 years to the day when Starr’s first edition of his All Starr Band completed its debut concert trek on Sept. 3, 1989.

Starr is the sole member of that first group who is still on board. The current lineup includes longtime All Starr Band members Toto guitarist Steve Lukather, Santana and Journey keyboard alum (and former Poway resident) Gregg Rolie and Gregg Bissonette, former drummer for Woody Herman and David Lee Roth. The most recent additions are journeyman instrumentalist and singer Warren Ham, Men at Work’s Colin Hay and Average White Band co-founder Hamish Stuart, who previously toured with Starr’s group in 2006 and 2008.

A full 2019 tour itinerary will be announced soon for Starr, who turns 79 on July 7. Nearly all of his previous All Starr Band tours have included a San Diego show — usually at Humphreys Concerts by the Bay, where he and his group performed a sold-out show Sept. 27. The 24-song set list for their most recent Humphreys performance included five classics from Starr’s tenure in the Beatles and at least four songs from his solo career.

Meanwhile, Starr is set to release his third book, “Another Day in the Life.” It will be released late this month in a limited edition by Genesis Publications, then more widely released in April. Pre-orders for the limited edition can be made at ringobook.com.

On Nov. 27 Starr will receive the Humanitarian Award from the George Harrison Fund for UNICEF at the organization’s annual Snowflake Ball in New York City

Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band 2019 tour dates

(More shows will be announced later)

March 21: Harrah’s Resort Southern California, Valley Center

March 27: Sun Palace Hall, Fukuoka, Japan

March 29: Uenogakuen, Hiroshima, Japan

April 1: Tokyo Electron Hall Miyagi, Sendai, Japan

April 2: Shimin Center, Koriyama, Japan

April 3: Hitomi Kinen Kodo, Tokyo

April 5: Dome City Hall, Tokyo

April 9: Zepp, Nagoya, Japan

April 10: Archaic Hall, Japan, Osaka

April 11: Orix Theatre, Osaka, Japan

Aug. 1: Caesar’s, Windsor, Canada

Aug. 3 and 4: Ravinia, Highland Park, Ill.

Aug. 7 and 8: Ryman Theater, Nashville

Sept. 1, Greek Theater, Los Angeles

george.varga@sduniontribune.com

Twitter @georgevarga

Music

George Varga

Veteran San Diego Union-Tribune pop music critic George Varga began drumming in rock bands at 12 and writing professionally about music at 15. A Louisiana native who grew up mostly in Germany, Varga has earned three Pulitzer Prize nominations for his writing at the U-T and is a voting member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In addition to providing live coverage of the Grammy Awards and festivals from Coachella and KAABOO to the 1994 edition of Woodstock, he has interviewed everyone from Ray Charles, Miles Davis and Britney Spears to Willie Nelson, Kanye West and Bruno Mars. A double first-prize winner at the 2018 Society of Professional Journalists awards, Varga is also a contributing writer for Jazz Times magazine and has written for Billboard, Spin and other publications. After attending San Diego City College and San Diego State University, he created and taught the 2002 UC San Diego Extension course, “Jazz in a Post-Ken-Burns World.” Varga lives with his wife in North Park.