Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen said of the tour, “Only six months between tours for Def Leppard… this is amazing… WOW. I think we’re getting the hang of this! Usually, we always have to redefine and reorient ourselves to touring as we are used to a three year gap between tours because of the recording process. This time, we had the album in the can so we are good to go. We’re really psyched to be hitting the road this summer and are looking forward to seeing all of our fans again.”

Journey keyboardist Jonathan Cain is especially excited about the opportunity to tour with another of rock’s heavyweights this summer. “It’s a band I’ve admired for a long time,” he says. “We’re honored to be performing with a band that received their Diamond Award (an award given for 10,000,000 albums sold) at the same ceremony when we received our Diamond Award. So it seems fitting that we go out together after all these years and celebrate a lot of good years of rock and roll.”

With more than 65 million albums sold worldwide, Def Leppard — Joe Elliott (vocals), Vivian Campbell (guitar), Phil Collen (guitar), Rick “Sav” Savage (bass) and Rick Allen (drums) — is one of the most continuously exciting and important forces in rock music. Over the course of their career, the band has produced a series of classic groundbreaking albums that set the sound for generations of music fans and artists and is without a doubt Great Britain’s premiere arena rock band. Their spectacular live shows filled with powerful melodic rock anthems have become synonymous with their name and they are an institution in the touring industry as they continue to sell out arenas worldwide. Additionally, Def Leppard has been honored in the U.S. by the RIAA with two prestigious Diamond Awards for their albums HYSTERIA and PYROMANIA. The Diamond Award recognizes sales of over 10 million, a feat not many bands and only a handful of British artists have been able to achieve (The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Elton John, Eric Clapton).

Journey’s legacy has spanned over 30 years with 19 U.S. releases, most recently the critically acclaimed GENERATIONS (Sanctuary Records, 2005). Four albums landed in the Top Ten of Billboard’s “Top 200 Albums” chart, including 1981’s ESCAPE which reached #1. Overall they’ve sold over 75 million albums worldwide making them the 29th best-selling music group of all time. They were honored with a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame last year. The band was founded in 1973 in San Francisco by Santana members Neal Schon and Gregg Rolie, with the assistance of Ross Valory, George Tickner and Prairie Prince. The current line-up — which has been together since 1998 — includes Neal Schon (guitar), Ross Valory (bass), Jonathan Cain (keyboards), Steve Augeri (vocals) and Deen Castronovo (drums).

Below is the first batch of confirmed tour dates, with more to be announced in the coming weeks:

  DATE      CITY                 VENUE                     ON-SALE
  Fri 6/23  Camden, NJ           Tweeter Ctr at the        4/1 - 10am
                                   Waterfront
  Sat 6/24  Wantagh, NY          Jones Beach Theater       5/6 - 9am
  Tue 6/27  Holmdel, NJ          PNC Bank Arts Center      5/6 - 9am
  Wed 6/28  Uncasville, CT       Mohegan Sun Casino        TBA
  Fri 6/30  Scranton, PA         Toyota Pavilion at        4/1 - 10am
                                   Montage
  Sat 7/1   Atlantic City, NJ    Borgata Hotel & Casino    TBA
  Mon 7/3   Hershey, PA          Hershey Pavilion          4/1 - 10am
  Tue 7/4   Raleigh, NC          Alltel Pavilion           4/1 - 10am
  Fri 7/7   Bristow, VA          Nissan Pavilion           TBA
  Sat 7/8   Virginia Beach, VA   Verizon Wireless          4/1 - 10am
                                   Virginia Beach Amp
  Mon 7/10  West Palm Beach, FL  Sound Advice              4/1 - 10am
                                   Amphitheatre
  Tue 7/11  Tampa, FL            Ford Amphitheatre         4/1 - 12pm
  Thu 7/13  Atlanta, GA          Chastain Park             3/25 - Sold-Out
                                   Amphitheatre
  Sat 7/15  Charlotte, NC        Charlotte Verizon         4/1 - 10am
                                   Wireless Amp
  Sun 7/16  Nashville, TN        Starwood Amphitheatre     4/1 - 10am
  Tue 7/18  Minneapolis, MN      Target Center             4/1 - 10am
  Wed 7/19  Chicago, IL          First Midwest Bank        TBA
                                   Amphitheatre
  Fri 7/21  St. Louis, MO        UMB Bank Pavilion         4/1 - 12pm
  Sat 7/22  Noblesville, IN      Verizon Wireless          4/1 - 11am
                                   Music Center
  Mon 7/24  Detroit, MI          DTE Energy Music Theatre  TBA
  Tue 7/25  Cincinnati, OH       Riverbend Music Center    4/1 - 10am
  Fri 7/28  San Antonio, TX      Verizon Wireless          TBA
                                   Amphitheatre
  Sat 7/29  Dallas, TX           Smirnoff Music Centre     4/1 - 10am
  Sun 7/30  The Woodlands, TX    Cynthia Woods             4/1 - 10am
                                   Mitchell Pavilion
  Tue 8/15  Denver, CO           Red Rocks Amphitheatre    4/1 - 10am
  Fri 8/18  Las Vegas, NV        Mandalay Bay Events       TBA
                                   Center
  Tue 8/22  Phoenix, AZ          Cricket Pavilion          4/1 - 10am
  Wed 8/23  Chula Vista, CA      Coors Amphitheatre        TBA
  Fri 8/25  Concord, CA          Chronicle Pavilion        TBA
  Sat 8/26  Mountain View, CA    Shoreline Amphitheatre    TBA
  Sun 8/27  Sacramento, CA       Sleep Train Amphitheatre  TBA
  Wed 8/30  Portland, OR         Clark County              TBA
                                   Amphitheatre
  Thu 8/31  Seattle, WA          White River Amphitheatre  TBA

  * All dates are subject to change.

For more information please go to www.defleppard.com or www.journeymusic.com.

SOURCE: Live Nation