For over three decades, Grammy Award-winning guitarist John Petrucci has been known for his work in the groundbreaking and influential progressive metal band DREAM THEATER. Now, John is adding another career milestone to his resume as he is embarking on his first headlining solo tour performing material from his recently released solo album, "Terminal Velocity", as well as songs from his widely acclaimed debut release, "Suspended Animation". "Terminal Velocity" marked the first time that John and former DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Portnoy recorded together since Mike left the band in 2010. Now, John will take his instrumental trio on the road performing live with Portnoy and legendary bassist Dave LaRue in an on-stage reunion that has been 12 years in the making.
The historic tour will run through October and November and promises to be an unforgettable night of live musicianship. The recently reunited all-female band MEANSTREAK will be the special guest openers for the tour. MEANSTREAK is comprised of guitarists Marlene Portnoy (Mike's wife) and Rena Sands (Petrucci's wife), vocalist Bettina France, bassist Martens Myung (wife of DREAM THEATER bassist John Myung) and drummer Yael.
Oct. 05 - The Strand Ballroom & Theatre - Providence, RI Oct. 06 - The Ridgefield Playhouse - Ridgefield, CT Oct. 07 - Berklee Performance Center - Boston, MA Oct. 12 - Count Basie Center for the Arts - Red Bank, NJ Oct. 13 - The Town Hall - New York, NY Oct. 14 - Keswick Theatre - Glenside, PA Oct. 15 - Lincoln Theatre - Washington, DC Oct. 17 - The National - Richmond, VA Oct. 19 - Buckhead Theatre - Atlanta, GA Oct. 20 - The CMA Theater - Nashville, TN Oct. 21 - Charleston Music Hall - Charleston, SC Oct. 22 - Capitol Theatre - Clearwater, FL Oct. 23 - Hard Rock Live Orlando - Orlando, FL Oct. 26 - House of Blues New Orleans - New Orleans, LA Oct. 27 - Charline McCombs Empire Theatre - San Antonio, TX Oct. 28 - Stafford Centre - Stafford, TX Oct. 29 - Tower Theatre - Oklahoma City, OK Oct. 29 - Tower Theatre - Oklahoma City, OK Oct. 30 - The Factory In Deep Ellum - Dallas, TX Nov. 02 - Celebrity Theatre - Phoenix, AZ Nov. 03 - The Magnolia - El Cajon, CA Nov. 04 - Ace Hotel - Los Angeles, CA Nov. 05 - House of Blues Anaheim - Anaheim, CA Nov. 07 - Palace Of Fine Arts Theatre - San Francisco, CA Nov. 12 - Pantages Theatre - Minneapolis, MN Nov. 13 - The Vic Theatre - Chicago, IL Nov. 14 - Pabst Theater - Milwaukee, WI Nov. 16 - House of Blues Cleveland - Cleveland, OH Nov. 17 - The Danforth Music Hall - Toronto, ON
In a September 2021 interview with Revolver, Petrucci said about his renewed working relationship with Portnoy: "Chemistry is everything. It's funny, too — with my solo album, I'd gone in, written all the music, recorded all the guitars, programmed drums, played bass. It was all done, and then I had to go in and get Dave LaRue to play bass on it and Mike to play drums on it. And when Mike started playing drums — I remember the first day he came into the studio and he just started playing to this music that I wrote, it just sounded like the two of us. It just was really nostalgic. Even though we didn't write it together, we weren't jamming together, we weren't even in the same room when I was writing it, but there's just something about that chemistry that creates this magical sound. And one of the things I thought was really awesome with the fans out there was when it came out, it just got such a positive reaction. People were just, like, 'I'm just so happy that you did this,' and the music sounds positive and happy. And this was, like, really all during the heart of the whole pandemic. So it was a very good, positive [experience]."
In 2020, Petrucci told "Coffee With Ola!" that "it was really great" for him to have Mike play on the record. "I hadn't done anything musically with him since he left DREAM THEATER over 10 years ago," he said. "And it was really just fun, because it's different when you're in a band with somebody. Really, we grew up together — we met when we were 18. And you're in business together. It's different than when it's, like, fast forward, now it's, like, my friend is playing drums on my album. It was so easy going and so cool. He was able to come to my studio despite the pandemic situation on the East Coast in the U.S. It was safe for him to come to the studio — he doesn't live that far from me. And he spent a week, and we had fun. And he did a killer job.
"These songs take a lot of different skills, I think, as a drummer — some are uplifting and happy; some are metal; some take double-bass chops; some you've gotta do a shuffle; some are blues; some is Latin feel," Petrucci explained. "And it's just a testament to Mike's playing — he knows how to do all that stuff. And he came in, totally easy going, did it. We had fun. And I'm really happy that he did it."
Portnoy, who co-founded DREAM THEATER more than 35 years ago, abruptly quit the band in September 2010 while on tour with AVENGED SEVENFOLD. He has since been replaced by Mangini (ANNIHILATOR, EXTREME, JAMES LABRIE, STEVE VAI).
In March 2021, Petrucci and Portnoy's instrumental progressive rock/metal project LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT released its third album, "LTE3", via InsideOut Music. The effort arrived 22 years after the release of 1999's "Liquid Tension Experiment 2".
Photo courtesy of John Petrucci
I'm thrilled to reveal more of my solo tour dates for later this year! These are going to be unbelievable nights of...
Posted by John Petrucci on Tuesday, August 9, 2022