Black Sabbath "Farewell Tour" 2016 dates
The iconic and legendary Birmingham’s most famous band is coming to an end (unfortunately). After months of keeping fans in suspense, Ozzy Osbourne and company have finally delivered. Black Sabbath has announced farewell tour dates for 2016.
Billed as "the final tour from the greatest metal band of all time," the trek kicks off Jan. 20 in Omaha, Neb.'s CenturyLink Center. The North American leg contains 17 dates and wraps Feb. 25 in New York's Madison Square Garden. Seven Australia and New Zealand dates follow in April. But that's not all, the band promises more dates will be announced in Oct. 2015.
In an interview with the Birmingham Mail, band founder Tony Iommi says the reason is simple: “I can’t actually do this anymore,” admits the guitar hero. “My body won’t take it much more.”
He adds, “We’ve been doing this for getting on for 50 years now. It’s about time we draw the line, don’t you think? It’s been great but it’s time to stop now. Don’t get me wrong, I still love gigging. It’s all the traveling and the exhaustion that goes with it that’s the problem. That side of things has a big impact on me.”
Iommi, who battled lymphoma, has tests in two weeks’ time to ensure the cancer has not returned.
When asked about the chances of estranged drummer Bill Ward participating in the final tour, Iommi replied, “That depends on Bill. We met up again six weeks ago and we got on great – but it’s down to Bill. Our plans as they stand are to tour with Ozzy, Geezer Butler, myself and Ozzy’s drummer Tommy Clufetos, who did so well on the last tour.”
And what about one last record? "The plan is that next year [we'll do] the final Black Sabbath tour and album," Ozzy Osbourne said in an April 2015 interview. For now, we'll have to wait and see.
Here are the dates Sabbath has announced so far:
Jan 20: Omaha Centurylink Center, NE
Jan 22: Chicago United Centre, IL
Jan 25: Minneapolis Target Center, MN
Jan 28: Saskatoon Sasktel Centre, SK
Jan 30: Edmonton Rexall Centre, AB
Feb 01: Calgary Scotiabank Saddledome, AB
Feb 03: Vancouver Rogers Arena, BC
Feb 06: Tacoma Dome, WA
Feb 09: San Jose SAP Center, CA
Feb 11: Los Angeles The Forum, CA
Feb 13: Las Vegas Mandalay Bay Events Center, NV
Feb 15: Denver Pepsi Center, CO
Feb 17: Kansas City Sprint Center, MO
Feb 19: Detroit Palace Of Auburn Hills, MI
Feb 21: Hamilton Firstontario Centre, ON
Feb 23: Montreal Bell Centre, QC
Feb 25: New York Madison Square Garden, NY
Apr 15: Perth Arena, Australia
Apr 17: Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Australia
Apr 19: Melbourne Rod Laver Arena, Australia
Apr 23: Sydney Allphones Arena, Australia
Feb 25: Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Australia
Apr 28: Auckland Vector Arena, New Zealand
Apr 30: Dunedin Forsyth Barr Stadium, New Zealand
Jun 01: Budapest Arena, Hungary
Jun 08: Berlin Waldebuhne, Germany
Jun 11: Download Festival, UK
Jun 13:Verona Arena, Italy
Jun 15: Zurich Hallenstadion, Switzerland
Jun 17: Dessel Graspop Metal Meeting, Belgium
Jun 23: Halden Tons of Rock, Norway
Jun 25: Copenhagen Copenhell, Denmark
Jun 28: Vienna Stadthalle, Austria
Jun 30: Prague 02 Arena, Czech Republic
Jul 02: Krakow Tauron Arena, Poland
Jul 05: Riga Arena, Latvia
Jul 07: Helsinki Monsters of Rock, Finland
Jul 09: Stockholm Monsters of Rock, Sweden
Jul 12: Moscow Olympisky Arena, Russia
Aug 17: Wantagh Nikon at Jones Beach Theater, NY
Aug 19: Philadelphia Susquehanna Bank Center, PA
Aug 21: Washington Jiffy Lube Live, DC
Aug 23: Holmdel PNC Bank Arts Center, NJ
Aug 25: Boston Xfinity Center, MA
Aug 27: Uncasville Mohegan Sun Arena, CT
Aug 29: Toronto Molson Canadian Amphitheatre, ON
Aug 31: Detroit DTE Energy Music Theater, MI
Sep 02: Indianapolis Klipsch Music Center, IN
Sep 04: Chicago Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, IL
Sep 07: Dallas Gexa Energy Pavilion, TX
Sep 09: Albuquerque Isleta Ampitheater, NM
Sep 11: Salt Lake City USANA Ampitheater, UT
Sep 13: Portland Sunlight Supply Arena, OR
Sep 15: Oakland Oracle Arena, CA
Sep 17: Las Vegas MGM Grand Garden Arena, NV
Sep 19: Hollywood Hollywood Bowl, CA
Sep 21: Phoenix AK-Chin Pavilion, AZ
