
The dates are in for Genesis ' first North American tour in 15 years, a run that is so far confirmed to hit 13 cities in the US and Canada beginning Sept. 7 in Toronto.
Anticipation has been running high since November, when Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks announced they would take the "Turn It On Again" tour to venues across Europe this summer. Before heading to North America, Genesis will play in Finland, Denmark, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, Poland, Germany, France, Holland, the UK, Monte Carlo and Italy. European dates are listed at the band's website; domestic gigs are detailed below.
Ticket sales for Montreal and Philadelphia begin Saturday (3/10), and several other cities go on sale Monday (3/12). Additional ticket information is available at Genesis' website.
Collins, Rutherford and Banks will be joined onstage by longtime Genesis sidemen Chester Thompson (drums) and Daryl Stuermer (guitar). During a New York City press conference this morning (3/7), Collins said there would be a lot of double-drumming, adding that he and Thompson have been playing together for about 30 years.
Collins also said he considers the outing more of a special event than a tour in that it will be confined to approximately 20 shows in Europe and 20 more in America.
"If we wanted to do 60-80 shows, we could," he said, later adding, "We're doing it for the love, not the money."
The trek has no corporate sponsor, and no guest performers are anticipated. Genesis will play songs from its large catalog, forgoing material from the members' solo careers.
To coincide with the tour, 13 Genesis studio albums will be remastered and reissued in three stages this year. The first set, "Genesis: 1976-1981," is a five-album collection with bonus material including rare tracks, EPs and b-sides, according to a press release. The six-CD/six-DVD box set is scheduled to drop April 24.
Genesis has sold more than 130 million albums and sustained success over four decades. The prog-rock band was formed in 1966 by Rutherford, Banks, Peter Gabriel and Anthony Phillips. Its most commercially successful incarnation was in the late '70s and early '80s, when Collins moved up from the drum kit to take on lead-vocal duties.
During the press conference, Collins said Gabriel was too busy with a solo project to join the Genesis tour. Gabriel has said in the past that he wouldn't rule out a reunion with the band in the future.