Don McLean Announces 50th Anniversary ‘American Pie’ Tour

Don McLean has rolled out a 29-date 50th Anniversary “American Pie” tour. The tour kicks off over three nights — January 28th, 29th, and 30th at Honolulu's Blue Note Hawaii and stretches through July 9th at Phoenix's Orpheum Theatre.

McLean said in the tour announcement, “After spending the past 18 months at home, I am thrilled to be getting back on the road with my band. 2022 marks the 50th anniversary from when American Pie landed at the Number One spot on the Billboard chart and we will be celebrating on tour all year long. We will be performing all the songs from the American Pie album plus many of the other hits that fans will be expecting to hear.”

On January 15th, 1972 Don McLean's “American Pie” topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the first week of its month-long run. The song is the origin of the term “the day the music died,” about the February 1959 plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson, but that's only a small part of what it's about.

McLean was a huge Holly fan growing up, and he was deeply moved by Holly's death, but says that it's merely the starting off point of what “American Pie” is about: “The fact that Buddy Holly seems to be the primary thing that people talk about when they talk about 'American Pie' is, is kind of sad. It's only the beginning is about Buddy Holly, and the rest of it goes on and talks about America and politics and the country, and trying to catch some kind of a special feeling that I had about my country, especially in 1970 and '71, when it was very turbulent.”

For Don McLean, live performance is the best way to get his music to the fans: “I still think that one of the good things to do is just to get out and keep working. I mean, I guess I could've retired a long time ago, but I like to sing and if you have a new song, y'know, you get it out there. Even if it influences one person to write another one or to maybe sing that one. You get your ideas out there and the Internet is very helpful that way, that's for sure.”

JUST ANNOUNCED: Don McLean tour dates (subject to change):

January 28, 29, 30 – Honolulu, HI – Blue Note Hawaii
February 3 – Clear Lake, IA – Surf Ballroom
February 5 – Grand Forks, ND – Chester Fritz Auditorium
February 11 – The Villages, FL – Sharon L. Morse Performing Arts Center
February 12 – Ponte Vedra Beach, FL – Ponte Vedra Concert Hall
February 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 – Port Canaveral, FL – Rock Legends Cruise
February 19 – Clearwater, FL – Bilheimer Capitol Theatre
February 24 – Tucson, AZ – Fox Tucson Theatre
February 29 – Kansas City, MO – Uptown Theater
May 1 – Indianapolis, IN – Clowes Memorial Hall
May 7 – Toronto, Canada – John W H Bassett Theatre
May 12 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium
May 13 – Atlanta, GA – Atlanta Symphony Hall
May 19 – St. Louis, MO – Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center
May 20 – Springfield, MO – Gillioz Theatre
June 2 – Albany, NY – The Egg
June 3 – Boston, MA – Shubert Theatre
June 4 – New York, NY – Town Hall
June 11 – Baltimore, MD – The Lyric
June 12 – Tysons, VA – Capital One Hall
June 17 – Grand Rapids, MI – DeVos Performance Hall
June 18 – Milwaukee, WI – The Pabst Theater
June 24 – San Antonio, TX – Tobin Center for the Performing Arts
June 25 – Houston, TX – Cullen Performance Hall
June 26 – Austin, TX – Paramount Theatre
July 7 – Denver, CO – Paramount Theatre
July 8 – Grand Junction, CO – The Avalon Theatre
July 9 – Phoenix, AZ – Orpheum Theatre