Primus to Cover Rush's 'A Farewell to Kings' on Summer Tour

Wolfmother, the Sword and Battles will also join the "A Tribute to Kings Tour"

BY Calum SlingerlandPublished Feb 18, 2020

Primus have announced plans to pay homage to Rush with a North American tour this summer, when they will perform the legendary Canadian trio's 1977 album A Farewell to Kings in its entirety.

The North American run — which features support on select dates from Wolfmother, the Sword and Battles — begins May 26 in Irving, TX, and features a lone Canadian stop at Toronto's Echo Beach on June 30.

UPDATE (5/4, 12 p.m. ET): The tour has been officially postponed due to COVID-19. Regarding the decision, Primus issued the following statement:

The upcoming "Primus: A Tribute To Kings" tour is being rescheduled. Primus has been looking forward to celebrating this legendary Rush album, but want to ensure everyone's health and safety is not at risk. New dates are being worked on at this time and information will become available the moment it's able to be shared. Hang onto your tickets as they will be valid for the new dates. A majority of the shows will offer refunds when the new dates are announced or after 60 days if it takes extra time to find new dates. Please reach out to your original point of purchase with questions regarding refund policies and any other ticket inquiries. Thank you for your understanding and support during this unprecedented time.

As Primus bassist/band leader Les Claypool explained in a statement, he and guitarist Larry LaLonde had thought of Primus covering a Rush album for a series of shows around one year ago.

The trek was initially slated to take place last fall, postponed only after Primus were asked to support Slayer on the thrash outfit's farewell tour.

"Geddy, Alex and Neil had been superheroes to Larry, Herb and I in our teens," Claypool recalled in a statement. "So when we all became pals while touring together in the early '90s, we were pretty delighted; partially because of the musical geek-out factor, but mostly because the three guys whom we had admired so much from afar, turned out to be truly great, down-to-earth humans, and like us, a tad eccentric."

Tickets go on sale to the public Friday (February 21) at 10 a.m. local time, with further details here. Primus last released The Desaturating Seven in 2017.

Rush drummer and lyricist Neil Peart died last month following a battle with brain cancer. The band recently revealed plans to give their Permanent Waves album an anniversary reissue.

Tour dates:

05/26 Irving, TX - The Pavilion *^
05/27 Houston, TX - Revention Music Center *^
05/29 Austin, TX - ACL Live at the Moody Theater *^
05/30 New Orleans, LA - Saenger Theater *^
06/01 Asheville, NC - ExploreAsheville.com Arena *^
06/03 Orlando, FL - Hard Rock Live *^
06/05 Atlanta, GA - Coca-Cola Roxy *^
06/06 Charlotte, NC - Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre *^
06/07 Raleigh, NC - Red Hat Amphitheater *^
06/09 Cincinnati, OH - PNC Pavilion *^
06/10 Columbus, OH - Express Live! *^
06/12 Manchester, TN - Bonnaroo
06/15 Richmond, VA - Virginia Credit Union LIVE! *^
06/16 Baltimore, MD - MECU Pavilion *^
06/17 New York, NY - Beacon Theatre *^
06/19 Philadelphia, PA - The Met *^
06/20 Asbury Par, NJ - The Stone Pony *^
06/21 Essex Junction, VT - Midway Lawn *^
06/23 Boston, MA - Rockland Trust Bank Pavilion *^
06/24 Wallingford, CT - Toyota Oakdale Theatre *^
06/26 Sterlight Heights, MI - Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre *^
06/27 Cleveland, OH - Jacobs Pavilion *^
06/28 Pittsburgh, PA - Stage AE *^
06/30 Toronto, ON - RBC Echo Beach *^
07/02 Lafayette, NY - Beak and Skiff *
07/03 Westbrook, ME - Main Savings Pavilion
07/06 Indianapolis, IN - The Amphitheater *+
07/07 Milwaukee, WI - BMO Harris Pavilion*+
07/08 Minneapolis, MN - The Armory*+
07/10 Chicago, IL - The Chicago Theatre*+
07/11 St. Louis, MO - Saint Louis Music Park*+
07/12 Kansas City, MO - Crossroads KC*+
07/14 Denver, CO - The Mission Ballroom*+
07/15 Salt Lake City, UT - The Complex*+
07/17 Berkeley, CA - Greek Theater*+
07/18 Los Angeles, CA - Greek Theatre*+
07/19 Las Vegas, NV - Pearl Concert Theater*+
07/21 Boise, ID - Outlaw Field*+
07/23 Bonner, MT - KettleHouse Amphitheater*+
07/24 Redmond, WA - Marymoor Park*+
07/25 Troutdale, OR - Edgefield*+
07/28 Spokane, WA - Riverfront Park Amphitheater*+
07/29 Bend, OR - Les Schwab Amphitheater*+
07/31 Paso Robles, CA - Vina Robles Amphitheatre*+
08/01 San Diego, CA - Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre*+
08/02 Phoenix, AZ - Arizona Federal Theatre *+

* with Wolfmother
^ with The Sword
+ with Battles

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