Def Leppard and Journey Confirm 2018 Tour Together
Def Leppard and Journey have confirmed one of rock's worst-kept recent secrets: They're touring together this summer.
The 58-city tour will begin on May 21 in Hartford, CT and conclude October 6 at the Forum in Los Angeles. The bands will equally split headlining spots and the itinerary includes 10 massive stadium shows, as well as visits to famous venues such as Madison Square Garden and Fenway Park. Tickets for most shows go on sale Saturday, Feb. 3 through Live Nation. A complete list of dates and cities is below.
The two acts last shared a bill in 2006, when Def Leppard were on the road in support of Yeah! At that point, Journey were in the midst of singer Jeff Scott Soto's brief tenure; Arnel Pineda has been Journey's frontman since 2007.
Rumors of a possible new pairing began circulating last summer, when Journey bassist Ross Valory mentioned it ahead of a show in New Orleans. Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell later confirmed talks between the two popular rock acts. "I know that nothing is set in stone," Campbell said. "But negotiations are going on, and one of the acts we're talking about touring with next year could possibly be Journey."
More recently, Journey guitarist Neal Schon referenced this tour in an an Instagram post: "Journey and Def Leppard comin' soon!" Journey's next round of dates were described as "a six-month tour" alongside Def Leppard in a January feature on Journey drummer Steve Smith, as well.
This is the latest in a series of co-headlining packages for Journey, who've also appeared over the last few years with the Doobie Brothers, Santana, Asia, and the Steve Miller Band. The 2006 tour has been described as one of Def Leppard's most successful since the early '90s.
"We weren't convinced," Phil Collen admitted in his autobiography Life, Def Leppard and Beyond. "But all of that changed on the first date of the tour in Camden, N.J., when all 23,000 tickets were sold – and 3,000 people couldn't get in. The tour was a raging success, and Journey was awesome. They were so good, it really inspired us to raise our bar every night."
Journey / Def Leppard 2018 Tour Dates
5/21 – Hartford, CT, XL Center
5/23 – Albany, NY, Times Union Center
5/25 – Hershey, PA, Hersheypark Stadium
5/26 – Buffalo, NY, KeyBank Center
5/28 – Cleveland, OH, Quicken Loans Arena
5/30 – Cincinnati, OH, U.S. Bank Arena
6/1 – Toronto, ON, Rogers Centre
6/2 – Pittsburgh, PA, PPG Paints Arena
6/5 – Raleigh, NC, PNC Arena
6/6 – Knoxville, TN, Thompson-Boling Arena
6/8 – Bristow, VA, Jiffy Lube Live
6/9 – Charlotte, NC, Spectrum Center
6/11 – Philadelphia, PA, Wells Fargo Center
6/13 – New York, NY, Madison Square Garden
6/15 – Newark, NJ, Prudential Center
6/16 – Baltimore, MD, Royal Farms Arena
7/1 – Atlanta, GA, SunTrust Park
7/3 – Noblesville, IN, Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center
7/4 – Milwaukee, WI, Summerfest
7/6 – Memphis, TN, FedExForum
7/7 – North Little Rock, AR, Verizon Arena
7/9 – Tulsa, OK, BOK Center
7/11 – Louisville, KY, KFC Yum! Center
7/13 – Detroit, MI, Comerica Park
7/14 – Chicago, IL, Wrigley Field
7/16 – Wichita, KS, INTRUST Bank Arena
7/18 – Sioux Falls, SD, Denny Sanford PREMIER Center
7/19 – Lincoln, NE, Pinnacle Bank Arena
7/21 – Denver, CO, Coors Field
7/23 – Des Moines, IA, Wells Fargo Arena
7/25 – Kansas City, MO, Sprint Center
7/27 – Minneapolis, MN, Target Field
7/28 – Fargo, ND, Fargodome
8/11 – Boston, MA, Fenway Park
8/13 – Virginia Beach, VA, Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater
8/15 – Columbia, SC, Colonial Life Arena
8/17 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL, BB&T Center
8/18 – Tampa, FL, Amalie Arena
8/20 – Birmingham, AL, Legacy Arena @ The BJCC
8/22 – Columbus, OH, Schottenstein Center
8/24 – St. Louis, MO, Busch Stadium
8/25 – Nashville, TN, Bridgestone Arena
8/27 – New Orleans, LA, Smoothie King Center
8/29 – Dallas, TX, American Airlines Center
8/31 – San Antonio, TX, AT&T Center
9/1 – Houston, TX, Toyota Center
9/5 – Albuquerque, NM, Isleta Amphitheater
9/7 – Phoenix, AZ, Talking Stick Resort Arena
9/8 – Las Vegas, NV, T-Mobile Arena
9/21 – San Francisco, CA, AT&T Park
9/23 – San Diego, CA, Petco Park
9/25 – Salt Lake City, UT, Vivint Smart Home Arena
9/26 – Nampa, ID, Ford Idaho Center Arena
9/28 – Portland, OR, Moda Center
9/29 – Seattle, WA, Gorge Amphitheatre
10/1 – Vancouver, BC, Rogers Arena
10/4 – Sacramento, CA, Golden 1 Center
10/6 – Los Angeles, CA, The Forum