Columbia recording artist and Pink Floyd founder Roger Waters is returning to the United States for the second leg of his highly-successful “In The Flesh” tour. The tour opens in Tampa, Florida, on June 2, 2000, and winds up in Raleigh, North Carolina, on July 16 (see itinerary ).
The first leg of “In The Flesh” was Water’s first tour, anywhere in the world, since the 1987 “Radio K.A.O.S.” trek. Prior to “In The Flesh,” the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer had last performed live, in 1993, for Don Henley at the concert for Walden Woods.
Material for Waters’ shows represents a full cross-section of his music drawn primarily from the repertoire of songs penned for Pink Floyd as well as selections from his solo albums including “Amused To Death.” Waters co-founded the groundbreaking Pink Floyd with Syd Barrett in 1966 and became the group’s sonic architect upon Barrett’s departure, creating such undeniable classics as “The Dark Side Of The Moon,” “The Wall,” “Animals,” “Wish You Were Here,” and “Final Cut.”
Having spent much of the seven years previous to the first leg of his tour working on “Ca Ira” (pronounced “sa-ira”), an opera in English and French, Waters felt the desire to re-enter the live arena, reconnect with his fans, and experience the thrill of performing his classic songs live.
Waters (guitar, vocals, and bass) is touring with a full band of top-flight musicians including Andy Fairweather-Low (guitar), Snowy White (guitar), Doyle Bramhall II (guitar and vocals), Graham Broad (drums), Jon Carin (keyboards), Andy Wallace (keyboards), Katie Kissoon (vocals) and Susannah Melvoin (vocals).
Andy Fairweather-Low has toured and/or recorded with Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Stevie Nicks, and Kate Bush, among others; he has worked with Waters since the 1984 “Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking” tour.
British-born blues/rock guitarist Snowy White was a full-time member of Thin Lizzy and first performed with Waters on the original 1980 Pink Floyd performances of “The Wall” in Earl’s Court, London.
Doyle Bramhall II is a Texas blues-funk guitarist who’s been playing professionally since he was 15; as a teenager, Bramhall was one of the few musicians the late Stevie Ray Vaughan would invite to sit in with him and, at 19, was invited to join Jimmie Vaughan’s Fabulous Thunderbirds.
The drummer for Procol Harum, Graham Broad has played with Bill Wyman & the Rhythm Kings and can be heard on Roger Water’s “Amused To Death” album.
Jon Carin has played keyboards for The Who, Pete Townshend, Bryan Ferry and others.
The 28-year-old London-based keyboardist Andy Wallace has worked with a variety of artists including David Bowie, Daryl Hall, Tom Jones, and Whitney Houston; from 1997-98, he performed as a member of the Robbie Williams Band.
Katie Kissoon has sung with Eric Clapton, Van Morrison, George Harrison, and the Pet Shop Boys among others.
Susannah Melvoin has sung on recordings by Prince, Wendy & Lisa, Mike Oldfield, and Doyle Bramhall II.
“Ca Ira” will debut early in the new millennium. Waters has also begun work on a new rock album to be released later this year on Columbia Records.