Tour to Celebrate 50th Anniversary of ‘Sweetheart of the Rodeo’

Fifty years after its release, the Byrds’ Sweetheart of the Rodeo album remains a touchstone for lovers of the country-rock sound.

It hasn’t left our minds or our turntables, and apparently the Byrds’ Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman haven’t forgotten it, either: They’ve just announced a tour celebrating the album’s 50th anniversary. At each show (only five have been announced so far, but more are promised), McGuinn and Hillman will perform songs and tell the stories behind them. Serving as a backing band will be Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives.

“We’re all looking forward to taking the fans through the back pages of the recording,” McGuinn said in a statement. “The concert will include songs that led up to that groundbreaking trip to Nashville and all the songs from the album.”

Hillman and McGuinn have both been interviewed, separately, for ND’s Best I’ve Ever Seen column. It’s always fun to find out who influenced the artists who came to influence so many others.

Here are the dates announced so far for the Sweetheart of the Rodeo tour:

July 24 – Los Angeles, CA at Ace Hotel
July 29 – Saratoga, CA at Mountain Winery
September 18 – Albany, NY at Hart Theater
September 20 – Hopewell, VA at Beacon Theatre
October 3 – Akron, OH at Akron Civic Theatre