Bob Seger and his Silver Bullet Band are ready for their “Famous Final Scene” — at least as far as touring is concerned. The Rock and Roll and Songwriters Hall of Famer, who postponed his 2017 Runaway Train Tour due to spinal surgery, is billing his upcoming Travelin’ Man Tour as a “final” outing for the 73-year-old rocker. Sixteen dates have already been announced as makeups for the postponed shows, while an additional 10 have been announced, including the tour opener Nov. 21 in Grand Rapids, Mich. Tickets for the new show go on sale Sept. 28 and 29, with fan club pre-sales on Sept. 25.
Seger has been talking about quitting the road from as far back as 1986 and especially during the campaigns for his most recent albums, from 2006’s Face The Promise to last year’s I Knew You When. In 2014 he explained that, “The big deciding factor for whether I leave or don’t leave is my voice, whether it holds up…I just want to be graceful about it, you know what I mean? I don’t want to stay too long, that’s all. So we’ll see.”
Prior to 2014’s Ride Out Seger noted that, “I don’t know how much more there is to prove. I wouldn’t mind putting out one more record, one last swan song…. I’ve had a great career. It’s been a great run. It’s amazing how much airplay we’ve gotten down through the years. I don’t want to overstay my welcome.”
Seger was already off the road and had gone through his surgery, a cervical laminectomy, when I Knew You When came out last Nov. 17. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Top Current Rock Albums chart, No. 2 on the Top Rock Albums chart and No. 25 on the Billboard 200 after its mid-November release. Seger subsequently offered another song from the sessions, “Finding Out,” as a free download.