originally published: 07/21/2022
(MONTCLAIR, NJ) -- Blues Traveler brings their 35th Anniversary Tour to the Wellmont Theater on Tuesday, October 4th. Throughout the tour, the seminal band has been performing a revival of songs that has spanned more than three decades and 14 hit albums – including the iconic four, which went six-times Platinum and spawned the definitive “Run-Around” (garnering their first Grammy Award).
Audiences can also expect to hear the band’s Billboard-topping smash singles like “Hook” and “But Anyway,” as well as their new, blues-infused renditions of some of their favorite classic blues songs, originally recorded by artists such as Aretha Franklin, Freddie King, Big Mama Thornton, and Little Willie John.
“Blues Traveler is not just a band; it’s a lifestyle,” said Guitarist Chan Kinchla. “Blues Traveler is our life’s work. It’s enabled us to do so many other things. This little tribe we built in New York during the late eighties has survived all the way through—plus or minus some dearly departed brothers and sisters. It’s empowered us to be creative, make people happy, and travel around spreading some good vibes. The longer we do it, the more we like it. Now, thanks to our latest album, people know we can actually play the fucking blues too.”
Blues Traveler was formed in 1987 by singer/harmonica player John Popper, guitarist Chan Kinchla, bassist Bobby Sheehan, and drummer Brendan Hill; the band was part of a revival of the extended jamming style of ’60s and ’70s groups like the Grateful Dead and Led Zeppelin.
Blues Traveler were on the vanguard of the jam band scene of the 1990s, the first of their generation to sign to a major label, and one of a handful to experience genuine commercial success when the naggingly catchy “Run-Around” went into the Billboard Top Ten in 1995. By that point, Blues Traveler had already carved themselves a place within the firmament of modern rock, earning a loyal audience through their sweaty improvs of blues-based rock and coalescing their peers by launching the H.O.R.D.E. Festival in 1992.
One of several Lollapalooza-inspired touring fests, H.O.R.D.E. illustrated the large audience for jam bands and helped push Blues Traveler toward the top of the charts with their 1994 album Four going platinum six times. They didn’t stay in the upper reaches of Billboard for long, but they never faded away. They worked steadily throughout the 2000s and beyond, sometimes experimenting — 2015’s Blow Up the Moon was littered with unexpected cameos — but always returning to the blues as their foundation, a debt underscored by the 2021 blues covers album Traveler’s Blues.
Tickets are available for purchase online. Doors are at 7:00pm, showtime is 8:00pm. The Wellmont Theater is located at 5 Seymour Street in Montclair, New Jersey.
Blues Traveler Upcoming Tour Dates
*Previously postponed date.
*September 27 College St. Music Hall New Haven, CT
September 29 Jonathan Edwards Winery North Stonington, CT
September 30 Parx Casino Bensalem, PA
October 1 Pound Ridge Town Park Pound Ridge, NY
October 4 The Wellmont Theater Montclair, NJ
*October 5 Dr. Pepper Park Roanoke, VA
October 7 Hollywood Casino Charles Town, WV
October 8 Kent Stage Kent, OH
October 9 Robins Theatre Warren, OH
October 11 The Orange Peel Asheville, NC
October 14 Georgia Theatre Athens, GA
October 15 Rock N’ Ribs Hilton Head Island Hilton Head, SC
October 20 Iron City Birmingham, AL
October 21 Live At Five Concert Series Fairhope, AL
October 22 Renaissance at Colony Park Ridgefield, MS
*October 24 Charleston Music Hall Charleston, SC
COLUMNS
Rock On! This Week's Sound Bites... 05/02/2026
Due to a death in the family, the "Sound Bites" weekly column has ben postponed for this week. However, the listings of live music and entertainment are enclosed; we shall return on Thursday May 7 which happens to be the same day as the monthly "Rock On Radio" Happy Hour at the Nottingham Tavern located at 9 Mercer Street in Hamilton Square, NJ with music by Carmen Marranco.
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