Opening Act: Canyon Lights
Over the past year alone, George Thorogood & The Destroyers have been honored by The Recording Academy’s GRAMMY Museum and The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s Legends of Rock exhibit, and delivered triumphant performances at New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival as well as on a top-selling U.S. summer 2024 tour with John Fogerty. Meanwhile, Thorogood became the first entertainer in history to receive The University of Delaware’s Medal of Distinction ‘for significant cultural contributions to society’, along with the official renaming of a campus passageway near the site of Thorogood’s December 1st, 1973, debut performance as ‘Thorogood Alley’.
This was, after all, a celebration of George Thorogood & The Destroyers’ 50th Anniversary. And in a five decade career also fueled by 8,000+ live shows, more than 15 million albums sold, and a global reputation as “the band that plays hot enough to melt the polar icecaps” (Rolling Stone), “one of the 5 best acts left out of The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame” (WNBF Binghamton), and “a snarling embodiment of blues rock’s renegade spirit” (Classic Rock), where can “one of the most iconic bands in rock history” (Rapid City Journal) possibly go from here?
“That’s all pretty good for the first 50 years,” George Thorogood says with a laugh. “But we keep working harder, digging deeper and playing stronger. Now it’s time to go back out there and do some serious rockin’.” For George Thorogood & The Destroyers, serious rockin’ will always be what they do best. And for 2025, The Baddest Show On Earth Tour will bring the guitar-slinging, amp-blasting, roof-shaking rock party like never before.
For Thorogood and longtime Destroyers Jeff Simon (drums), Bill Blough (bass), Jim Suhler (guitar) and Buddy Leach (saxophone), the key has always been the power and honesty that defines great rock & roll. And much like The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin brough the blues back to America in a new form, Thorogood has always recognized that rock & roll comes from blues, country, R&B and beyond. It’s how he’s reverently reinvented songs like ‘One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer’, ‘Move It On Over’ and ‘Who Do You Love?’ and made them his own. It’s why he’s been inducted into the Mississippi Music Project Hall of Fame, received The B.B. King Award from The Montreal International Jazz Festival, and performed at The Grand Ole Opry. It’s how the hits he’s written – including ‘I Drink Alone’, ‘Gear Jammer’ and the ultimate badass anthem ‘Bad To The Bone’ – became rock radio classics that the band still proudly plays for cheering audiences around the world.
But most of all, it’s because The Baddest Show On Earth Tour personifies a career defined by equal parts fun, ferocity and one-of-a-kind take-no-prisoners rock & roll soul.
“All I ever wanted was to be a rock & roll entertainer,” George says. “And I’m lucky enough to say that’s all I’ve ever done. The plan now is to take my gratitude for the past 50 years and put it on stage every night.” In fact, any given bandstand is where Thorogood & The Destroyers have dominated throughout their history, from the 50 States/50 Days Tour; landmark performances at Live Aid and on SNL; opening club gigs for Muddy Waters and stadium shows for The Rolling Stones; and remaining one of the most reliable/formidable concert acts in the world with the past few years covering 17 countries across 3 continents including Europe and Australia. It’s a legacy that also features a top-streaming catalog of albums including George’s acclaimed 2017 solo disc Party Of One, 2020’s epic George Thorogood & The Destroyers Live In Boston 1982: The Complete Concert, and 2022’s The Original George Thorogood. It’s also about something bigger than just the music: the band’s commitments to humanitarian causes include a longstanding partnership with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society; an ongoing collaboration with Musically Fed to feed veterans, the homeless, and the food insecure nationwide; and The Marla Thorogood Memorial Fund For Ovarian Cancer Research, created in memory of George’s wife who passed away in 2019. “Music can be a kind of salvation,” George says. “As long as there’s a time to rock, a time to give back, and the opportunity to combine them both, we’ll keep making a difference wherever and whenever we can.”
For now, George Thorogood & The Destroyers are taking all the drum-bashing, bass-pounding, sax-wailing, monster guitar energy of the past five decades and pouring it into The Baddest Show On Earth Tour, with “the boogie-blues Sinatra” (Classic Rock History) as its relentless ringmaster. “If the circus makes everyone feel like a kid again, this tour will make you feel like a teenager,” George says with a grin. “I consider us to be a musical high-wire act that works without a net, and we’ll be bringing all the danger, thrills, and fun that our audiences can handle. Because that’s what great rock & roll is all about.”
