YES, the Most Successful Progressive Rock Group of all Time, Returns to the Concert Stage to Celebrate Their 40th Anniversary With a North American Tour

YES, the Most Successful Progressive Rock Group of all Time, Returns to the Concert Stage to Celebrate Their 40th Anniversary With a North American Tour

Tickets for the 'Close To The Edge and Back Tour' on Sale March 29th

'VH1 Classic Presents: Your Move with YES' - An Online Search To Find Talented Aspiring Rock Performers To Join YES On Stage During An Upcoming Tour Date

NEW YORK, March 20 /PRNewswire/ -- With a remarkable 40 year career that has time and again redefined the boundaries of rock, musical pioneers YES have announced 2008 tour dates to take place this summer. Marking the first national tour for the band in over five years, the 26 date jaunt will bring the iconic band's virtuosic musicianship and exhilarating live shows to amphitheatres and arenas across North America. The tour will kick off July 12th in Quebec City and wrap-up on August 22nd in Los Angeles.

Produced by Live Nation, tickets for the "Close to the Edge and Back" tour go on sale beginning March 29th and are available on http://www.livenation.com/.

A dominant force in rock music for more than four decades, YES has created some of rock's most enduring and compelling hits and has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide. The group has defined music history with their dynamic instrumental contrasts, extended song lengths and abstract lyrics. Their symphonic use of sound and innovative musical styles continues to make them the most successful progressive rock band in history. Their celebrated discography includes hits like "Owner of A Lonely Heart", "I've Seen All Good People" and "Roundabout." Now 40 years later their career continues to defy many of their rock counterparts.

"It feels incredible to gear up and get ready for the road," says YES frontman Jon Anderson, "It's been five years since our last tour. We're all very excited to play to all of our fans, a lot of which have been with us for almost 40 years. A lot of marriages don't even last that long."

"VH1 Classic Presents: Your Move with YES" in conjunction with the 40th Anniversary YES tour. Launching in early April on VH1Classic.com, VH1 Classic and YES will be looking for talented aspiring rock performers to join the band on stage. The winner will be invited to join Jon Anderson in performing "Give Love Each Day" from the album Magnification. Users will upload a 2-5 minute video of themselves performing an original rock song or piece of music. Submissions will be reviewed, and a panel of VH1 Classic judges and Jon Anderson from YES will select 3 finalists. The VH1Classic.com audience will vote for the winner. Videos submitted and chosen as finalists will also be used in on-air promotional spots during the voting period. Additional details about the contest will be announced in early April.

Founded in 1968, the impressively extensive and always evolving career of YES has cemented their standing as the most successful and longest lasting progressive rock group of all time. From the 1969 release of their ground-breaking self-titled album, YES, to their critically acclaimed 2001 release Magnification, YES have created visionary music derived from futuristic thinking and musicianship of the highest caliber. YES' music has defied logic on many levels and survived many incarnations. For the uninitiated they have folk, rock and symphonic levels of music in their collective approach. There is a spiritual energy to their world derived from the lyrics and musical outlook of singer-song writer Jon Anderson.

The lineup for this tour includes founding members Jon Anderson and Chris Squire joined by Steve Howe, Alan White and Oliver Wakeman, son of former YES keyboardist Rick Wakeman. Chris Squire is not only one of the great bass players of modern times, but has a wonderful sense of musical timing that stands strong within the musical magic known as "YES Music." The same has to be said for the guitarist Steve Howe, who has folk, classical and rock music at his fingertips. Alan White, who played with the celebrated John Lennon, is the truly gifted heart beat of the group on drums. All are revered by musicians around the world.

Jon Anderson says, "One of the biggest thrills I get on stage is when I hear the audience singing along with me." So join the celebration, and be part of the experience.

The dates of YES' North American tour are as follows:

DATE CITY VENUE
July 12 Quebec City Quebec City Festival
July 13 Toronto, ON Molson Amphitheatre
July 15 Columbus, OH Nationwide Arena
July 16 Hershey, PA Hersheypark Stadium
& Star Pavilion
July 18 Chicago, IL Charter One Pavilion
at Northerly Island
July 19 Detroit, MI Freedom Hill
July 22 Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun Arena
July 23 Boston, MA Bank of America
Pavilion
July 25 Atlantic City, NJ Borgata Event Center
July 26 Wantagh, NY Nikon at Jones Beach
Theater
July 28 Holmdel, NJ PNC Bank Arts Center
July 29 Baltimore, MD Pier 6 Pavilion
July 31 Tampa, FL Ford Amphitheatre
Aug 1 Miami, FL Hard Rock Live Arena
Aug 2 Orlando, FL Hard Rock Live
Aug 4 Atlanta, GA Verizon Wireless
Amphitheatre at Encore
Aug 6 Kansas City, MO Starlight Theatre
Aug 8 Houston, TX Cynthia Woods Mitchell
Pavilion
Aug 9 Dallas, TX Superpages.com Center
Aug 11 Denver, CO Red Rocks Amphitheatre
Aug 14 Vancouver, BC General Motors Place
Aug 15 Seattle, WA WaMu Theater at Qwest
Field Events Ctr
Aug 19 Mountain View,CA Shoreline Amphitheatre
at Mountain View
Aug 20 Anaheim, CA Honda Center
Aug 22 Universal City, CA Gibson Amphitheatre

Launched in May 2000, VH1 Classic is a 24-hour network that present videos, concerts and music specials all day long, featuring the best of rock, soul and pop artists from the 60's, 70's and 80's, including The Beatles, The Stones, Tina Turner, Led Zeppelin, Marvin Gaye, The Who, Stevie Wonder, The Police and many more. Learn more at http://www.vh1classic.com/.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: Live Nation

CONTACT: Carleen Donovan, Carleen@pressherepublicity.com, or Erika
Tooker, Erika@pressherepublicity.com, both for YES, +1-212-246-2640; or John
Vlautin of LIVE NATION, +1-310-867-7127, johnvlautin@livenation.com; or Maura
Wozniak of VH1, +1-212-846-7325

Web site:

http://www.livenation.com/
http://www.vh1classic.com/

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