The Doobie Brothers are coming to Fresno’s Save Mart Center. Yes, with Michael McDonald, too
The Doobie Brothers surprised a sold-out crowd in Nashville last week by bringing former band mate (and current solo artist) Michael McDonald on stage for a quick sit-in.
They played “Takin’ it to the Streets.”
Doubling down on the surprise, the band then announced that McDonald will join The Doobie Brothers for a 50th anniversary arena tour in 2020.
That tour will be coming to Fresno.
The Doobie Brothers will perform Sept. 13 at the Save Mart Center. Tickets for the show start at $43.75 and are on sale 10 a.m. Dec. 6 at the arena box office or online at www.ticketmaster.com or livenation.com. An American Express VIP pre-sale begins Dec. 2.
Fresno is one of 23 dates the band added since first announcing the tour – and seeing the overwhelming excitement from fans.
It will be the first time that this particular lineup – McDonald plus Tom Johnston, Pat Simmons and John McFee – has toured in more than 25 years.
“The fans will have a chance to hear all our hits, as well as deep cuts and new material. I know these will be very special performances,” Simmons said.
The Doobie Brothers are well classified as classic rock, with an emphasis on classic. The band had five top-10 singles and 16 top-40 hits including “Listen To The Music,”“Black Water,” “China Grove“ and “Jesus Is Just Alright With Me.”
The announcement of the tour comes just a month after the band was nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
In other reunion news
The Doobie Brothers aren’t the only band with news of a reunion last week. Motley Crue, which famously called a press conference and crafted a legal document to call it quits in 2014, announced it would be reuniting for a tour with Def Leppard and Poison in 2020.
Venue and scheduling information has yet to be released, but it is being billed as a stadium tour, so Fresno fans will likely have to travel to see the show.
This story was originally published November 25, 2019 at 9:56 AM.