Thomas Dolby Confirmed for Select U.S. Headlining Dates

Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Thomas Dolby will soon set off on a headlining tour of the United States, playing select dates in the Northeast and Midwest. The dates kick off in mid-April. 

In this intimate concert series, Thomas Dolby will bring his unusual journey to life, blending songs, stories, and musical reminiscences from the 1980s. Normally opting to appear solo, for these dates, he will be accompanied by Gail Ann Dorsey on bass and vocals, and multi-instrumentalist Andrew Lipke on guitars and vocals. Dorsey will also open the show with her solo set. Click here to purchase tickets; for the first time, meet and greet packages are also available.  

In his bestselling memoir “The Speed of Sound,” Dolby cataloged his journey from busker on the streets of London and Paris to in-demand session keyboardist with artists such as Foreigner and Stevie Wonder, producer for Joni Mitchell and George Clinton, to sharing the stage with David Bowie at Live Aid and Roger Waters at The Wall in Berlin.

Beyond music, he founded a Silicon Valley tech company, co-invented the Nokia polyphonic ringtone, helped transform TED into a global phenomenon, and earned acclaim as a filmmaker and novelist. He is now an endowed Professor of Music at the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD.

Gail Ann Dorsey is a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Widely known as David Bowie’s longtime bassist and vocalist, she has also toured and recorded with such notable artists as Tears for Fears, Lenny Kravitz, Bryan Ferry and Gwen Stefani. She is currently a featured performer in the Blackstar Symphony, with bandleader Donny McCaslin. Gail has previously released three solo albums and will release her next solo project, THE APPEARANCE OF LIFE, this spring. The first single, “(It Takes All Kinds) to Make a World,” is out now. 

Andrew Lipke has released seven self-produced albums. His orchestrations have been performed by major U.S. symphonies, and he has conducted the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center along with orchestras in Atlanta, Nashville, Dallas and elsewhere. His most recent work is a concept album trilogy inspired by Herman Hesse’s “Siddhartha,” with a new project, IRIS, forthcoming.

Thomas Dolby came to prominence in the 1980s, with hit singles like “She Blinded Me with Science” (1982) and “Hyperactive!” (1984). He has also worked as a producer and as a session musician on hits by Def Leppard, Whodini, The Thompson Twins and Belinda Carlisle. He has received four Grammy nominations, two each in 1984 and 1988. 

In the 1990s, Thomas Dolby founded Beatnik, a Silicon Valley software company that developed the polyphonic ringtone engine that played back the Nokia tune. Its technology was embedded in more than three billion cell phones and devices made by Nokia, Microsoft (MSFT) and Motorola (MSI). 

He was also the music director for TED Conferences for twelve years. On the faculty at the Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University since 2014, he leads Peabody’s Music for New Media program, which enrolled its first students in the fall of 2018.

Thomas Dolby United States Tour Dates:

APRIL

14       Plymouth, MA            Spire Center

15       New York, NY            Racket

16       Kingston, NY              Assembly

18       Lansing, MI                Grewal Hall

19       Indianapolis, IN          The Vogue

20       Chicago, IL                 House Of Blues

21       St. Louis, MO             City Winery