DOWN THE ROAD WHEREVER TOUR 2019

Tour line-up:

Mark Knopfler Guitar, vocals	Guy Fletcher Keyboards, vocals	Richard Bennett Guitar	Glenn Worf Bass, vocals	Ian Thomas Drums	Jim Cox Piano, accordion	Mike McGoldrick Flute, uilleann pipes, whistle	John McCusker Fiddle, cittern, whistle	Graeme Blevins Saxophone	Danny Cummings Percussion	Tom Walsh Trumpet
On 5th August 2016, Guy Fletcher mentioned on his forum: "Back in the studio very soon".  Working on both the new MK album and the new music for "Local Hero - the musical" took from from September 2016 until March 2018. On 19th September 2018, the new album Down the road wherever was announced and the first single Good on you son was officially available through digital download via various sources. On 19th October 2018 the Down the road wherever tour 2019 was announced on the MK News website. Rehearsals for the tour started at Music Banks at the beginning of April 2019 and lasted for 3 weeks. The tour actually commenced in Barcelona on 25th April and continued all over Europe finishing in Verona in July before heading to the US through August and September. On the show of 25th September, Bonnie Raitt is a special guest. The tour line-up is the same as 2015, but with addition of Danny Cummings on percussion and Tom Walsh on trumpet. Nigel Hitchcock played on the Down the road wherever album, but he had other commitments during the tour period and therefore is replaced by Graeme Blevins. Mark says: ‘My songs are made to be performed live. I love the whole process of writing them alone and then recording them with the band, but ultimately the best part is playing them to an audience live. I enjoy the whole circus, travelling from town to town and interacting with this group of players is a total pleasure. I’m really looking forward to it.’ In an Italian interview (October 2018), Mark revealed that he is getting at an age that at some point the touring will stop. Not that surprising as Mark turns 70 years old during this tour. In an interview in Guitarist magazine (December 2018 issue): "But now 69, he’s limiting his time on the road, and he warns it may well grind to a halt after the tour. “I have more days off on the road now than I used to,” he says. “I used to play six nights a week, but you get to an age where it’s too much strain, so I do three in a row now, and then a night off, as befits an ageing performer. “I think touring will be the first casualty. I’ll have to stop, like Paul Simon has just stopped. You can understand it, because it takes a lot out of you. So I’ll go on writing, I’ll go on recording if I can, and then maybe just do the odd show.” Does that mean the 2019 dates will be his last proper tour? “It might very well be. It will be funny to say goodbye to it, because it’s always been the end of the cycle. But I won’t think about it. I’ll just make a record like I’ve always made, and then when it comes to talking about the tour, I just won’t talk about it.” After the first song in Barcelona 25th April 2019, Mark said to the audience: "I always loved to be in Barcelona so, once again is, hello Barcelona but now I'm an old man, you know. So, I wanna thank you Barcelona for all the many happy years of me coming to say hello. It is also goodbye Barcelona for me, I'm very sad. So hello Barcelona, dear Barcelona, I love Barcelona. But I will still try to make some records and write songs, but has to be no more travelling for old granddad. Nevermind..."  Later during the tour, Mark seems to have changed his mind as he then said that he wants to go on until he falls over like a tree. So, who knows if this really was the last Mark Knopfler tour, or that maybe there is more to come? While in Nashville, Mark Knopfler visited the Country Music Hall of Fame where this picture was taken together with his old friend, Chet Atkins. Click here for a nice picture of the complete crew from the Down the road wherever tour. All shows of the tour were recorded. The audio soundboard recordings could be bought in the Mark Knopfler on-line shop as a souvenir and were available as MP3 and FLAC (lossless audio) downloads. Also available was an exclusive item to MarkKnopfler.com, a replica of a Gibson Les Paul. Each 8GB USB 2.0 key has a chrome finish on the back, and an engraving of "Down the road wherever tour - Mark Knopfler". To round off the realism of this unique item, each key is packed in a hard shell road case, complete with handles, clasps and leather-look graphics. This USB stick was sold without any concert on the stick itself. In December 2019, another USB guitar stick was made available. This time a red Fender Stratocaster with on the side of the neck the engraving "Down the road wherever tour - Mark Knopfler". This came in the same hard shell case. Some facts and figures about this tour: Mark played 86 shows, visited 21 countries, 22 states with a 45 touring party and sold over 643.000 tickets.   Thank you Mark, for all the many years of great music which will always be in my heart!

Advertisement poster for the tour: 

Official recordings made during this tour

Concert	Bootleg release	Official release

Concert	Bootleg release	Official release

Concert	Bootleg release	Official release
Official concert recordings (86x)

► Total concerts played: 86



April 2019

  25.04.2019    Palau St Jordi Barcelona Spain
  26.04.2019    Bullring Valencia Spain
  28.04.2019    Wizink Centre Madrid Spain
  29.04.2019    Bullring Cordoba Spain
  30.04.2019    Altice Arena Lisbon Portugal



May 2019

  03.05.2019    Coliseum Coruna Spain
  05.05.2019    Navarra Arena Pamplona Spain
  06.05.2019    Arkea Arena Bordeaux France
  07.05.2019    Zenith Metropole Toulouse France
  09.05.2019    Hallenstadion Zurich Switserland
  10.05.2019    Mediolanum Forum Milan Italy
  12.05.2019    Zenith Europe Strasbourg France
  13.05.2019    Lanxess Arena Cologne Germany
  15.05.2019    Mercedes Benz Arena Berlin Germany
  16.05.2019    TUI Arena Hannover Germany
  18.05.2019    First Direct Arena Leeds UK
  19.05.2019    Metro Radio Arena Newcastle UK
  21.05.2019    Royal Albert Hall London UK
  22.05.2019    Royal Albert Hall London UK
  24.05.2019    3 Arena Dublin Ireland
  26.05.2019    SSE Hydro Glasgow Scotland
  28.05.2019    O2 Arena London UK
  29.05.2019    Arena Manchester UK
  30.05.2019    Genting Arena Birmingham UK



June 2018

  07.06.2019    SBM Arena Alesund Norway
  08.06.2019    Bergenhus Festning Plenen Outdoor greenfield Bergen Norway
  09.06.2019    Spektrum Oslo Norway
  11.06.2019    Ericsson Globe Stockholm Sweden
  12.06.2019    Scandinavium Gothenburg Sweden
  13.06.2019    Jyske Bank Boxen Herning Denmark
  15.06.2019    Royal Arena Copenhagen Denmark
  17.06.2019    AccorHotels Arena Paris France
  19.06.2019    Halle Tony Garnier Lyon France
  20.06.2019    Rockhal Luxembourg City Luxembourg
  22.06.2019    Sportpaleis Antwerp Belgium
  23.06.2019    Ziggo Dome Amsterdam The Netherlands
  25.06.2019    Barclaycard Arena Hamburg Germany
  26.06.2019    O2 Arena Prague Czech Republic
  28.06.2019    Stadthalle Vienna Austria
  29.06.2019    Arena Stozice Ljubljana Slovenia 



July 2019

  01.07.2019    König-Pilsner Arena Oberhausen Germany
  02.07.2019    Hans-Martin-Schleyer Halle Stuttgart Germany
  03.07.2019    St Peter at Sunset Fest Stozice Kestenholz Switserland
  05.07.2019    Arena Leipzig Germany
  06.07.2019    SAP Arena Mannheim Germany
  07.07.2019    Olympiahalle Munich Germany
  09.07.2019    Budapest Arena Budapest Hungary
  10.07.2019    Tauron Arena Krakow Poland
  11.07.2019    Ergo Arena / Castle Gdansk Poland
  13.07.2019    Festival - Piazza Napoleone Lucca Italy
  14.07.2019    Guitare en Scene Festival Stade des Burgondes Saint-Julien-en-Genevois France
  15.07.2019    Antic Arena Nimes France
  17.07.2019    Stupinigi Sonic Park - Palazzina di Caccia di Stupinigi Nichelino (Torino) Italy
  18.07.2019    Arena della Regina Cattolica (Rimini) Italy
  20.07.2019    Terme di Caracalla Rome Italy
  21.07.2019    Terme di Caracalla Rome Italy
  22.07.2019    Anfiteatro Di Verona Verona Italy



August 2019

  16.08.2019    Grand Theater at Foxwoods Resort Casino Mashantucket USA
  17.08.2019    The Met Philadelphia Philadelphia USA
  18.08.2019    Wolf Trap - Filene Center Vienna USA
  20.08.2019    Beacon Theatre New York USA
  21.08.2019    Beacon Theatre New York USA
  23.08.2019    Blue Hills Bank Pavilion Boston USA
  24.08.2019    Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier/Place Des Arts Montreal Canada
  25.08.2019    Sony Centre for the Performing Arts Toronto Canada
  27.08.2019    Old National Centre - Murat Theatre Indianapolis USA
  28.08.2019    Arvest Bank Theatre at The Midland Kansas City USA
  30.08.2019    Orpheum Theatre Minneapolis USA
  31.08.2019    Riverside Theater  Milwaukee USA



September

  01.09.2019    Chicago Theatre Chicago USA
  03.09.2019    Ryman Auditorium Nashville USA
  04.09.2019    State Bank Amphitheatre at Chastain Park Atlanta USA
  06.09.2019    Smart Financial Centre Sugar Land USA
  07.09.2019    The Moody Theater Austin USA
  08.09.2019    Verizon Theatre Grand Prairie USA
  10.09.2019    Red Rocks Amphitheater Morrison USA
  11.09.2019    Red Butte Garden Amphitheatre Salt Lake City USA
  13.09.2019    Keller Auditorium Portland USA
  14.09.2019    Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery Woodinville USA
  15.09.2019    Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery Woodinville USA
  16.09.2019    Orpheum Theatre Vancouver Canada
  18.09.2019    The Greek Theatre Berkeley USA
  20.09.2019    Santa Barbara Bowl Santa Barbara USA
  21.09.2019    Comerica Theatre Phoenix USA
  22.09.2019    Greek Theatre Los Angeles USA
  25.09.2019    Madison Square Garden New York USA

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