Rock legends Journey and Toto take Freedom Tour to Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre on April 27
From a press release:
Following the success of the 2023 Freedom Tour, legendary rock band Journey announced a new round of shows today for their 50th Anniversary Freedom Tour featuring special guests Toto.
The diamond-selling Rock and Roll Hall of Famers will take the stage in 30 cities across North America with their catalog of global chart-topping hits, including “Don’t Stop Believin’,” “Any Way You Want It,” “Faithfully,” “Lights,” and more.
Named after Journey’s latest album, the 2024 Freedom Tour from AEG Presents begins on Feb. 9 in Biloxi, Mississippi, making stops in Raleigh, Louisville, Omaha, Las Vegas, Rochester, and more before wrapping up on April 29 in Bridgeport, Connecticut. It stops at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza (255 Highland Park Blvd., Wilkes-Barre Twp.) on Saturday, April 27 at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets, which start at $49.50, go on sale to the general public this Friday, Sept. 29 at 10 a.m. online only at axs.com.
Citi is the official card of the 50th Anniversary Freedom Tour. Citi cardmembers will have access to pre-sale tickets beginning Tuesday, Sept. 26 at 10 a.m. until Thursday, Sept. 28 at 10 p.m. through the Citi Entertainment program. A limited number of exclusive VIP packages are also available and include a selection of reserved seated tickets, custom merchandise, and more.
Journey currently features founder Neal Schon (lead guitarist), Jonathan Cain (keyboards, backing vocals), Arnel Pineda (lead vocals), Jason Derlatka (keyboards, vocals), Deen Castronovo (drums, vocals), and Todd Jensen (bass). Schon is a three-time Hall of Fame inductee, having been inducted to the Oklahoma Hall of Fame, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and Grammy Hall of Fame. Cain is a recipient of two BMI songwriter awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Journey.
Of the tour, Schon said, “We are looking forward to hitting the road again with our very good friends Toto! Come join us for a special evening full of fun and rockin’ good memories. See you soon, friends.”
“Honored to take our timeless songs on the road with another band whose songs are also timeless, Steve Lukather and Toto. It will truly be a musical evening to be remembered,” Cain added.
Toto, who have collectively streamed more than 3.3 billion plays on Spotify alone based on hits including “Africa,” “Rosanna,” and “Hold the Line,” will join Journey on all dates.
“We are thrilled to have been asked to join our dear friends Journey on the road again,” Toto founding guitarist Steve Lukather shared.
“We had such a blast the last couple of tours across North America together – great success and so much fun. It is truly one big happy family, and it is a great night of music. Can’t wait to see you all out there soon in 2024!”
Since the group’s formation in 1973, Journey has earned 19 Top 40 singles, 25 gold and platinum albums, and sold over 100 million albums globally. Their “Greatest Hits” album is certified 15 times-platinum, making them one of the few bands to ever have been diamond-certified by the RIAA, and their song “Don’t Stop Believin'” has been streamed over one billion times alone.
Journey was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017, and their 2018 co-headlining tour with Def Leppard was their most successful tour to date, landing them in the Top 10 year-end touring chart with more than one million tickets sold and earning them the prestigious Billboard “Legends of Live” touring award. They also received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and were inducted into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame. Additionally, they are the subject of the award-winning documentary “Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey” about the band’s resurgence upon adding Arnel Pineda as lead singer after Schon discovered the Philippines native on YouTube.
2019 saw the release of “Escape & Frontiers Live in Japan,” a live DVD/CD set from their concert at the Budokan in Tokyo featuring the group’s first-ever performances of the albums “Escape” and “Frontiers” in their entirety. Their 15th studio album, “Freedom,” was released on July 8, 2022.
Over the past decade, Toto has had a major renaissance in popularity like few bands at this point in their career. No individual statistic exhibits this more than achieving the milestone of three billion cumulative streams of their collected works. Individually and collectively, the group’s family tree can be heard on an astonishing 5,000 albums that together amass a sales history of a half a billion albums. Among these recordings, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences applauded the performances with hundreds of Grammy nominations. In the most listened to recordings, “Africa” accounts for over one billion streams at Spotify alone. The song was recertified eight-times platinum by the RIAA. They are pop culture icons and one of the few ’70s bands that have endured changing trends and styles, continuing to remain relevant while enjoying their multi-generational global fan base.
Joining Lukather and longtime vocalist Joseph Williams now are bassist John Pierce (Huey Lewis and the News), drummer Robert “Sput” Searight (Ghost-Note, Snoop Dogg), keyboardist/backing vocalist Steve Maggiora, keyboardist/backing vocalist Dominique “Xavier” Taplin (Prince, Ghost-Note), and multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Warren Ham (Ringo Starr).
With now 45+ years together and literally thousands of credits – including the biggest-selling album of all time, Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” – and accolades to their names, Toto remains one of the top-selling touring and recording acts in the world. They are the benchmark by which many artists base their sound and production, and they continue to transcend the standards set by the entire music community, being simply synonymous with musical credibility.
Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza is Northeastern Pennsylvania’s premier home for sports and entertainment. Located in Wilkes-Barre Township, Mohegan Sun Arena has over 8,000 permanent seats for events, with a capacity of nearly 10,000 for select events. The venue opened in 1999 and is owned by the Luzerne County Convention Center Authority, a government body appointed by Luzerne County, and managed by ASM Global, a global leader in venue and event strategy and management delivering locally tailored solutions and cutting-edge technologies to achieve maximum results for venue owners. The company’s venue network spans five continents, with a portfolio of more than 350 arenas, stadiums, convention, and exhibition centers, and performing arts venues.
