Tour kicks off May 16 in Ridgefield, WA, and will visit arenas and amphitheaters across the continent
Simple Minds has announced their biggest North American tour in four decades, set to kick off on May 16 in Ridgefield, WA, and wrap up on June 22 in Noblesville, IN. The tour will be supported by Soft Cell and Modern English, with stops at major venues, including Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena, Inglewood’s Kia Forum, and Toronto’s Budweiser Stage. Artist presales begin January 29, with general on-sale starting January 31. For complete details and ticket availability, visit https://www.simpleminds.com/tour/.
This tour coincides with the 40th anniversary of Simple Minds’ landmark 1985 year, which included their hit “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” and the album Once Upon A Time. A special 9-track digital edition of the album, featuring the hit song and updated artwork, is now available, with physical reissues coming later. Jim Kerr expressed excitement about touring again, and the band will perform on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on January 29.
“Been a while but absence makes the heart grow fonder,” says Jim Kerr. “Simple Minds are ecstatic at the prospect of touring so extensively in the US and Canada this coming Spring.”
Simple Minds frontman Jim Kerr reflects on the 40th anniversary of their hit “Don’t You (Forget About Me),” calling the new nine-track Once Upon A Time (Ruby Anniversary Edition) a fitting tribute to the song. The band is also celebrating another milestone year in 2025 with the release of their new single, “Your Name In Lights,” timed to coincide with the BBC premiere of their documentary Simple Minds: Everything Is Possible. The documentary, now streaming in the UK on BBC iPlayer, is directed by Joss Crowley and features rare footage and interviews with the band and other artists, including Bob Geldof, Bobby Gillespie, and Sharleen Spiteri. The single “Your Name In Lights” debuted with an official music video on January 17, the anniversary of Simple Minds’ first-ever live performance in 1978.
Photo provided by Big Hassle
Simple Minds, one of the most successful UK bands of all time, has been a musical pioneer for nearly 50 years, amassing over 1 billion streams on Spotify and worldwide sales exceeding 60 million. The band, founded in 1978 by childhood friends Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill, has built a distinctive sound blending punk, art-rock, and electronic music, which has evolved to include pop, funk, gospel, soul, and more. Their iconic albums include New Gold Dream, Sparkle In The Rain, Once Upon A Time, and Street Fighting Years, and they are known for global hits like “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” from The Breakfast Club.
L : Jim Kerr, R: Charlie Burchill / Photo Credit: Dean Chalkley
Simple Minds was named “Best Live Band” by Q Magazine in 1991 and has earned acclaim for its live performances and albums, including Walk Between Worlds (2018) and Direction of the Heart (2022), both of which debuted in the UK Top 5. They’ve also received numerous awards, including a Q Inspiration Award and an Ivor Novello Award for “Outstanding Song Collection.” Despite their long career, Kerr and Burchill remain focused on their creative journey, embracing new sounds while staying true to their roots. Kerr is proud of the band’s evolving ability while maintaining their unique identity.
“The truth is we never fully wound down,’ says Charlie Burchill. “There have been lots of different incarnations of Simple Minds, but we’ve always kept our identity. A legacy can be a burden if you allow it to be. For us, it’s been empowering.”
“We’ve been on one hell of a journey,” says Kerr. “I’m grateful for the career we’ve had, but I’m mad enough to think we can still hit new levels. This is what we do – write, record and play live. One of the things I’m most proud of is that people say to me, what Simple Minds are you talking about? The avant-garde, the art-rock, the pop, the ambient, the instrumental group, the political, the folk, the stadium band? To play all those different styles but at the same time be quintessentially Simple Minds is an amazing thing.”
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SIMPLE MINDS – NORTH AMERICAN TOUR 2025
MAY
16 – Ridgefield, WA – Cascades Amphitheater
17 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena
20 – Concord, CA – Toyota Pavilion at Concord
22 – Inglewood, CA – Kia Forum
23 – Greater Palm Springs, CA – Acrisure Arena
24 – Chula Vista, CA – North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre
25 – Phoenix, AZ – Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre
27 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena
30 – Austin, TX – Moody Center
31 – Woodlands, TX – Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
JUNE
1 – Irving, TX – The Pavillion at Toyota Music Factory
4 – Rogers, AR – The Walmart AMP
5 – Maryland Heights, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
7 – Atlanta, GA – Cadence Bank Amphitheatre at Chastain Park
10 – Columbia, MD – Merriweather Post Pavilion
11 – Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center
13 – Wantagh, NY – Northwell at Jones Beach Theater
14 – Philadelphia, PA – The Mann Center
15 – Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center
17 – Montreal, QC – Centre Bell
18 – Toronto, ON – Budweiser Stage
20 – Chicago, IL – Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island
21 – Clarkston, MI – Pine Knob Music Theatre
22 – Noblesville, IN – Ruoff Music Center
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