Steely Dan Readies October Tour

As Donald Fagen promised in his tribute to Walter Becker, he intends to keep Steely Dan’s music alive as long as he can. The band has added another gig to its October outing, which features a handful of U.S. concerts, a couple nights in Canada and a few shows with Doobie Brothers overseas. 

Although some publications are reporting that this is the first tour booked since Becker’s Sept. 3 death, the majority of these performances were announced weeks ago. 

The excursion might have caught some music journalists’ attention because a new concert was just confirmed at Toyota Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford, Conn., Oct. 22. Live Nation and radio presales start Sept. 12 at 12 p.m. EDT. Tickets go on sale to the general public Sept. 15 at 10 a.m. EDT.

Previously announced performances are booked in Thackerville, Ohio; Grand Rapids, Mich.; Buffalo, N.Y.; Windsor, Ontario; Rama, Ontario; and Baltimore. 

Steve Jennings – Donald Fagen of Steely Dan
Wells Fargo Center For The Arts, Santa Rosa, Calif.

The Doobie Brothers dates are booked at Dublin’s 3Arena Oct. 28 and 30. Steely Dan and the Doobs will also appear at BluesFest in London Oct. 29.

Becker’s last performance with Steely Dan was in late May during the band’s appearance at “Greenwich Town Party” in Greenwich, Conn. The bassist/guitarist and Steely Dan co-founder sat out the band’s Classic East and Classic West sets in July because of illness. Fagen later told Billboard that Becker was “recovering from a procedure and hopefully he’ll be fine very soon.” No other details about Becker’s condition were revealed and a cause of death wasn’t announced. 

Fagen is now the only founding member of Steely Dan as the band has long preferred to fill out its lineup with the cream of the crop of session musicians. 

The music world spent last week paying tribute to Becker, with praise ranging from NPR calling the bassist/guitarist “a master of musical understatement” to Paste declaring that Becker “was the Larry David of Steely Dan.” 

Zac Brown Band and Beck each played a bit of a Steely Dan tune at their respective concerts to honor Becker, while a long list of artists including Nile Rodgers, Ryan Adams and Mark Ronson posted about Becker on social media. 

In addition to his work with Steely Dan, Becker released two solo albums and produced albums for Fagen and other artists.

Visit Steely Dan’s artist page to check out the confirmed routing.