The Byrds’ Roger McGuinn & Chris Hillman Confirm New ‘Sweetheart Of The Rodeo’ 50th Anniversary Tour Dates

Co-founding members Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the release of The Byrds’ Sweetheart Of The Rodeo with a tour featuring performances of the landmark album in its entirety. The tour features the pair backed by Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives and will now make stops in four additional cities.

The 50th anniversary Sweetheart Of The Rodeo Tour includes newly added shows in New York City on September 24, in Boston on September 26, in Nashville on October 8 and in Roanoke, Virginia on October 10. They join previously announced performances on July 24 and 25 in Los Angeles, along with July 29 in Saratoga, California, followed by September 17 and 18 in Albany, New York; a September 20 concert in Hopewell, Virginia and a night in Akron, Ohio on October 3.

Released in 1968, Sweetheart Of The Rodeo was recorded in the short interval when the late Graham Parsons was a member of The Byrds. The 50th anniversary concerts feature McGuinn and Hillman telling stories behind the songs on the record and Stuart playing the 1954 Fender Telecaster originally utilized by acclaimed session musician Clarence White who played on Sweetheart Of The Rodeo.

McGuinn, Hillman and Stuart are featured in a one-hour Sweetheart Of The Rodeo 50th anniversary special premiering on SiriusXM Outlaw Country (channel 60) on Friday, July 13 at 8 p.m. ET. Check out pair of excerpts from the segment below:

[Remembering Gram Parsons]

[Recalling An Infamous Night At The Opry In 1968]