The Oak Ridge Boys are hitting the road one last time. On Tuesday (September 19), the band announced the American Made: Farewell Tour, which incorporates already-scheduled tour dates in 2023 and extends into 2024.
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The band is currently comprised of its most famous lineup: lead singer Duane Allen, baritone singer William Lee Golden, tenor vocalist Joe Bonsall, and bass singer Richard Sterban. All four are in their 70s or 80s and cite aging and health issues as the reasons for the final tour. All four members joined in 1973, with 2023 marking their 50th anniversary together.
“When you’re saying farewell, there’s a lot of people you want to say farewell to,” Golden told Billboard. “It’s all the people that supported you along the way, the ones that called the radio stations, the ones that come and bought tickets to see us sing and sat in the rain with the rest of us while we were able to play and sing music. It’s a lot of emotions because we as the Oak Ridge Boys are a family.”
“We’ve worked nearly 150 dates a year almost every year,” added Bonsall. “We’ve never booked tours like a lot of groups do — making an album and doing maybe 50 or 60 days to support it. We may tour under a different tour name every year, but it’s really the never-ending tour. We’ve never known how to stop or slow down, for sure. So what we have put a concentrated effort in our thought pattern here in the last year or so into how can we slow it down some, but still keep moving forward.”
Though the group has long been road warriors, often playing more than 100 shows a year, they expect to play 50-60 shows in 2024. Bonsall explained that he has to sit on a stool during shows since his legs are weak, while Sterban has “a few small health issues.”
Though they’re slowing down, the “Elvira” singers say that they plan to perform at venues that have become staples in their career, including the Kentucky State Fair and multiple shows in Branson, Missouri. Though the tour doesn’t have an official end date, Allen said they, “Hope to return to as many parts of the country as we can.”
The Oak Ridge Boys’ American Made: Farewell Tour Dates:
Sept. 20 — Branson, Mo. @ the Mansion Theatre for the Performing Arts
Sept. 21 — Branson, Mo. @ the Mansion Theatre for the Performing Arts
Sept. 22 — Jefferson City, Mo. @ Capital Region MU Health Care Amphitheater
Sept. 23 — Huntington, Tenn. @ Dixie Carter Performing Arts Center
Sept. 28 — Minot, N.D. @ Norsk Hostfest Great Hall of the Vikings
Sept. 29 — Grand Forks, N.D. @ Cheste Fritz Auditorium
Sept. 30 — Brookings, S.D. @ Swiftel Center
Oct. 1 — Deadwood, S.D. @ Deadwood Mountain Grand
Oct. 4 — Branson, Mo. @ the Mansion Theatre for the Performing Arts
Oct. 5 — Branson, Mo. @ the Mansion Theatre for the Performing Arts
Oct. 6 — Kansas City, Mo. @ Ameristar Casino Hotel Kansas City
Oct. 7 — Powderly, Texas @ Richard Drake’s Party Barn
Oct. 11 — Branson, Mo. @ the Mansion Theatre for the Performing Arts
Oct. 12 — Branson, Mo. @ the Mansion Theatre for the Performing Arts
Oct. 13 — Arlington, Texas @ Arlington Music Hall
Oct. 14 — Arlington, Texas @ Arlington Music Hall
Oct. 18 — Branson, Mo. @ the Mansion Theatre for the Performing Arts
Oct. 19 — Branson, Mo. @ the Mansion Theatre for the Performing Arts
Oct. 21 — Rome, Ga. @ Rome City Auditorium
Oct. 26 — Branson, Mo. @ the Mansion Theatre for the Performing Arts
Oct. 27 — Branson, Mo. @ the Mansion Theatre for the Performing Arts
Oct. 28 — Independence, Kan. @ Neewollah Celebration – Jim Halsey Auditorium
Nov. 1 — Branson, Mo. @ the Mansion Theatre for the Performing Arts
Nov. 2 — Branson, Mo. @ the Mansion Theatre for the Performing Arts
Nov. 4 — Corinth, Miss. @ Crossroads Arena
Nov. 8 — Branson, Mo. @ the Mansion Theatre for the Performing Arts
Nov. 9 — Branson, Mo. @ the Mansion Theatre for the Performing Arts
Nov. 11 — Nashville, Tenn. @ The Grand Ole Opry
Nov. 15 — Branson, Mo. @ the Mansion Theatre for the Performing Arts
Nov. 16 — Branson, Mo. @ the Mansion Theatre for the Performing Arts
Nov. 21 — Portsmouth, Ohio @ Vern Riffe Center for the Arts
Nov. 24 — Wabash, Ind. @ Honeywell Center
Nov. 25 — Anderson, Ind. @ Paramount Theatre
Nov. 30 — Roanoke Rapids, N.C. @ Weldon Mills Theatre
Dec. 1 — Mount Vernon, Ky. @ Renfro Valley Barn Dance
Dec. 2 — Hiawassee, Ga. @ Anderson Music Hall
Dec. 7 — Battle Creek, Mich. @ Firekeepers Casino
Dec. 8 — Harris, Mich. @ Island Resort & Casino
Dec. 9 — Harris, Mich. @ Island Resort & Casino
Dec. 12 — Nashville, Tenn. @ Ryman Auditorium
Dec. 14 — Paducah, Ky. @ Luther F. Carson Four Rivers Center
Dec. 15 — Effingham, Ill. @ Effingham Performance Center
Dec. 16 — Wisconsin Dell, Wisc. @ Crystal grand Music Theatre
Dec. 17 — Dekalb, Ill. @ Egyptian Theatre
Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images
