Music fan have seen quite a change in the musical realm lately as older artists are making the choice to hang up the microphone and retire.
Eighties New York metalhead Winger were among those ready to hang it up bands working on their final tour when they decided that it wasn’t quite the right time to retire and have begun adding dates to their current “farewell” tour.
Playing in Shipshewana, Indiana tonight; the rockers have just two more dates listed on their website but are working on adding more dates.
Drummer Rod Morgenstein spoke on the decision to keep going saying, “so, we knew it was coming. The last gig that we did, at the concert, instead of saying, ‘This is the last show. You’ll never see Winger again,’ we said, ‘Never say never. Circumstances change.'”
Morgenstein noted that the original reason for retiring was, “the physical difficulty of maintaining the band’s high vocal ranges after nearly 40 years.”
Looking to work on a solo career Kip Winger added, “listen, we’re not a huge band—we don’t fly around in our own Learjet—so it tends to take a toll on you. And then, all of a sudden, all my personal goals just end up drifting away in an airport somewhere in Chicago.”
Winger formed in 1987 in New York City and developed a loyal following with their hard and progressive rock sound.
The success of their most recent album “Seven” in 2023 has helped in revising some of their retirement plans. Kip Winger noted, “I’ve made my final statement on the last Winger record. And a lot of people think that’s, like, if not our best record, it’s close to being our best, along with Pull. And I brought back the original guys and put the original logo on and gave it a nice full circle.”
Fans can buy tickets at wingertheband.com.
Winger tour dates:
Aug 29 at the Blue Gate Performing Arts Center in Shipshewana, IN
Sept 25 at Ferg’s Sports Bar & Grill in St. Petersburg, FL
Oct 25 at the MotorCity Casino Hotel in Detroit, MI