Aerosmith Frontman Steven Tyler Launches A Summer Storyteller Tour

Aerosmith lead singer and songwriter Steven Tyler is hitting the road again, but this time he’s touring without the rest of Aerosmith, with a new Nashville-based band, and under an entirely new concept for a live concert. A year ago, Tyler took a break from Aerosmith to embark on his own solo career, which was to focus on his love for country music. That endeavor ultimately ended up with Steven connecting with the Nashville band, Loving Mary. Tyler and Loving Mary will be hitting the road on a tour that will place an emphasis on the fans.

Aerosmith Singer Steven Tyler To Go Out On A Limb

The planned tour, which Tyler has entitled his Out on a Limb tour, will launch this summer and feature Steven sitting down to communicate with fans and share his thoughts and ideas on some of Aerosmith’s greatest hits. The concept was born from Tyler’s participation in the acoustic concert he performed on PBS’ Front and Center series.

“What would I not pay to go see (Paul) McCartney, but instead of playing with whoever he’s with now, actually do (a show) where he tells you what he was thinking when he wrote Yesterday?” says 68-year-old Tyler. “That’s what I’m doing. I figured I’d talk about ‘Sweet Emotion’ and ‘Dream On’ and where I was when I wrote it, and ‘Seasons of Wither’ and how I played it.”

Tyler gave his Out on a Limb concert tour concept a trial run recently, when he hosted a benefit at Lincoln Center’s David Geffen Hall for Janie’s Fund, a charity that offers financial assistance to women and young girls who have been abused or neglected. The fund gathers its name from the Aerosmith song, “Janie’s Got a Gun,” about a girl who is sexually abused by her father until she ultimately takes revenge.

“When I wrote the lyrics to ‘Janie’s Got a Gun,’ I didn’t really know who or what it was — it was just a phrase off the top of my head that worked in the particular piano riff I was writing,” Tyler says. “But soon after, I found out about how many girls get abused in America and around the world.”

Steven says he carried those haunting statistics with him through the years and each time Aerosmith played “Janie’s Got a Gun,” Tyler was painfully reminded of the tortures so many young girls face on a daily basis. Until now, Tyler has felt powerless to change that, but, as of November, Janie’s Fund has started to help those girls most in need of support.

“It was a way to lend my voice to girls that have no voice,” says Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler.

As for this new storyteller concept, Steven admits that not everyone was keen on the idea. He says even Joe Perry, who has been like a brother to him through much of Aerosmith’s longevity, is against the idea, but, in the end, Tyler says he has to follow his own heart. Right now, Steven says this Out on a Limb solo tour is just what he needs.

“Look, I don’t expect to hit like The Beatles or be the second coming of Aerosmith,” Tyler says. “It was time for a little break [from Aerosmith]. I’m such a passionate person that if I don’t go after my muse like that, I’ll wind up on drugs again. I’ll wind up arguing with people and just no good.”

Steven Tyler Releases Tour Dates For His Out On A Limb Concert Series

Tickets for Steven Tyler’s Out on a Limb tour go on sale May 14 and will be available through livenation.com.

The full list of dates:

July

2 — Las Vegas, Venetian Theatre

5 — Los Angeles, Dolby Theatre

8 — Seattle, Marion Oliver McCaw Hall

10 — Vancouver, Orpheum Theatre

14 — San Francisco, The Masonic

20 — Phoenix, Comerica Theatre

23 — Denver, Ellie Caulkins Opera House

26 — Austin, Bass Concert Hall

29 — Houston, Brown Theater at Wortham Center

August

1 — Dallas, Music Hall at Fair Park

13 — Chicago, Chicago Theatre

17 — Nashville, Andrew Jackson Hall at TPAC

23 — Washington, D.C., Warner Theatre

29 — Clearwater, Fla., Ruth Eckerd Hall

September

1 — Atlanta, Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center

4 — Boston, Citi Performing Arts Center Wang Theatre

7 — Philadelphia, Academy of Music

10 — Providence, R.I., Providence Performing Arts Center

13 — Toronto, Sony Centre for the Performing Arts

[Image by Angela Weiss/Getty Images for The Humane Society Of The United States]