Jeff Lynne's E.L.O. announces first Minnesota show in 38 years July 25 at Xcel Center

Frontman Lynne finally went back on the road with his "Don't Bring Me Down" hitmaking band last year.

October 22, 2018 at 5:21PM
(The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Jeff Lynne's big comeback with E.L.O. started in 2017 at Wembley Stadium. / Photo by Carsten Windhorst for Showtime
Jeff Lynne's big comeback with E.L.O. started in 2017 at Wembley Stadium. / Photo by Carsten Windhorst for Showtime (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Cultish fans of the hitmaking '70s symphonic-rock band E.L.O. are going out of their minds in the Twin Cities today. Xcel Energy Center just announced a date next summer with the Jeff Lynne-led lineup of his long-sidelined group, scheduled July 25, the first official Electric light Orchestra concert in Minnesota since 1981.

Tickets for the Thursday night gig go on sale to the general public through Ticketmaster and the arena box office next Monday, Oct. 29, at 10 a.m. and range from $46.50 to the rather ironically demonic price of $666. Pre-sale options start this Tuesday.

After spending much of the past four decades focused on producing the likes of the Beatles, Bryan Adams and his late Traveling Wilburys bandmates George Harrison, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty, Lynne finally took the stage again with E.L.O. for a Wembley Stadium concert in June 2017. Other members of the band had toured in the ensuing years with a lineup known as E.L.O. II.

That London show was followed last summer by a 10-city North American tour, which earned widespread praise. Set lists on the tour included "Evil Woman," "Mr. Blue Sky," "Showdown," "Turn to Stone," and, of course, "Don't Bring Me Down."

about the writer

about the writer

Chris Riemenschneider

Critic / Reporter

Chris Riemenschneider has been covering the Twin Cities music scene since 2001, long enough for Prince to shout him out during "Play That Funky Music (White Boy)." The St. Paul native authored the book "First Avenue: Minnesota's Mainroom" and previously worked as a music critic at the Austin American-Statesman in Texas.

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