Paul Simon is coming to Minneapolis for 3 nights in April on ‘a quiet’ tour

Tickets go on sale Friday for his first trek since a 2018 farewell run in arenas.

The Minnesota Star Tribune
February 18, 2025 at 7:50PM
FILE - This April 2, 2012 file photo shows singer Paul Simon performing at "A Celebration of Paul Newman's Dream" to benefit "SeriousFun" an association of Hole in the Wall Camps at Avery Fisher Hall in New York. Police in Connecticut say Paul Simon and his wife, singer Edie Brickell, have been arrested on disorderly conduct charges. A New Canaan police spokeswoman provided no other details, except to say the arrests stemmed from an incident Saturday. An arraignment in Norwalk Superior Court is
Paul Simon's A Quiet Celebration Tour includes three nights in Minneapolis at the Orpheum Theatre in April. (The Associated Press)

Maybe for Paul Simon it was the equivalent of performing the Super Bowl halftime. On Sunday night, he opened the “SNL 50: The Anniversary Special,” singing “Homeward Bound” with — go figure — Sabrina Carpenter. The performance reminded the world that Simon is still singing after all these years, and that he played a key part in “SNL’s” history.

And then he pulled a Super Bowl-like maneuver and made a big announcement shortly thereafter of a concert tour that includes three nights in Minneapolis in April at the Orpheum Theatre.

His A Quiet Celebration Tour will kick off April 4 in New Orleans, with its fourth stop in Minneapolis on April 20, 22 and 23 at the Orpheum.

For this intimate show, Simon, one of America’s most esteemed singer/songwriters, will be accompanied by nine musicians, including a cellist, violist and flutist. He will perform material from his 2023 album, “Seven Psalms,” as well as classics from his extensive Grammy-winning catalog.

Last year, Simon, 83, revealed that he has lost hearing in his left ear, but he has redesigned his stage setup to accommodate his situation.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer did a farewell tour in 2018, playing for a generous 140 minutes at Xcel Energy Center. Two years earlier, he performed for two nights at the Orpheum as well as on “A Prairie Home Companion.” In 2011, he took the stage at First Avenue, of all places, for his most intimate Twin Cities gig since Simon & Garfunkel’s local debut in 1966 at Dayton’s Auditorium in downtown Minneapolis.

Tickets for the Orpheum concerts will go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday at ticketmaster.com. There is a presale on Thursday; go to paulsimon.com for details.

about the writer

about the writer

Jon Bream

Critic / Reporter

Jon Bream has been a music critic at the Star Tribune since 1975, making him the longest tenured pop critic at a U.S. daily newspaper. He has attended more than 8,000 concerts and written four books (on Prince, Led Zeppelin, Neil Diamond and Bob Dylan). Thus far, he has ignored readers’ suggestions that he take a music-appreciation class.

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