Mike Nesmith and Micky Dolenz of The Monkees will hit the road in June for their first-ever national tour as a duo. Billed as “The Monkees Present: The Mike & Micky Show,” these 16 special performances will feature songs that span the group’s entire career – from its 1966 eponymous debut to 2016’s Good Times. The shows will highlight many of Nesmith’s compositions, including some that have never been performed live. The tour also includes two shows in Canada, which represent Nesmith’s first “Monkees” concerts since the band played there in 1969.
Tickets and VIP packages will go on sale February 23 at online ticket venues. VIP Packages include access to soundcheck, a signed, hardbound copy of the tour book, early entry to the show and a commemorative VIP laminate.
“I love being on stage with Micky,” says Nesmith. “We’ve been collaborating for over 50 years, so it’s hard to believe it’s never been just the two of us. I’m excited to dust off some tunes that I haven’t played for a long time too. These are going to be some fun shows.”
“Right from the get-go, I admired Mike’s songs. When we used to get together around the campfire to sing in the early days, we were always doing his songs,” says Dolenz. “We always had such a great a vocal blend; he was the one who encouraged me to write songs of my own. I’ve always been a big fan and now we finally get to do the Mike & Micky show that we riffed on back when we were shooting The Monkees.”
Original Monkee Peter Tork will not take part in the tour. Instead, he’s focusing on Relax Your Mind, a new album by Peter Tork and Shoe Suede Blues that honors the music of Lead Belly. The album is available now via CD Baby and Bandcamp.
“I have in general made no secret of the fact that all these recent years of Monkees-related projects, as fun as they’ve been, have taken up a lot of my time and energy. Moving forward, I have blues projects that I want to give my attention to, hence Relax Your Mind. So, I’m shifting gears for now, but I wish the boys well, and I’ve learned to never say never on things further down the line.”
“The Monkees Present: The Mike & Micky Show” is the latest chapter in Monkee-mania, a saga that began in 1965 when four young men were cast in a television show about a struggling rock band that was inspired by the Beatles’ A Hard Day’s Night. Few could have predicted the impact the Monkees would have on music and pop culture at large, one that still reverberates more than 50 years later.
THE MONKEES PRESENT: THE MIKE & MICKY SHOW TOUR DATES