Heart 鈥� the pioneering band that melds Nancy Wilson鈥檚 shredding guitar with her sister Ann鈥檚 powerhouse vocals 鈥� is hitting the road this spring and fall for a world tour that Nancy Wilson describes as 鈥渢he full-on rocker size.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檝e been strengthening. I鈥檝e got my trainer,鈥� she says. 鈥淵ou go one day at a time and you strengthen one workout session at a time. It鈥檚 a lot of work, but it鈥檚 the only job I know how to do.鈥�
The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers who gave us classic tracks like 鈥淢agic Man,鈥� 鈥淐razy on You鈥� and 鈥淎lone鈥� will be playing all the hits, some tracks from of their solo albums 鈥� like Ann Wilson鈥檚 鈥淢iss One and Only鈥� and Nancy Wilson鈥檚 鈥淟ove Mistake鈥� 鈥� and a new song called 鈥淩oll the Dice.鈥�
鈥淚 like to say we have really good problems because the problem we have is to choose between a bunch of different, really cool songs that people love already,鈥� says Nancy Wilson.
Like 鈥淏arracuda,鈥� a sonic burst which first appeared on the band鈥檚 second album, 鈥淟ittle Queen鈥� and is one of the band鈥檚 most memorable songs.
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 mess with 鈥楤arracuda.鈥� It鈥檚 just the way it is. It is great. You get on the horse and you ride. It鈥檚 a galloping steed of a ride to go on. And for everybody, including the band.鈥�
The tour kicks off Saturday at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina, and will hit cities including Atlanta, Boston, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Cleveland, Detroit, as well as the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, Colorado. International dates include stops in London, Oslo, Berlin, Stockholm, Montreal and Glasgow.
The band鈥檚 Royal Flush Tour will have Cheap Trick as the opening act for many stops, but Def Leppard and Journey will join for three stadium dates in Cleveland, Toronto and Boston this summer.
Ann and Nancy Wilson will be filled out by Ryan Wariner (lead and rhythm guitar), Ryan Waters (guitars), Paul Moak (guitars, keyboards and backing vocals), Tony Lucido (bass and backing vocals) and Sean T. Lane (drums).
The tour is the first in several years for Heart, which was rocked by a body blow in 2016 when Ann Wilson鈥檚 husband was Nancy Wilson says that鈥檚 all in the past.
鈥淲e can take any kind of turbulence, me and Ann, and we鈥檝e always been OK together,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e still steering the ship and happy to do it together. So we鈥檙e tight.鈥�
The new tour will take them to Canada, which was warm to the band when they were starting out as what Nancy Wilson calls 鈥渁 couple of chicks from Seattle.鈥� She recalls Vancouver 鈥� where they will play Dec. 3 鈥� embracing Heart, and touring in one van across Canada in the dead of winter on two lane highways.
The Wilson sisters broke rock鈥檚 glass ceiling in the 鈥�70s and Nancy Wilson says they only had male influences to look to, like Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and the Moody Blues.
Now she says she looks out and loves seeing generations of female rockers. 鈥淵ou have and you have Billie Eilish and you have and so many amazing women 鈥� Maggie Rogers and Sheryl Crow, who calls us her big influence. And then might have Sheryl Crow as her influence. So it鈥檚 a really nice legacy to pass along. I like to say we鈥檙e the OG 鈥� the original gangsters 鈥� of women and rock.鈥�
Heart has made it into the Rock Hall, won Grammys, sold millions of albums and rocked hundreds of thousands of fans but Nancy Wilson has one place she鈥檇 still like to shine.
Next year will mark the 50th anniversary of their debut album, 鈥淒reamboat Annie,鈥� which was the same year that 鈥淪aturday Night Live鈥� started. 鈥淪o we鈥檙e actually kind of putting it out there 鈥� Heart never played on 鈥楽aturday Night Live.鈥� But what about the 50th birthday party with Heart?鈥�
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