does rob thomas tour with matchbox 20

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Final Day of Rehearsals

It took longer than originally planned after a pandemic postponement, but Matchbox Twenty’s Slow Dream tour finally commenced in 2023 following a series of pre-tour rehearsals.

Frozen Fist Bump

A nightly highlight of the Slow Dream Tour came midset when singer Rob Thomas and guitarist Kyle Cook performed the band’s 2000 hit “If You’re Gone” during a hushed acoustic segment.

Third Time’s a Charm

Matchbox Twenty’s Nashville concert at Bridgestone Arena was twice-delayed — but the fans showed up for the thrice-scheduled date.

Not the Cheap Seats

A segment of VIP fans watched the first three songs of the show from a section onstage and got some face time from band members like guitarist Kyle Cook.

Opening Laughs

Matt Nathanson, who opened the bulk of the tour, cuts up with Rob Thomas before a gig.

Look at That Arc

Kyle Cook shoots some hoops in the parking lot of another anonymous venue.

À La Maison

Rob Thomas’ son Maison Thomas, who fronts his own band the Lucky, has popped up onstage with Matchbox Twenty on this tour.

Matchbox Huddle

The band shares a communal moment prior to taking the stage.

A Night in Sioux Falls

Matchbox Twenty headlined the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in early June, opening with a triple shot of “Friends,” “How Far We’ve Come,” and “Real World.”

Catching Air

Rob Thomas, at 51, remains a dynamic performer.

Backstage at the Bowl

Maison Thomas and his band the Lucky share some dad time with Rob Thomas backstage at the Hollywood Bowl.

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Photo: Jimmy Fontaine

Behind Matchbox Twenty's Biggest Hits: How A Camel, Real-Life Stunts & Happy Accidents Influenced "3AM," "Unwell," "Push" & More

As Matchbox Twenty set out on their extensive U.S. summer tour and release their fifth studio album, Rob Thomas and Paul Doucette share their most prominent memories from beloved songs like "Bent" and "Bright Lights."

On May 26, Matchbox Twenty will release their first album in over a decade, Where the Light Goes . Although it's been 11 years since they've put out new music and six years since their last tour, the group is still headlining arenas and amphitheaters all around North America this summer — a testament to the power of their music.

Since their first hit, 1997's "Push," Matchbox Twenty have been a stalwart on alternative and pop radio. Whether you were tuned into those stations or not, you likely know the choruses of "3AM" or "Unwell"; if you're a fan, you can't wait to belt those songs out when they come through your city.

"Over the course of the last 30 years, these songs [have] become part of people's fabric of their day to day," frontman Rob Thomas tells GRAMMY.com. "I just hope there is something on this record that affects people in ways that songs in the past have done."

Where the Light Goes ' 12 tracks continue the easy-to-enjoy melodies and thoughtful songwriting that made Matchbox Twenty so beloved — proof that even nearly 30 years in, they haven't lost their touch. But even though the group is releasing new music, it's clear from sitting down with Thomas and his bandmate, Paul Doucette , that they revel in their old tunes as much as any longtime fan.

Before Matchbox Twenty kicked off their tour on May 16, Thomas and Doucette reminisced on the band's biggest hits — from the song that saved them to the music videos that could've killed them.

"Push," Yourself or Someone Like You , 1996

Thomas: "Push" is the song that saved us. We released our record in '96, and the day that it came out was the same day that Lava, our record label, folded, and a bunch of bands got dropped. We were possibly on the list because we put out a song called "Long Day" and it didn't react the way we wanted.

While Atlantic was having a conversation about dropping us, there was a guy named Dave Rossi, who was a program director in Birmingham, Alabama, who started to play "Push" on his own, because you could do that back then. And it just started to react in Birmingham — in a crazy way, it was, like, the No. 1 song immediately. So Atlantic was like, "Well, let's give this one more chance." So then they put some money behind "Push" and put it out to radio, and that was the saving grace for us.

Doucette: When the record came out, we were just on the road all the time playing to nobody — to like, the bar staff.

Thomas: I remember once we played, for some reason, a punk club in Arizona, and like three bands played, then when we got on stage, everybody's like "This is a f—ing pop band!" and they left for our set, and then as soon as our set was over, they filed back in.

Doucette: But when we got to Birmingham, it was different. We saw it immediately. There were people there, and there were a lot of people there. That had never happened to us before, so that was sort of the big jolt of competence that we needed.

Thomas: That was a tangible shift from that moment on. There was a "before" and "after" "Push."

"3AM," Yourself or Someone Like You, 1996

Thomas: When we were a local band, "Push" didn't exist yet. It was a whole 'nother group of songs, because we had a really bad falling out with other members of this band Tabitha's Secret. It got really litigious and contentious, and they had made me sign over copyrights. [So] we just went and wrote another record. The only thing we brought with us was "3AM," because in the local world, "3AM" was, like, the song.

Doucette: When I auditioned for Tabitha's Secret, the first song of Rob's I ever heard was "3AM." They had a demo of it, and they played it for me. And even then, you could hear it immediately. Just, like, This is a great song .

Thomas: Yeah, imagine the "3AM" you know, but just much s—tier.

Doucette: Oh, it was pretty s—ty, but you could hear the song. You know, you never know about how a song is going to do, but you do know, like, This song hits a mark . This is just a well-written song .

Thomas: I always think of "3AM" as the first song that I wrote that I liked. It was the first song that I wrote about something that I had been going through, and using songs as a certain kind of catharsis to tell the story. "3AM" was the first part of unlocking a puzzle for me — like, Oh, okay, this feels better than just trying to write love songs to pick up girls .

"Real World," Yourself or Someone Like You , 1996

Thomas: I think that was the first time that we ever had fun coming up with video stuff.

Doucette: We wanted to do something absurdist, but we hired a fashion photographer as the director. He's great, but he was the wrong director for that video. So it didn't turn out at all like we wanted it to, but now looking back on it, you're just like, but it is pretty weird .

We had a camel. It was supposed to be an aardvark originally, but an aardvark couldn't walk on bowling alley [lanes].

I think it was a case of where [we went to] the animal trainer like, "We want an aardvark," and they were like, "Ah, I can't do that. I got a camel though." Now you're looking back and going, "Wait a minute, why are those the two things that you have?"

Thomas: And that camel was lovely, by the way. That camel had such a crush on me. She kept kissing me in between takes.

"Bent," Mad Season , 2000

Thomas: "Bent" was the first single off of our second record, but it was also our first No. 1 single [on the Billboard Hot 100]. That was a good feeling for us because we had had so many people explaining to us how after that first record did so well, the sophomore slump was inevitable, so we should just enjoy the success that we've had and be ready to move on.

I do a version of that song where I play it with an acoustic guitar, which was the way that song was written. And Paul was the one who heard it the way that it is now. I remember, I'll use the word hesitation — I think my actual feeling was, Dude, you're f—in' up my song!

[The opening guitar wail] was an accident. [Kyle] thought he was in another key, and so right when they're like, "Two, three," and it was just gonna be one note, but he was wrong, so he went [ imitates guitar wail ]. That was what we call a happy accident.

Doucette: That first record was massively successful for us. I mean, we sold like 20 million records or something. But in between that and "Bent," Rob did "Smooth" [with Carlos Santana].

And so, when "Bent" was coming out and it was No. 1, this happened on more than one occasion, where we'd do an interview and people would be like, "Well, how do you feel now that Rob has done 'Smooth' and now people know who you are?" We're like, "But we sold 20 million records before that!"

Thomas: I remember before I did "Smooth," Carlos' thing was like, I like this guy [on the demo], does he sing? [ Laughs ]

But you can imagine, there's no social media that existed back then. Like, there wasn't a narrative — we were like the most successful faceless band in the world. We had sold all these records, [but] the first time I was ever in Rolling Stone was a picture of me, fat at Glastonbury, and it said, "Rob Thomas has grown as a performer." And then it said, "Apparently, the road to success leads to the deli tray."

"If You're Gone," Mad Season , 2000

Thomas: In that video, there's a scene where I'm hanging, like 30 stories up in downtown L.A., over the edge of this building. And I actually was on that building, I was attached to a harness. And all I kept thinking was like, Don't have an earthquake, no tremors, no tremors, no tremors . I was legitimately scared. And even my wife, [who was] my girlfriend at the time, she had come out to check in on the video shoot, and came out to the top right during that scene, and said she felt like she was having a heart attack.

That was a song that was almost a second thought. We were like, "What do you wanna work on next?" And I was like, "Well, I've got this, I think it's just a little sweet ballad, so I'm not really sure if this is something we want to work on." And then I played it, and the guys were vibin' off it. I thought it was just this personal moment that I had written for Mati, my wife, so I didn't see it for what it was. Luckily the other guys did.

"Unwell," More Than You Think You Are , 2002

Thomas: At the time, the landscape was like Ludacris [having] the No. 1 record, and we're putting out this kind of semi-midtempo song with a banjo, like, "Here, try this!" But somehow [it] worked.

Doucette: That's sort of [our] most sustained song today. I think it has less streams on Spotify than "Push" or "3AM" does, but it's definitely the one that seems to have another little life, then another little life, then another.

Thomas: I just signed off on a new rapper that's gonna use "Unwell" in the chorus of their song. It seems to have that kind of thing.

And also, I think a lot of people relate to it on a personal level, about mental health and well-being, and being okay to not be okay. There was a message in there that resonated with a lot of people at different points in their life.

And by the way, if it wasn't for Paul, that song was gonna [have] an upbeat vibe. It was like this [ sings uptempo version ] and Paul was like, "Oh, dude, you're high. It's a ballad."

Doucette: Or we could've listened to you, and that song could have gone to No. 1. Maybe I prevented it.

Thomas: You got that 1990s A&R mentality.

"Bright Lights," More Than You Think You Are , 2002

Thomas: One of the things about being fortunate enough to have success is that we really had a chance, by that third record, to feel like we knew who we were as a band. And "Bright Lights" kind of felt like who we were.</span

Your first record is, people are listening to us learn how to make a record and learn how to be a band, and then second record…we're a little better at it, and we shoot for the moon and spend a lot of money on 60-piece orchestras and producing the s— out of everything. And then by the third record, you find that zone, and "Bright Lights" was a really big part of that.

I feel like it's one of the quintessential Matchbox Twenty live moments in every show. So much so that it was the only time that we did the video [as] an actual just live performance.

Doucette: I can't see us ever not playing that song. Of all the songs that we've had — and we've been fortunate enough to have some really big songs — that song is kind of the defining one for us.

"How Far We've Come," Exile on Mainstream , 2007

Doucette: We had gotten together to do a couple of songs for the greatest hits [album]. And it was kind of the first time that we thought we would all write songs together. We were like, "Let's start from the beginning and let's just write stuff and see what happens."

We were in Rob's basement, and we just sat and watched Live Aid. We were so, so into the Boomtown Rats and their whole performance. We just all were so inspired by the feeling that we got from watching it, and then we did some deep dives and stuff. That so informed that writing session, which all of those [new] songs on that CD came from.

Thomas: We all stayed at my house for like three or four days, and it was nice because we'd all go out to dinner and really get to hang out as a band. And then we were coming back and being more creative and collaborative than we'd ever been at the time.

I had done a solo record, and we were coming back again, and coming out with something that's different for us — taking the chance on moving forward into a different direction, and hoping that fans would be generous enough and forgiving enough to come along on that journey with us. And we were really glad when they did. That's another, I think, really crucial part of a live show for us.

"She's So Mean," North , 2012

Thomas: We were really informed from our way that we started writing during Exile [on Mainstream] . That was in Kyle's studio, we're all standing in a circle and coming up with different parts of that song. I think Kyle's was [ sings ] "She'll make you take her to the club, but then she leaves with her friends."

And for the official record, that's not about anyone in particular. We have had toxic relationships, and we've been toxic to other people. We've run the gamut.

Doucette: When we were writing that song…it was more a metaphor — this thing that you were attracted to that is terrible for you, but you just keep doing it. That could be anything, it could be biting your nails. Like you can't stop doing this thing that is harming you.

Thomas: Oh, actually, by the way, Paul did physically set himself on fire in the video. That was real.

Doucette: And let me tell you — what you don't see is, on each side of me were two fire marshals, and they both had extinguishers. And I was wearing a flame retardant underneath my suit. But it had its moments where I was like, "Why am I doing this?"

There was one shot that they didn't get, like the flames had kind of died, and they really wanted to use it, so they enhanced that one shot and I was so bummed because it looks fake. And I was like, "People are gonna think this thing is fake, when I did it like four times."

The funny thing about that video is, everybody got hurt except me — except the man that was on fire.

Thomas: He had a little red necker for a little while after that though.

"Wild Dogs (Running In a Slow Dream)," Where the Light Goes , 2023

Doucette: So much of what you put out as the first single, there's a lot of voices in that conversation. We wanted it to be "Wild Dogs," because we liked the energy of it. We think it's a good song that does a couple things: It's a different song than people may be used to hearing from us, but we [also] think that it showcases an element of this record. So it was kind of important for us to come out and be like, "We're still Matchbox Twenty, but things have changed a bit."

Thomas: We were done with the record, we thought. We were packing it up and getting ready to start calling mixers, and Paul came in with a track that became "Wild Dogs" just right in the fourth quarter. It seemed really special, so we were like, "Let's give it a shot."

Gregg Wattenberg, who produced this record, really kept it lean. There was a sense of a lot of this record of not spending too much time on something to keep that kind of vitality. There's this great thing when you first write a song, and you play it just enough where you've kind of got it on your fingers, but you haven't played it so much that you're trying to craft it — you still keep some of that vitality. And Gregg was really good about finding that point in those songs and getting out before we lost the vibrance.

"Don't Get Me Wrong," Where the Light Goes , 2023

Thomas: On other records, we've never had outside writers in, and there's a couple on this record. That song is one of those — I did it with Craig Wiseman and David Garcia .

As much as I love that song, and I would have been fine with it being a single, it felt better that the first single was a song that me and Paul and Gregg wrote — even though what Matchbox as a band did to that song is the reason why it sounds the way it sounds and it has the personality that it has. Because it doesn't sound like the demo that we did originally. That's just that sense of, as we get older, that idea of like, "We like that song, it doesn't really matter who wrote on it. It's a good song — let's make it our own."

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Rob Thomas And Carlos Santana

Photo: Vince Bucci/AFP via Getty Images

GRAMMY Rewind: Watch Santana & Rob Thomas Self-Assuredly Win Record Of The Year For "Smooth" In 2000

In the newest episode of GRAMMY Rewind, watch Santana and Rob Thomas win Record Of The Year at the 42nd GRAMMY Awards for "Smooth," the unlikely smash-hit pairing of the classic rock legend and Matchbox Twenty leader

By all accounts, Santana 's and Rob Thomas ' 1999 megahit "Smooth" almost didn't happen . In its embryonic stages, Carlos Santana was skeptical of the tune; the AM-radio effect on Thomas's voice alone engendered its own smattering of arguments.

But in a quintessential lesson about why you should never, ever give up, "Smooth" became the second-biggest single of all time , second only to Chubby Checker 's "The Twist." It also led to the 2000 GRAMMY Awards , where the unlikely pair won the GRAMMY for Record Of The Year .

In the newest episode of GRAMMY Rewind , revisit the moment 21 years ago when an unlikely gambit paid off in dividends, putting a feather in the cap of Matchbox Twenty 's leader and landing a classic rocker back on the airwaves.

Check out the throwback GRAMMY moment above and click here to enjoy more episodes of GRAMMY Rewind.

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Travis Scott

Photo: Scott Dudelson/Getty Images

Everyone's A VIP At Clive Davis' Pre-GRAMMY Gala: From Travis Scott To Jimmy Jam To Brandi Carlile

Pass through the velvet rope at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles for an exclusive look at the star-studded 2019 Pre-GRAMMY Salute To Industry Icons

On Feb. 9, on the eve of Music's Biggest Night, the 61st GRAMMY Awards , artists from across genres and decades gathered at the glitzy Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. for the 2019 Pre-GRAMMY Salute To Industry Icons.

Less than 24 hours before the big red carpet walk today, the likes of current GRAMMY nominees Ella Mai , Dua Lipa , Diplo , Shaggy , Alice Cooper and Weird Al Yankovich , and GRAMMY winners Melissa Etheridge and Quincy Jones , brought their vibrant energy and killer looks at the annual celebration hosted by the Recording Academy and Clive Davis . Onlookers tried to spy the glam looks on the red carpet as they peered into the hotel's glass—we'll let you past the velvet rope and walk it with us as at this exclusive music industry event.

Dua Lipa & Ellie Goulding | Photo: Steve Granitz/WireImage/Getty Images

This year's who's-who of music gala celebrated iconic industry veteran Clarence Avant , known as the Godfather Of Black Music, as the honoree of the evening. Like event host and fellow legend Davis, he helped launch the careers of many great artists, working with the likes of GRAMMY-winning greats Bill Withers , Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis of The Time.

The video celebrating Avant had countless heroes such as Former President Barack Obama, Jones, Diddy and JAY-Z sharing how much they love Avant, the powerful impact he's made on their lives and music, and how he always knows the right thing to say. Recording Academy President/CEO Neil Portnow introduced him with a fitting complement, and a huge one given the company they were in: "You're the ultimate music person." The Time properly brought the funk on stage to celebrate Avant with a performance of their '80s hits "The Bird" and "Jungle Love," dancing as if no time had passed.

Current GRAMMY nominee Travis Scott set the mood opening the evening's performances with "Goosebumps" and "Sicko Mode," while sisters and fellow nominees Chloe x Halle brought home a rousing cover of the late GRAMMY-winning Queen Of Soul Aretha Franklin 's "Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves." Brandi Carlile , another current GRAMMY nominee, returned to the stage to join the duo, along with past nominee Valerie Simpson and Broadway star Keala Settle , ending the evening on quite the high note.

Chloe x Halle | Photo: Scott Dudelson/Getty Images

Other musical guests for the evening included current nominees Bebe Rexha , Florida Georgia Line and H.E.R. , along with past nominees Jazmine Sullivan and Ledisi , plus GRAMMY winner Rob Thomas . Sullivan and Thomas offered a powerful duet, belting out Aretha and George Michael's "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)."

As the evening rolled on, Davis made sure to highlight all the countless legends in the room, as the crowd continuously burst into applause and often up on their feet to celebrate the likes of music greats Barbara Streisand , George Clinton and Dionne Warwick , along with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Apple's Tim Cook and even former-L.A. Lakers star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Don't forget to tune in to the 2019 GRAMMYs live from Staples Center today. Start with the GRAMMY Awards Premiere Ceremony at 12:30 p.m. PST/3:30 ET, then follow us to the red carpet at 2:00 p.m. PST/5:00 p.m. ET—both will be live streamed right here on right here on GRAMMY.com .

Then the moment you've all been waiting for, the 61st GRAMMY Awards, hosted by 15-time GRAMMY winner Alicia Keys , will air live at 5:00 p.m. PST/8:00 p.m. ET / 7:00 p.m. CT on CBS .

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Photos: WireImage.com

Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Adele: Record Of The Year GRAMMY Rewind

Time travel through GRAMMY history and revisit the impressive lineage of Record Of The Year winners

Numerically speaking, it's the first category on the GRAMMY Awards nominations list. Conversely, it is typically one of the final categories announced on the annual GRAMMY telecast. And its winners have spanned jazz, pop, rock, R&B, and Latin, among other genres.

What's the category? It's Record Of The Year, which is an award that goes to a track's artist, producer, engineer, mixer, and mastering engineer.

The Record Of The Year category's 59-year history offers a unique aural tour through the annals popular music — one that certainly has the makings for one powerfully diverse playlist. Record Of The Year: Full List Of Winners And Nominees There's Bobby Darin's swingin' "Mack The Knife" (1959), Henry Mancini 's exquisite "Days Of Wine And Roses" (1963), Frank Sinatra 's velvety "Strangers In The Night" (1966), Simon And Garfunkel's inspired "Bridge Over Troubled Water," Roberta Flack's radiant "Killing Me Softly With His Song" (1973), and Captain & Tennille's breezy "Love Will Keep Us Together" (1975).

In the '80s, radio-friendly hits such as Toto's "Rosanna" (1982), Michael Jackson 's "Beat It" (1983) and Tina Turner's "What's Love Got To Do With It" (1984) were among the winning recordings.

The '90s netted the likes of Eric Clapton 's moving "Tears In Heaven" (1992), Whitney Houston 's ubiquitous "I Will Always Love You" (1993) and Santana featuring Rob Thomas' infectious "Smooth" (1999).

The Record Of The Year lineage continued into the 2000s and beyond with unforgettable hits such as U2 's "Beautiful Day" (2000), Green Day 's "Boulevard Of Broken Dreams" (2005), Amy Winehouse 's "Rehab" (2007), Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams & Nile Rodgers' "Get Lucky" (2013), and most recently, Adele 's "Hello" (2016).

Which recording will become the 60th Record Of The Year GRAMMY winner? Tune in to the 60th GRAMMY Awards on Jan. 28 to find out. What's The Difference? GRAMMY Record Of The Year Vs. Song Of The Year

Photo: David Ramos/Getty Images

Concerts & Technology: The Future Is Now

From fan-friendly apps and RFID bracelets to virtual reality, augmented reality and holograms, technology is changing how we experience live concerts

During Matchbox Twenty 's A Brief History Of Everything tour this year, fans who couldn't physically get to a concert could still enjoy the show: The GRAMMY-nominated band made use of state-of-the-art 360-degree cameras to present a fully immersive, fan-controlled virtual reality experience of their Oct. 4 performance in Denver. Additionally, fans purchasing VIP tickets could employ cutting-edge technology to get even closer to the band by entering a virtual space as a hologram to sing alongside a hologram of frontman Rob Thomas. <iframe width="620" height="349" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cwTxNdH-6CI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

VR is just one example of the wide range of technologies — from apps and RFID bracelets to augmented reality and holographic projection — that is having a profound impact on the way audiences experience live music. To forward-thinking artists like Thomas, the future for concerts and technology is now .

"I think we're at the moment where this stuff is really here," says Thomas. "There's skepticism, but I also remember when people were skeptical about whether the internet would take off. When Matchbox Twenty started, we connected with fans through bumper stickers and cassette tapes. Twenty years later, we're in virtual reality, which is pretty amazing. But with every jump forward in technology, it's still about connecting with fans."

In the near future, it's likely virtual reality concerts will shift from newsworthy to commonplace, but technology is also opening up some brave new possibilities for live shows themselves.

Metal fans looking ahead at this winter's concert schedule may be surprised to learn that Ronnie James Dio, who died in 2010, will be back on the road for a series of European shows starting in November. Attendees at the shows will indeed be hearing the estimable voice of Dio, but what they will see onstage will be members of his longtime band fronted by a hologram.

"Ronnie was always an innovator in music so why not an innovator in technology?" asks Wendy Dio, the singer's longtime manager. "There are plenty of fans of Ronnie's that would love to see him back up on the stage, and there a lot of people that never had a chance to see him — this is the only way that's possible now. I'm hoping I have Ronnie's blessing because I think this is the wave of the future and I think as more people experience it, they'll accept it.”

Eyellusion is the Los Angeles-based hologram company recreating Dio for the stage, and the company has also teamed with Frank Zappa 's estate to produce a new show centered on the iconoclastic artist. While the idea of bringing back deceased artists in virtual form has sparked debate, Eyellusion CEO Jeff Pezzuti points out that the technology can do much more.

"Hologram technology might be the main part of a show, or just part of a live show, or a way of capturing something for posterity that's never been possible before," Pezzuti explains. "And the digital assets we create can move across platforms into all sorts of uses. We know a hologram is not the real thing, but it's close enough now to have you walk out of a show saying, 'Holy s***!' We want to create those 'holy s***' moments."

The Zappa concerts are planned for late 2018 and will include a variety of holographic elements sharing the stage with musicians who toured and recorded with Zappa.

"My father was a futurist and a visualist who wanted to do this kind of thing in his lifetime," says son Ahmet Zappa, a co-trustee of the Zappa estate and an executive with Eyellusion. "'Hologram' describes the way in which Frank can come back, but that's a limited way of thinking. Really, what we're doing is using technology to unleash a whole new way of witnessing the bizarre world of Frank Zappa. It won't be just watching a hologram play guitar. If the band's performing Frank's song " Stink-Foot ," maybe it's sung by an 800-pound snakeskin platform boot. That's a different approach than what you'd expect for Dio, but it fits Frank."

Some might be tempted to write off such new technology as a novelty rather than a game-changer. But, according to Matchbox Twenty manager Nick Lippman, that depends on how the technology is used.

"It's only a gimmick if you don't know what you're doing with it," explains Lippman. "If you just step into the technology without a clear intention of what you're doing as an artist, it's not going to feel authentic. Artists shouldn't fit themselves to new technology — the technology has to actually serve the artist and the artist's fans."

Many industry insiders are embracing new technology as a boon to the concert business. Kevin Chernett, executive vice president of global partnerships & content distribution at Live Nation, oversees live streaming and virtual reality projects for the entertainment company, which this summer live-streamed Coldplay 's massive A Head Full Of Dreams concert in virtual reality.

"People are having their first VR experiences now and are surprised to find that the VR evokes the same emotions and thrills and energy that you'd feel when you're actually at a show — people stand up for the encore just like they would at the arena," says Chernett. "But we don't see any indication that people prefer their living room to the actual experience of a concert — all the technology actually helps to promote the live experience."

At those live experiences, concertgoers may not even be aware of the degree to which cutting-edge technology shapes what they're hearing and seeing.

"There have been quantum leaps forward in terms of the sound and lighting technology that's present in modern-day concerts compared to what it was a decade ago," says Gary Bongiovanni, editor of the concert trade publication Pollstar . "From the visual and audio perspective, we're producing a much higher-quality event all around and the technology is top notch — though it still takes talent onstage to make it all work."

Roger Waters' current Us +Them tour features lighting controlled by infrared sensors, real-time video editing of giant screen images and stage technology so new it's considered to be a prototype. Waters collaborated closely with artistic director Sean Evans to create a high-tech spectacle that would be powerful but still serve to showcase the music.

"We didn't want the tail to wag the dog," says Evans. "'Oh, here's some cool technology, let's find a way to use it.' On a tech level, there are all these great crazy new toys, but on a creative level you still have to figure out how to use it all in a compelling way." <blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-version="7" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:8px;"> <div style=" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:33.33333333333333% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"> <div style=" background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div> <p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BZSTC5gAdyl/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">CLEVELAND TOMORROW NIGHT! : @kate.izor</a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by Roger Waters (@rogerwaters) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2017-09-21T02:13:51+00:00">Sep 20, 2017 at 7:13pm PDT</time></p></div></blockquote><script async defer src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script>

One effect in Waters' show — a laser-light representation of the prism from the album cover of Pink Floyd's 1973 album, Dark Side Of The Moon — was designed with a very specific purpose in mind.

"That image has been all over Instagram," says Evans. "And that was the idea — we wanted to make something iconic that people were going to put all over social media. It's a weird way to think about a show, but that's the environment now."

Technology is also extending the concert experience and upgrading audience amenities.

Apps such as Pavemint help concertgoers find parking before the show while others help order food that can be delivered during the show. RFID bracelets enable festival attendees to go cashless, and USB bracelets let fans leave a venue with a download of the show they just witnessed. Live Nation recently launched a Facebook Messenger bot that lets the social experience of the concert begin during the ticket-buying process.

"I don't look at this kind of technology as a demographic thing — it's a psychographic thing," says Lisa Licht, chief marketing officer at Live Nation. "It's for people who really love concerts and are spending so much time on social media. Concerts have always been both a personal and a social experience, and now we're finding ways to bring those experiences together."

Over the next few years, today's extraordinary technology is likely to become ordinary, as financial barriers to entry drop, ease-of-use increases, and artists, fans and the industry embrace new tech-friendly horizons.

Thomas is looking forward to some added benefits of the virtual concert world.

"Fans want to jump onstage with us in VR, but I'm more excited to be out in the crowd watching us play — that's a point of view I've never really had before. And if we get to the point where I could just play the live show and then send my hologram to the after-party to do the mingling, that would be awesome."

( Chuck Crisafulli is an L.A.-based journalist and author whose most recent works include Go To Hell: A Heated History Of The Underworld, Me And A Guy Named Elvis, Elvis: My Best Man, and Running With The Champ: My Forty-Year Friendship With Muhammad Ali.)

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Matchbox Twenty 2023 tour schedule

From May 16 to Aug. 6, Matchbox Twenty has 51 huge concerts at amphitheaters and arenas all over North America lined up.

Just a few of their most choice gigs include stops at Los Angeles’ Hollywood Bowl (May 22), Phoenix’s Ak-Chin Pavilion (May 31), Denver’s Ball Arena (June 6), Holmdel, NJ’s PNC Bank Arts Center (July 16) and Wantagh, NY’s Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater (July 18).

The run ends at the Hollywood Casino Amphitheater in Tinley Park, IL .

A complete calendar featuring all tour dates, venues, show start times and links to buy tickets can be found here .

Matchbox Twenty opening act

It’s not 100% confirmed, but it is likely that fellow ’90s legends The Wallflowers will open for Matchbox Twenty on tour. They were initially slated to serve as the support group in 2020.

Led by Jakob Dylan, the band is known for hits “One Headlight,” “6th Avenue Heartache” and “Three Marlenas.”

If you want to catch up with their recent output, check out their 2021 album “Exit Wounds.”

Pitchfork said the album is full of “highway ballads and Saturday afternoon rockers… (they sound) like the classic rock band they’ve always ached to be.”

Huge rock tours in 2023

Matchbox Twenty will be joined by a number of rock legends on the road next year.

Here are just five of our favorites you cannot miss when they come to a city near you.

• Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

• Metallica

• Blink 182

• Red Hot Chili Peppers

• Muse

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By KS95 | January 16, 2023

Rob thomas reunites with matchbox twenty at his sidewalk angels benefit concert.

Rob Thomas promised “special guests” for his charity solo concert in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on Sunday, and he delivered — by bringing out his band Matchbox Twenty .

After performing a slew of solo hits, including “Her Diamonds,” “Lonely No More,” “This Is How a Heart Breaks” and “Smooth,” Rob brought the band out for a set of some of their biggest songs, including “3 A.M.,” “Bent,” “Unwell,” “Disease” and their traditional set closer, “Bright Lights.” You can see footage on Rob’s Instagram Story .

Rob also brought out another special guest : country star Jimmie Allen , a massive Matchbox Twenty fan, who joined him on the song “If You’re Gone.” It wasn’t the first time they’d performed together. Back in 2019, Jimmie joined Rob onstage in Nashville to sing “Unwell” with him.

Sunday’s show was a benefit for Rob’s Sidewalk Angels charity, which helps fund no-kill animal shelters and rescues nationwide, as well as organizations that help educate the public about the link between violent crimes against animals and violent behavior toward people.

Rob and Matchbox Twenty will kick off their summer tour, their first trek since 2017, on May 16 in Vancouver. They also have a new album coming; Rob said it’s finished, but there’s been no word on when it’ll be released.

Here's Matchbox 20's 2023 tour setlist in Phoenix, from 'Push' to 'Don't Get Me Wrong'

The Slow Dreams Tour brought Matchbox Twenty to Phoenix for first time since 2017’s A Brief History of Everything Tour marking the 20th anniversary of their 10-times-platinum debut, "Yourself or Someone Like You."

And this time, that brief history includes their first new album in 11 years, the much anticipated "Where the Light Goes."

They set the tone for their performance with "Friends," the song that opens “Where the Light Goes,” and made their way through five selections from the album by the time their set was through, including the singles “Wild Dogs (Running in a Slow Dream)” and “Don’t Get Me Wrong.”

But that still left time for the hits, including all five singles from “Yourself or Someone Like You.”

Rob Thomas spoke to The Arizona Republic about how it feels to sing a song like “Push” or “3AM” nearly 30 years after recording them.

Weekend plans? Capt. Kirk, drag queens and street art are the best things to see in Phoenix this weekend

“I'm OK if I never heard those songs ever again,” he says. “But I'm OK with playing them every night.

"Like, there's a living, breathing energy we're sharing with everybody through these songs that have just kind of been around in their life for 27 years. There's no other way for us to look at it other than it's like a member of your family. It doesn't matter whether you like their politics or their conversation at dinner, they're in the (expletive) family."

Matchbox Twenty 2023 setlist for Phoenix stop on Slow Dreams Tour

“How Far We've Come”

“Real World”

“Wild Dogs (Running in a Slow Dream)”

“She's So Mean”

“All I Need”

“Queen of New York City”

“Hand Me Down”

“If You're Gone” (acoustic)

“Mad Season”

“Don’t Get Me Wrong”

“These Hard Times”

“Back 2 Good”

“Bright Lights”

Reach the reporter at [email protected] or 602-444-4495. Follow him on Twitter @ EdMasley.

Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today.

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Rob Thomas

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Robert Thomas is the recipient of three Grammy Awards, just for the triple-platinum hit single “Smooth” alone. He is a fifth of the band Matchbox Twenty, who have released hit singles consistently since 1995.

After being in the band Matchbox Twenty for ten years, he embarked on his own career, releasing a body of material written by himself. His debut album “…Something to Be” made it to number 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, whilst the debut single from the album entitled “Lonely No More” made it to number 6 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. Building on his chart success, he appeared at the Live 8 concert in Philadelphia, singing on his own, and also a duet of “Higher Ground” with Stevie Wonder. He made an appearance on the MTV Katrina Relief Concert, which aired on September 10th 2005. On his first solo tour entitled the Something to Be tour, he was joined by Jewel and Toby Lightman.

His single “Streetcorner Symphony” in fact came from featuring in promotion ads on the network, ABC of its Thursday night lineup. Thomas released the single “Little Wonders” which featured on the Disney film “Meet the Robinsons”. The single reached number 5 on the Mediabase Hot Adult Contemporary chart.

In 2007, Thomas returned to his band Matchbox Twenty to release a brand new album, “Exile on Mainstream”. From the album, they released the three singles “How Far We’ve Come”, “All Your Reasons” and “These Hard Times”.

“Her Diamonds” was the first release from his forth-coming sophomore album “Cradlesong”. He was fortunate enough to perform the track on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. “Cradlesong” was ultimately released on June 30th 2009. It debuted at number 3 on the Billboard 200.

Thomas was invited to be a guest performer on Daryl Hall’s concert series, “Live from Daryl’s House”, the pair performed the Matchbox Twenty hit singles “3 AM” and “Disease”, and then his solo songs “Someday” and “Ever the Same”. The rest of their set list consisted of the Hall and Oates hit singles “She’s Gone” Kiss on My List” and Marvin Gaye’s, “I Heard It Through The Grapevine”

Live reviews

I've been following Rob Thomas for almost 20 years with both matchbox twenty and solo tours, and this tour was just as exceptional of the other times I've seen Rob. He puts on a high energy performance everytime. He's very fan friendly and interacts with the crowd often.

Rob's opening act, Vinyl Station, were exceptional too. Hailing from Phoenix, these guys are super talented. I'd equate them of a cross between Radiohead and Coldplay. Their songs are heartfelt and Matthew has a beautiful voice. They are also very fan friendly, taking time both between sets and after to talk to the crowd, sign CDs, and take photos.

The Louisville Palace Theater is absolutely beautiful and coincidentally, the theater I saw matchbox twenty in during their North Winter Tour 2013.

The Set list:

Rob Thomas set list 10/27/15 - Louisville, KY

Fallin' to pieces

Lonely no more

Mockingbird

It's getting late with That's alright momma cover

Her diamonds

The great unknown

Let's dance

Little wonders

Ever the same

Hold on forever

Fire on the mountain

Streetcorner symphony

Rocket man with Vinyl Station

Heaven help me

I am an illusion

This is how a heart breaks

He also did Blue Moon of KY I think and some song called shine on but I can't remember when.

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Matchbox Twenty was a hugely successful 90s rock band and frontman Rob Thomas used that momentum to launch his successful solo career. But in all honesty, Matchbox Twenty was successful because of Thomas, and it wasn’t so much a solo career as an extension of what he was already doing. He had established himself so well by writing songs for the band, as well as for various other pop-stars like Tom Petty and, more recently, Taylor Hicks. The guy is so multi-talented, playing sold-out shows at huge venues to a crowd that absolutely goes mental when he sings.

I caught him at the Red Rocks Amphitheater’s summer performances, which is quite possible the most beautiful setting you could possibly ask for. The set-up for the show made them really small due to the massiveness of the stage, but the sound was perfect and I never had a moment where I couldn’t hear his distinctive voice. The added feature of having a live band really kicked his songs up a notch. He played an hour long set, in which “we’re going to cram as many songs as we possible can before they kick us off the stage,” resulting in the crowd going wild. Solid show from beginning to end!

Rob Thomas, best known as the primary vocalist and songwriter for Matchbox Twenty. He is an incredibly critically esteemed artist due to lending his songwriting to the likes of Tom Petty, Willie Nelson, Mick Jagger and Santana, the collaboration with the latter saw him win three Grammy awards.

So with an impressive solo discography, a successful band and a host of collaborators one may wonder exactly what Thomas would play during his live performance. This curiosity sees his shows continue to sell out globally and keeps the man onstage doing what he adores. The crowd cheers loudly as he steps into view and proudly takes the microphone for 'Mockingbird' and 'Sunday Morning, New York Blue'. The audience remains responsive to the artist and Rob enjoys interacting with them throughout his show, the biggest cheer of the night thus far is for 'Disease' by Matchbox Twenty which Rob has stripped back to a more acoustic shell.

This reinterpretation means the gig has a nice level of consistency and the crowd cheer, sing and applaud in equal measure for his own hits such as 'Lonely No More' as well as Matchbox Twenty's 'Bright Lights'.

With his backing band bringing the roof down behind him and the flashing strobe lights bouncing of all the walls, Rob Thomas’s concert was as spectacular as I had imagined it to be, if not more so. The whole stage was a spectacle of light, sound and colour that added to the crazy and electric atmosphere of the show, allowing the audience to really be thrust into Thomas’ music and his world. We were all there to see the man himself, and amongst all the craziness he stood out as only he knows how. Thomas is the recipient of an incredible three Grammy Awards after all, not to mention the lead singer of hit 90s band Matchbox Twenty, a band that achieved huge success and largely because of Thomas’ song writing and vocal skills. Thomas took to the stage like a dolphin in water, at ease in his natural habitat. He put his years of experience to good use and delighted the crowd all night, performing hit singles such as ‘Smooth’ and ‘Lonely No More’ which he knew would have us begging for more.

Although he was ill, had some sort of cold and he could barely talk, Rob Thomas killed it! He is absolutely amazing and a complete trooper. I love when a musician still performs a show, instead of cancelling which is what he was going to do, and it sticks in your mind forever.

Artists like Rob Thomas truly love what they do, and it shows. Poor guy was so sick! But he did NOT disappoint! He played extra songs just for us. The entire audience was on their feet for the majority of the show, didn't leave early or start packing up until he was done.

This was truly a concert I will never forget! And I will definitely see Rob Thomas (and Matchbox 20) again and again!

xo and thanks Rob!!!

Rob Thomas knows how to entertain a crowd. From his opening song off his new album CHIP TOOTH SMILE, I LOVE IT got the audience screaming to his end song, THIS IS HOW A HEART BREAKS, where the fans were bouncing in unison with this energetic man. His undulating moves throughout kept unending screams of adulation just proving how hypnotic and sexy this guy can be. Thank you Rob Thomas and your band for a concert to remember. The new addition to the band of the goo goo dolls saxophonist is a well worthy addition whatever the cost. A sax added into the mix was great. Again. Thank you Rob Thomas and your band, outstanding night in Salt Lake City!

What an amazing show! The venue was smaller than most which made it very intimate. Our seats were some of the best value for the distance. We could almost touch him if we wanted to!

The actual song choice was great. Thomas chose a lot of his hits from his early solo career along with his time in Matchbox. There was hardly a song where everyone wasn't dancing to or singing along.

On one of his songs, he jumped off stage and began running around the crowd and the audience went nuts!. Overall, an amazing intimate performance which made for a memorable experience. Would highly recommend!

Rob of course was amazing like usual ,I been to probably a dozen shows between Rob and matchbox 20 ,and last night was right up with the rest for a great time to forget what's going on in this crazy world.Rob really connected with the audience like he always does.his time singing away from the stage about halfway into crowd was for sure a highlight.( could reach out and touch him!! I just love his music he gives it his all . since the first time I seen Matchbox in 98 till now and sure beyond .He is my favorite singer/ song writer..can't wait till next time!!!

Wow not only a great songwriter and believe me i am very critical as i am also a songwriter, but also a uniquely genuine person who made me feel like i was the only person in the room during the performance i felt he noticed me there, even though i was in the back, his performance of his songs lacked nothing it may as well have been in Madison square garden. this was a birthday present to my lovely wife Lori, man she was stoked.

Thanks Rob and the whole crew from SongKick

we love you guys

peace Jeff Denny

Wow! I’ve seen many concerts in my time but this has to have been one of the best shows I’ve ever seen. Rob Thomas is an incredible performer and musician. He engages the audience, sounds amazing live, and performed more songs than any other act I’ve seen live.

I was pleased with both opening acts and am now tuned in to performers I may have never listened to otherwise. If you have an opportunity to see Rob Thomas live, do not pass it up. You will not be disappointed!

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Exclusive: Matchbox Twenty announces summer tour, reflects on 'cheesy' legacy of 'Smooth'

Yes, Rob Thomas has seen the "Smooth" memes.

In 1999, the Matchbox Twenty frontman was featured on Carlos Santana's sizzling rock hit "Smooth," which topped the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for 12 weeks. In the two decades since, the song has taken on a life of its own, in the form of Twitter parody accounts, T-shirt slogans and countless Internet memes.

"Me and Carlos talk almost every other day about stupid (expletive)," Thomas tells USA TODAY. "My last favorite one was 'The Santana Clause,' where instead of Tim Allen on the poster, they had us and the tagline, 'They have 12 days to save Christmas or else forget about it.' It was something ridiculous, but it's hilarious."

More: Playlist: What's Rob Thomas listening to?

Thomas, 47, will continue to embrace millennial nostalgia this summer with the Matchbox Twenty 2020 tour, a 50-date arena and amphitheater trek across North America, kicking off in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, on July 17 with supporting act The Wallflowers . Tickets go on sale to the band's fan-club members Tuesday (10 a.m. EST) and the public starting Friday on livenation.com (12 p.m. EST).

The tour, announced exclusively on usatoday.com , is timed to the 20th anniversary of Matchbox's 2000 album "Mad Season," which spawned Top 10 hits "If You're Gone" and "Bent." The set list will likely incorporate some deeper cuts from that album, as well as other popular songs including "3 AM," "Unwell" and "Push."

"Half of us realizes we're in the hospitality industry: It's our job to make sure people have a good time," Thomas says. "The other half is just playing music we enjoy playing together."

No doubt fans will be 100% excited the band is going back on tour for the first time since 2017. Read on for the rest of our interview with Thomas.

Question: Matchbox last hit the road together in 2017, on a co-headlining trek with Counting Crows. What surprised you most about that tour?

Answer: We've been playing together for 20 years and we've had very few personal arguments – any argument we've ever had is strictly professional. But before that (tour), we were right on the precipice of whether or not we were gonna be a band anymore. Kyle (Cook) had gotten frustrated and left, and we were in limbo for a second while I was solo. And then for some reason, everything just aligned. We got back together and that tour in 2017 turned out to legitimately be the most fun we've probably ever had. We got along better than we ever had, so it was a blessing. And that was the moment where we realized that no matter what we're up to, no matter what the hiatus is, when we get back together, we're ready to play.

Q: Aside from the hits, is there a song that gets the biggest reaction from fans when you play it live?

A: There's one I wrote for the third record called "So Sad So Lonely." And then there's one that Paul Doucette wrote for the last record called "English Town," which has become our favorite and a fan favorite every night. Over 20 years, the Matchbox sound has really evolved from songs like "3 AM" to "English Town." We're lucky that our fans have kept coming along with us and allowing us to do that.

Q: What about a song that you've grown sick of or have retired from your set lists?

A: There are some songs that are popular that I would be OK if I never listened to again. "Real World" is a great example: If I was listening to it, I would just hear all the deficits in production and things I would have done differently now. But when we play it live, there's that energy shared with the crowd and it feels new. It's a whole different thing. Then there are songs like "Busted": the very minor-chord, angsty, '90s rock songs. As we all got into our 40s and had families and actual things to be concerned about, that manufactured angst from your 20s doesn't really feel relevant to us anymore. We haven't done some of those songs in a really long time just because they don't feel genuine anymore.

Q: You released a new solo album, "Chip Tooth Smile," last spring, but it's been nearly eight years since the last Matchbox record (2012's "North"). Are you guys working on any new music now?

A: We're working on some new songs, but I don't see the landscape in the world being one that makes sense for us to make an entire album right now. We're going out on an anniversary tour for ("Mad Season") and there's a huge amount of nostalgia that comes with that. There's 20 years of music that people are going to want to listen to. So for us to just start shoving a whole bunch of brand new songs down people's throats, I don't think they're going to love that. But if we came out with one or two songs that we legitimately got behind and we felt really good about, then those fans that really want to hear something new won't walk away disappointed either.

Q: "Smooth" turned 20 last year. How do you and Carlos Santana look back on it now?

A: Listen, we've worked together a lot. We did "Smooth," and then after that, I wrote for him and Mary J. Blige and Musiq Soulchild and Seal and a bunch of other people on his records. I think we have this affection for "Smooth," while at the same time, I don't think either one of us thinks it's the best song that we've ever done. I don't think it's the best song I've ever written and certainly not the best song that he's ever done. But it just really holds a place in our hearts. It was the exact right song at the exact right time for the two of us. That's another great example of a song that I don't need to hear ever again, but if you play it live, it just sparks something in the crowd.

We went through that journey together. We're like, "Man, this was the jam in the summer. Man, this is kind of cheesy and I'm sick of it. Oh, man, remember 'Smooth?' Let's hear that again."

Matchbox Twenty 2020

For more information about the tour, visit matchboxtwenty.com . The full list of dates:

July 17 – Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Wind Creek Event Center

July 18 – Gilford, New Hampshire, Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion

July 19 – Syracuse, New York, St. Joseph's Health Amphitheater at Lakeview

July 21 – Camden, New Jersey, BB&T Pavilion

July 22 – Wantagh, New York, Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater

July 24 – Saratoga Springs, New York, Saratoga Performing Arts Center

July 25 – Mansfield, Massachusetts, Xfinity Center

July 26 – Uncasville, Connecticut, Mohegan Sun Arena

July 28 – Holmdel, New Jersey, PNC Bank Arts Center

July 29 – Bristow, Virginia, Jiffy Lube Live

July 31 – Virginia Beach, Virginia, Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater at Virginia Beach

Aug. 1 – Raleigh, North Carolina, Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek

Aug. 2 – Charlotte, North Carolina, PNC Music Pavilion

Aug. 4 – Atlanta, Cellairis Amphitheatre at Lakewood

Aug. 5 – Nashville, Bridgestone Arena

Aug. 7 – Tampa, Florida, MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre at the Florida State Fairgrounds

Aug. 8 – West Palm Beach, Florida, Coral Sky Amphitheatre at the South Florida Fairgrounds

Aug. 9 – Jacksonville, Florida, Daily's Place

Aug. 11 – Pelham, Alabama, Oak Mountain Amphitheatre

Aug. 13 – Memphis, Tennessee, TBA

Aug. 14 – Houston, The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion presented by Huntsman

Aug. 15 – Dallas, Dos Equis Pavilion

Aug. 17 – Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Zoo Amphitheater

Aug. 18 – Rogers, Arkansas, Walmart Amp

Aug. 19 – Maryland Heights, Missouri, Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre – St. Louis

Aug. 21 – Tinley Park, Illinois, Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre - Chicago

Aug. 22 – Noblesville, Indiana, Ruoff Music Center

Aug. 23 – Moline, Illinois, TaxSlayer Center

Aug. 25 – Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, Blossom Music Center

Aug. 26 – Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, S&T Bank Music Park

Aug. 27 – Cincinnati, Riverbend Music Center

Aug. 29 – Darien Center, New York, Darien Lake Amphitheater

Aug. 30 – Toronto, Budweiser Stage

Sep. 1 – Clarkston, Michigan, DTE Energy Music Theatre

Sep. 2 – Toledo, Ohio, Toledo Zoo Amphitheater

Sep. 4 – Welch, Minnesota, Treasure Island Resort & Casino

Sep. 5 – Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Denny Sanford PREMIER Center

Sep. 6 – Kansas City, Missouri, Starlight Theatre

Sep. 8 – Omaha, Nebraska, CHI Health Center Omaha

Sep. 10 – Denver, Pepsi Center

Sep. 12 – Boise, Idaho, Ford Idaho Center

Sep. 13 – Salt Lake City, USANA Amphitheatre

Sep. 15 – Seattle, White River Amphitheatre

Sep. 16 – Vancouver, Rogers Arena

Sep. 17 – Ridgefield, Washington, Sunlight Supply Amphitheater

Sep. 19 – Mountain View, California, Shoreline Amphitheater

Sep. 20 – Fresno, California, Save Mart Center

Sep. 22 – Phoenix, Ak-Chin Pavilion

Sep. 23 – San Diego, Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre at SDSU

Sep. 24 – Irvine, California, FivePoint Amphitheatre

Sep. 26 – Las Vegas, Palms Casino Resort

Sep. 27 – Bakersfield, California, Mechanics Bank Arena

Sep. 28 – Los Angeles, Hollywood Bowl

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Matchbox Twenty Thought They Were Done Making Albums – But They’re Back With What They Call ‘One of Our Strongest’

Rob Thomas and Paul Doucette discuss new album 'Where the Light Goes,' and why, after three decades together, the band is working more efficiently than ever.

By Jason Lipshutz

Jason Lipshutz

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Rob Thomas believes that the lead single to Matchbox Twenty’s first album in over a decade works because the band didn’t overthink it.

“Wild Dogs (Running in a Slow Dream),” the pop- rock sing-along that deploys a racing tempo and a handful of rousing hooks, was added to the track list of Where the Light Goes , the band’s fifth studio album, after Thomas, drummer/multi-instrumentalist Paul Doucette and producer Gregg Wattenberg recognized a spark in its music and lyrics — then proceeded to do as little as possible to mess with its momentum.

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Matchbox Twenty kicked off their 54-date Slow Dream tour earlier this month, and will be playing a mix of old hits and new album cuts on the road through August. Ahead of the tour kickoff and album release, Thomas and Doucette chatted with Billboard about how an unlikely full-length turned into one of the most satisfying projects of their shared careers. (Ed. note: this conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.)

Considering it’s been over a decade since the last Matchbox Twenty album, how does it feel to start the machine back up?

Thomas: Oddly comfortable and normal.

Thomas: From 1996, we’ve only existed through change. When we started out, it was this period where we got to make a lot of mistakes, and they were private — they didn’t exist online, nobody was there with a camera, TMZ didn’t exist. We were a band that came out at a time when we said the actual phrase, “Do you think we need a website?” Social media didn’t exist until like three records in.

So I think that we came along at a really good time to expect and be ready for change, whenever we were starting a new endeavor. But then at the same time, we’re getting ready to go on tour, and this process where we bring out the gear, we make sure that we’ve got the sound just so — this was exactly the same in 2017, in 2015. That’s the job, and that feels very familiar.

When did you guys start focusing on this group of songs?

Thomas: We were pretty much at a place where we didn’t think we were ever going to make a full-length record. Going into 2020, it was, “Let’s record a couple of songs to accompany the tour, and then maybe that’s our business model — you know, we tour every couple of years, and we maybe release a song or two.” That didn’t excite Paul. He wasn’t sure how much effort he wanted to put into a couple of songs, so he was like, “If you guys want to run with that, go for it.” So during that time, Paul listened to [the song] “Where the Light Goes,” and he was just like, “I like that one, maybe you guys should work on that.” And me and Kyle worked on it.

Doucette: I ended season three of [co-composing the score for] For All Mankind in April, I think, and then in May I flew to New York to start working on this, and it was basically from May until December. I think we all kind of felt like we were never gonna make another record — and then suddenly, we were making a record, and that record’s done! In the grand scheme of things, this record came together probably more quickly than any record we’ve ever done.

Thomas: To be fair, though, this wasn’t a situation where we went into the studio and wrote all the songs. Some of those were written during the process, but then some of those were 75% done and then we’d jump in and help finish it together, and some were 100% done. We came in with a lot of material, and then we whittled down a good portion of this album with things that were started at different times, and then just finished as a band.

How much of the creative energy between you guys was just like old times, and how much has it evolved over the years? Since it’s been such a long time that you all worked on an album together, what was it like trying to regain a rhythm?

Thomas: Some things are just very automatic. You’re just like, this is how this works, I see where you’re going with that, let me pick that up. It’s happening amongst a group of guys who are 10 years older than the last time we did it — and the last time we did it, we weren’t young. And so I think there’s a refinement to the process that’s welcomed, in a really big way, and a civility to the process. We’re less precious with our feelings and our ideas — we want to get something done, but at the same time, we’re very precious with other people’s feelings and other people’s ideas. So I feel like everything about it that was different was only for the better.

A lot of lyrics on the new album contain a personal specificity, even as the themes are pretty universal. I’m thinking of a song like “Don’t Get Me Wrong,” which is about identity and how your past informs your present.

Doucette: I know that, at least for me, I’m trying to write from a place that’s searching for positivity. There’s a poster from an artist named Deedee Cheriel that says ‘You Have Everything You Need,’ so I wrote “Friends” about that. “One Hit Love” is a song that we wrote that’s about this might be doomed, but we’re gonna go for it anyway. I just want to keep writing about hopeful things. That said, there’s a song, “Warm Blood,” that’s totally negative.

Thomas: I’m always like write, write, write, and I end up writing four or five songs for every one that I actually like. After 30 years, it’s become about getting a sense of what you’re writing about, but then trying to find a way to say it that has its own flair, its own color. When you talk about relationships, it’s easy to fall into the same tropes – you want to try and find new ways to express yourself. The effort that we put into the lyrics on this record, I think makes it one of our strongest ones that we’ve written.

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Rob Thomas reflects on Florida roots, Matchbox Twenty's 20th anniversary

Jay Cridlin Times staff

Lest you forget Rob Thomas is a Florida Man — one of Florida's most successful men, in fact, when it comes to writing pop songs — he's happy to name-drop a few local landmarks.

"We had a local band called Tabitha's Secret that used to play all throughout the Southeast, so we would go and play Skipper's Smokehouse and the State Theatre when they would do a bunch of bands on the bill," the songwriter and singer for Matchbox Twenty said by phone from the New York City suburbs. "That was just where you went to play. That was when bands like Halcyon were still around, and Big White Undies and the Beat Me Ups and bands like that."

Thomas has come a long way since sharing stages with Big White Undies. This fall marks the 20th anniversary of Matchbox Twenty's Yourself or Someone Like You, the blockbuster debut that featured hits Push and 3 A.M. , and set Thomas on a path to songwriting superstardom.

Three Grammys and millions of albums sold later, Thomas will be back in Central Florida on Saturday, performing with Counting Crows at Tampa's MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre. While he's here, he'll catch up with family and reminisce about moving from South Carolina to Sarasota in middle school and forming Matchbox Twenty in Orlando.

"We created this kind of vibe amongst ourselves," he said. "There were a lot of bands that were all kind of helping each other out, doing shows where there are six bands, and the only people there to watch the show are the other bands that are playing."

On the surface, Matchbox Twenty was the perfect Orlando band: accessible, inoffensive, vanilla to the point of banality. That's an oversimplification, of course — Orlando has vibrant, gritty nooks, and Thomas and Matchbox Twenty wrote better songs than most critics gave them credit for — but Thomas understands the greater point.

"I think there was a good scene, but I'm not so sure that it was defined geographically by where we were," he said. "There doesn't seem to be a discernible Orlando culture, as it were, in the sense that maybe you would find in, say, Miami. Miami has its own flavor, and you know what it is. In some ways, St. Augustine kind of has that. We were pretty insulated."

When Yourself or Someone Like You came out, critics called out the band's unabashedly mainstream sound, often comparing the band to Thomas' current tourmates, Counting Crows.

"I remember there was an article somebody had written, a review of the record, and it said we sound like a band that spends all of our time standing in front of the mirror going, 'No, no, no, let me be Adam Duritz next,' " he said with a huge laugh. "At least it was clever."

Now that he and Duritz are friends, he doesn't mind the comparison.

"At the end of the day, all you're talking about is a certain sensibility," he said. "Adam's just a songwriter. I don't think there's any other agenda. He's not trying to appeal to any certain disenfranchised group; it's not some giant political statement. It's just a bunch of words about emotions, and interactions with people, and how those interactions make people feel and react."

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As the hits kept piling up for Matchbox Twenty — Bent , Unwell , If You're Gone — Thomas launched a successful solo career, which spawned several hits, including Smooth with Carlos Santana, and three Top 10 albums, including 2015's The Great Unknown .

The Great Unknown is an unabashed pop album, "more of an experiment than anything else," Thomas said. "There's a lot of production choices you can make in that kind of music that you don't get a chance to do with guitar rock." But it also represents a bit of a shift in cultural tastes that Thomas has reflected in his songwriting.

"Adam and I were talking about this a week ago: Music itself doesn't change, but where the spotlight is on music is always moving around," he said. "If both of our first records came out right now, they would probably be more like a poppy country record than anything that's on actual pop radio right now. Twenty years ago, that was what pop radio was, was bands like us. There was a period where it was Pearl Jam. Before that it was New Kids on the Block."

Thomas points to acts like Ed Sheeran and Twenty One Pilots as new pop artists that "harken back to a traditional idea of music." And he's settling in to write new material for what he suspects could be another solo album — it's "way too personal for it not to be," he said. It'll feel more stripped down, "really bare-bones acoustic-y, straight-up singer-songwriter stuff. I realized, looking back, that that's a record I haven't made yet, even if it's always in me."

But first he's got this victory lap around America with Counting Crows, plus the 20-year anniversary of Matchbox Twenty, which he said is still very much alive.

"It's a huge thing that none of us thought we'd achieve," he said. "Not just to be around for 20 years because all you have to do is stay together for that. But to be around for 20 years, and we went out last summer and had one of our biggest tours ever — that's a good feeling to have."

Contact Jay Cridlin at [email protected] or (727) 893-8336. Follow @JayCridlin.

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January 2022

Rob Thomas Interview: Talking Matchbox Twenty, Santana and "The Song"

Written by Marc Parker and Melissa Benefield Parker , Posted in Interviews Musicians

Image attributed to Randall Slavin

Image by Randall Slavin

Singer, songwriter and musician Rob Thomas is best known for being the lead singer of the rock band Matchbox Twenty which was formed in Orlando, Florida, in 1995. In addition to Thomas, the group also currently consists of Brian Yale (bass guitar), Paul Doucette (drums, rhythm guitar, backing vocals) and Kyle Cook (lead guitar, vocals). Thomas received three Grammy Awards for co-writing and singing on the 1999 hit “Smooth” by Santana. He has also written songs for many other artists.

Something About Christmas Time is Thomas’ fifth solo album release, and the debut holiday record came out October 22, 2021. He appears on the new season of The Song , which features iconic artists performing legendary songs in some of the most scenic locations in America. The third season premiered nationwide January 8, 2022, and episodes can be seen on AXS TV.

"I’ve never been really, really comfortable around a lot of people, but at least before, I had more experience with it."

Smashing Interviews Magazine : Rob, tell me about The Song .

Rob Thomas : Well, The Song is just as the name suggests. It’s like an interview show with live music, but it kind of focuses on the engine behind everything, which is the song. I’m looking back now, and some of these songs are from 25 years ago when they were released. It’s a unique experience, I think, to go back because you’re revisiting who you were when you wrote them as well and also the journey you’ve taken if you’ve been lucky enough to be playing for that long. So doing the show turned out to be really a cathartic experience. I really enjoyed it. They do it really, really well.

Smashing Interviews Magazine : Are these Matchbox Twenty songs or from your solo catalogue that you are performing?

Rob Thomas : It’s a little bit of everything actually. It’s the songs I’ve written through the years. There’s some Matchbox, some solo, I definitely have “Smooth” in there. I have a solo band I’ve had that’s basically the same members since 2004/2005, so I’m playing with those guys. What we did was, we kind of created new versions of these songs that are a hybrid between the versions we did on the record and maybe an acoustic, really stripped down version, somewhere in the middle. So that was something in itself just to recreate these songs on the fly.

We did this, I want to say, like at the end of the summer. It was all done under really strange COVID rules. We shot the episodes in this barn that was owned by a friend of a friend up in Connecticut. It turned out to be perfect because we could control the whole environment. The acoustics were amazing.

Smashing Interviews Magazine : You also appeared on Carlos Santana’s new album Blessings and Miracles , which came out last October, for a song called “Move.” How did the reunion come about?

Rob Thomas : Carlos and I have stayed incredibly close. We speak all the time. We always try and get together when we can. Our families are close. We’ve worked together over the years. After “Smooth,” we had such a great time, and it was such a success, it felt really natural that ever since, we’ve been trying to recreate that. So I would just write songs for Carlos and other people. Carlos and I would just get together and play music live , but we never really thought about recording something else.

Then me and Zac, the lead singer from American Authors, and Dave, the bass player from American Authors, were working on a song for American Authors. At the end of the session, they sent me the track. I reached out to Carlos just to see if he might want to put some guitars on it because it had such a great Latin feel. I decided it would be fun if he just played on it. He explained to me how close he was to finishing his record, but he felt like he was missing one song and felt like “Move” was the one he was missing. So everything happened the way we always thought that it would if we worked together again, which was very naturally.

Smashing Interviews Magazine : Thus, the reunion after 22 years. Carlos is 74 now, and you’re 49. So is there still the same rapport between you two, or is it different now?

Rob Thomas : I think it’s better now than it ever was. With “Smooth,” we got to go through this whole experience together with the Grammys and all the different shows. But the years that followed really created this friendship that we have. Like, when we go through things in our lives, we talk about them. He’s been a mentor to me, and I’ve been there as a friend to him. We’re basically old friends when we get together now.

Smashing Interviews Magazine : Have you spoken to him since his heart surgery?

Rob Thomas : I have. I spoke to him literally the day after. I sent him this box set. It was like the 100 greatest DVDs in Warner Bros. history (laughs). It was all these movies from the 1930s until today. It was like 100 DVDs. So I sent him that to help him recuperate.

Smashing Interviews Magazine : Some songwriters say when they write a song, they can really feel if it is the one. Did you ever feel that way while you were writing “Smooth”?

Rob Thomas : You know, I didn’t. My wife did, oddly enough. She said, “This is going to be really, really big.” I was living in downtown New York. I didn’t even know it was the single, honestly. I didn’t know whether they were going to pick it. I was standing on the street, and this car stopped at a red light. It was a convertible, and “Smooth” was on the radio. I thought, “That sounds really good.” (laughs)

Carlos hadn’t had a really big hit in a while, so I just wanted to do something for him because I was such a really big fan. I grew up on his music, and I thought it was going to be one of those things where I’d say, “By the way, did you get a chance to check out this new song I did with Carlos”? So I think we were all taken aback. It was funny. You know, Melissa, if you talk to anybody retroactively about things, everybody will tell you that they all knew it was going to be a big hit. But really, we just throw everything out there and hope it does well.

Smashing Interviews Magazine : You wrote “Unwell” during the time you started to have panic attacks. How have your anxiety issues been during the pandemic?

Rob Thomas : They’ve probably completely gotten worse during the pandemic. I’ve never been really, really comfortable around a lot of people, but at least before, I had more experience with it. Like now, if I’m out in public sometimes, I feel myself having a hard time and panic attacky. A lot of people feel that way, and for a long time, there was this stigma about admitting that you were uncomfortable in situations or about admitting that you have phobias or fears or anxieties.

I think that now, it’s a completely different world as far as there’s no stigma around that feeling anymore, and it’s okay for people and kids, especially, to talk about having those feeling and to talk about not being okay. I think that’s a huge line between somebody saying, “Hey, you’re crazy,” and “You’re just a little unwell.” I think it’s more about that line.

Smashing Interviews Magazine : You should be very proud of that song in that you may have helped someone out there who is struggling with those issues.

Rob Thomas : Thank you. I am proud of that one.

Smashing Interviews Magazine : Matchbox Twenty has a tour beginning in May of this year. Have you written new songs?

Rob Thomas : No. Right before the holidays, the guys were in New York at the studio. None of us really had the time or emotional bandwidth to put together an entire album in the way we’d want to put together whole record. So we’re just going to put out probably just a four-song EP for some new music for fans and stuff to play live . It’s just not about going out to support a whole record right now like going out and doing all the TV shows and all that stuff. It seems like a lot more fun to have a song out and let the tour be the promotion for it.

Smashing Interviews Magazine : The last Matchbox Twenty tour was in 2017?

Rob Thomas : That sounds about right, and it was probably 2019 when I was out solo. We did America and Australia and then came back.

Smashing Interviews Magazine : I understand you wrote one holiday song last year, then told the A&R rep with Atlantic about it, and he wanted you to do a Christmas record. Was that the motivation to do the album?

Rob Thomas : It was the kick I needed, I think. A lot of us musicians are notorious about procrastinating. I kept wanting to make a Christmas record. Then I was home that summer and could do that because I wasn’t working on Matchbox Twenty or solo songs, so I didn’t have that excuse. But I still think if I didn’t have someone light that fire under me, I would’ve just talked about it a lot and said, “Aw, shit. It’s too late.” (laughs) But it lit a fire under me, and I was really glad it did. I had that record in me and knew I wanted to make a Christmas record that was a little different than the ones I buy.

Smashing Interviews Magazine : And one song is now the theme for a television show.

Rob Thomas : Well, yeah, what were the odds that somebody was working on a show called Small Town Christmas right when I was writing “Small Town Christmas”? I think that was kind of amazing. For all of us, whenever something succeeds, it’s all a suspension of disbelief because if you really thought about the odds of success, it would be so daunting that, I think, it would never happen. We really didn’t think much about the record. It was really surprising to my wife and I when we saw “Small Town Christmas” on the regular radio chart. It was like me, Michael Buble and Kelly Clarkson. Those were the three Christmas songs in the top 10.

The good thing is I didn’t even realize how many people last year were putting out Christmas records. Again, if I had known that, I think I would’ve jinxed it, like the “I’m never going to succeed” thing. I just thought I was the only one putting out a Christmas record last year, and we were really surprised.

Smashing Interviews Magazine : You know, speaking of succeeding. It took a lot of courage and perseverance to escape your early family situation, the drugs, jail time, being homeless.

Rob Thomas : And a lot of willful ignorance. For some reason, I honestly thought, “Why wouldn’t I succeed as a musician?” Again, if you don’t look at the odds, that’s a really big help. Then there was a lack of options. When I was growing up, I thought, “This is kind of it.” I had to make it work.

Smashing Interviews Magazine : Did you learn something about yourself during that time?

Rob Thomas : I think I finally got to a point where I felt worthy of success. Sometimes, you feel like you don’t deserve it. I feel like I worked for these things. I had a bit of talent, and I worked really, really hard at honing it. I spent more time doing that than I had on anything. Like, all of a sudden, I didn’t mind 25-hour days. I didn’t mind sleepless nights getting stuff done. It felt good to accomplish something. I don’t think I felt famous. I felt like I was succeeding at something that I was good at, and that’s a good feeling.

Smashing Interviews Magazine : You and Marisol have been married over 20 years. What makes it work?

Rob Thomas : A patient wife, I would imagine (laughs). She’s my best friend. We’ve been through a lot together, obviously. We’ve had a couple of lifetimes together now. From the time we met in our mid-20s to now, we’ve become different people. We’re really lucky, I think, that we evolved together . We wanted the same things, and we wanted to find ourselves in the same situations as we got older. It’s the reason why 20 some odd years later, we can still sit on the couch today and get excited because we’re making dinner (laughs).

Smashing Interviews Magazine : (laughs) I truly understand that. Any other projects coming up, Rob?

Rob Thomas : Well, for Matchbox Twenty, I’ve kind of put everything on the side for that. I have a full solo record done. I originally planned, and you know what happens when you make plans, but the plan was I’d be out with Matchbox in 2020, maybe a part of 2021. I would be sitting here with you having a conversation about this new solo record. But everything just got moved, and we were just kicking that can on down the road. So right now, that’s definitely on the back burner. But it’s good to know I’ve got stuff that I’m really excited about. That’s always a good feeling. But hopefully, by that time, I’d have written a whole new record anyway (laughs).

Smashing Interviews Magazine : (laughs) And I look forward to chatting with you about it.

Rob Thomas : (laughs) I already hope you like it.

Carlos Santana Interview Matchbox Twenty Smooth The Song

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Matchbox Twenty Announce Massive 2024 Australian Tour

Get ready for the band's first visit to Australia in over ten years with special guests Goo Goo Dolls.

Photo of Matchbox Twenty (Jimmy Fontaine)

Matchbox Twenty will finally return to Australia in February 2024 with their first dates down under since November 2012. Goo Goo Dolls will be coming along for the ride.

Last month, Matchbox Twenty founding members Rob Thomas and Paul Doucette appeared on The Plug podcast with Neil Griffiths and dropped the news that they were planning an Australian tour .

In the last two minutes of the podcast, Thomas and Doucette teased, “We will be boots on the ground in Australia next year… we’ll be bringing some good friends; that is happening.” You can check out the full podcast episode here .

The pair have made good on that tease, as today, TEG Van Egmond and Matchbox Twenty can announce an extensive 10-date Australian tour.

The band kick off their Australian tour in Perth on Tuesday, 13 February, before heading to Adelaide, Melbourne, the Yarra Valley, Wollongong, Sydney, Canberra, Newcastle, the Gold Coast and Brisbane.

The Telstra pre-sale commences at 2 pm on Wednesday, 17 May, until 2 pm Friday, 19 May. The general public on-sale begins at 9 am local time on Tuesday, 23 May. Find tickets here and the full tour dates below.

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“It’s so incredibly exciting to announce that Matchbox Twenty are heading over to entertain Australian audiences in February,” Christo Van Egmond , Managing Director of TEG VAN EGMOND, said in a statement. “Australia is the band’s second highest-selling market! So many fond memories are bound to resurface while hearing these two brilliant bands perform their classic songs live.

“Few acts have dominated the contemporary music landscape in this country, from the mid-’90s right through the 2000s, quite like Matchbox Twenty, and the same could be said for Goo Goo Dolls. A magical night is guaranteed.”

“Performing on stage with your mates that you’ve been in a band with for decades is such a privilege and it’s something we never take for granted, especially these days. Our Australian tour follows a massive 50-plus date US tour for Matchbox Twenty, so we’ll definitely be match-fit and ready to rock your socks off as well. It’s been way too long since I’ve seen all your Aussie faces. Already looking forward to February!”

Check out The Music 's recap of the band's last visit to Australia here .

Matchbox Twenty

2024 Australian Tour Dates with Goo Goo Dolls

Tuesday 13 February – RAC Arena, Perth

Thursday 15 February – Adelaide Entertainment Centre Arena, Adelaide

Friday 16 February – Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne

Saturday 17 February – Rochford Wines, Yarra Valley

Tuesday 20 February – WIN Entertainment Centre, Wollongong

Thursday 22 February – Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney

Friday 23 February – GIO Stadium, Canberra

Saturday 24 February – Newcastle Entertainment Centre, Newcastle

Monday 26 February – Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre, Gold Coast

Tuesday 27 February – Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane

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Matchbox Twenty to perform at 2024 Minnesota State Fair

Matchbox Twenty is the latest act announced for the 2024 Minnesota State Fair Grandstand Series.

The band will play the Grandstand stage on Friday, Aug. 30 at 7 p.m. Tickets go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. via the state fair's website , ranging from $67 to $134.

The last time Matchbox Twenty played in Minnesota was last June at the Treasure Island Resort and Casino Amphitheater.

The group, led by vocalist Rob Thomas, has sold more than 40 million records worldwide and earned multiple Grammy Award nominations.

Best known for hits including "Push", "3AM", "Unwell", "How Far We've Come", and "If You're Gone", Matchbox 20's newest album, "Where the Light Goes", was released in 2023 — their first since 2012's "North."

Here's the updated schedule for the 2024 Grandstand Series.

Friday, Aug. 23: Chance the Rapper

Saturday, Aug. 24: Nate Bargatze

Sunday, Aug. 25: Blake Shelton

Monday, Aug. 26: Happy Together Tour feat. The Turtles

Thursday, Aug. 29: Mötley Crüe

Friday, Aug. 30: Matchbox 20

Monday, Sept. 2: Kidz Bop Live

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Matchbox Twenty 2023 tour schedule. From May 16 to Aug. 6, Matchbox Twenty has 51 huge concerts at amphitheaters and arenas all over North America lined up. Just a few of their most choice gigs ...
Rob Thomas goes deep on new Matchbox 20 songs and album ahead of tour
0:04. 1:30. By the time Rob Thomas hit the road in 2017 on a tour celebrating the 20th anniversary of Matchbox Twenty, he was feeling pretty comfortable with the idea that they'd never make ...
Rob Thomas reunites with Matchbox Twenty at his Sidewalk ...
Rob Thomas promised "special guests" for his charity solo concert in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on Sunday, and he delivered — by bringing out his band Matchbox Twenty. After performing a slew of solo hits, including "Her Diamonds," "Lonely No More," "This Is How a Heart Breaks" and "Smooth," Rob brought the band out for a ...
Matchbox 20 talks new album, returning to the road for Slow Dream tour
Matchbox Twenty on 'unfinished business,' how touring does 'vile things' to their bodies. On Matchbox Twenty's new single, "Don't Get Me Wrong," Rob Thomas sings, "I'm feeling calm but ...
Rob Thomas and Kyle Cook of Matchbox Twenty Tickets
by MR on 12/4/23Fillmore Auditorium (Denver) - Denver. Always love seeing Johnny Rzeznik, lively and sounded great. Rob Thomas and Kyle Cook also sounded great. I enjoyed the different pace of the acoustic set, but would have enjoyed it much, much more if I had not already been standing for 3 hours.
Here's Matchbox 20's 2023 tour setlist from their Phoenix concert
Here's what Rob Thomas and Matchbox 20 played when their 2023 tour hit Phoenix, from "3AM" to "Wild Dogs (Running in a Slow Dream)." Local Sports Things To Do Best of the Desert Politics Advertise ...
Rob Thomas Tickets, Tour Dates & Concerts 2024 & 2023
Buy tickets for Rob Thomas concerts near you. See all upcoming 2023-24 tour dates, support acts, reviews and venue info. ... Rob of course was amazing like usual ,I been to probably a dozen shows between Rob and matchbox 20 ,and last night was right up with the rest for a great time to forget what's going on in this crazy world.Rob really ...
Rob Thomas talks about Matchbox Twenty's new album and ...
Rob Thomas talks to Yahoo Entertainment's Lyndsey Parker about Matchbox Twenty's fifth new album 'Where the Light Goes,' how the band continues to tour 28 ye...
A Conversation with Rob Thomas of Matchbox 20
On the quartet's new album and eventually fading from view. For Matchbox Twenty frontman and occasional solo artist Rob Thomas, nothing beats the telling of a really good story. It's what guided ...
Matchbox Twenty frontman announces tour, says 'Smooth' isn't his best song
Exclusive: Matchbox Twenty announces summer tour, reflects on 'cheesy' legacy of 'Smooth'. Yes, Rob Thomas has seen the "Smooth" memes. In 1999, the Matchbox Twenty frontman was featured on Carlos ...
Matchbox Twenty Interview: New Album 'Where The Light Goes ...
Matchbox Twenty Jimmy Fontaine. Rob Thomas believes that the lead single to Matchbox Twenty's first album in over a decade works because the band didn't overthink it. "Wild Dogs (Running in ...
We've Got A File On You: Rob Thomas
ROB THOMAS: Ever since our third record, we always had this agreement that we would do Matchbox and we would do solo, ... [Matchbox Twenty's tour with the Wallflowers]. By the time we decided to ...
Rob Thomas reflects on Florida roots, Matchbox Twenty's 20th anniversary
This fall marks the 20th anniversary of Matchbox Twenty's Yourself or Someone Like You, the blockbuster debut that featured hits Push and 3 A.M., and set Thomas on a path to songwriting ...
Rob Thomas Interview: Talking Matchbox Twenty, Santana and "The Song"
Smashing Interviews Magazine: Matchbox Twenty has a tour beginning in May of this year. Have you written new songs? Rob Thomas: No. Right before the holidays, the guys were in New York at the studio. ... The last Matchbox Twenty tour was in 2017? Rob Thomas: That sounds about right, and it was probably 2019 when I was out solo. We did America ...
Rob Thomas (musician)
Robert Kelly Thomas (born February 14, 1972) is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He is the lead vocalist for the Florida-based alternative rock band Matchbox Twenty, which he formed in 1995 and with whom he has released five studio albums.As a solo act, he is best known for his guest performance on Santana's 1999 single "Smooth", which won three Grammy Awards, peaked ...
Matchbox Twenty
Matchbox Twenty (also known as Matchbox 20 and MB20) is an American rock band formed in Orlando, Florida, in 1995.The group currently consists of Rob Thomas (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Brian Yale (bass guitar), Paul Doucette (drums, rhythm guitar, backing vocals), and Kyle Cook (lead guitar, vocals).. Matchbox Twenty rose to international fame with their debut album, Yourself or Someone ...
Rob Thomas at Foxwoods
Three-time GRAMMY® award winner Rob Thomas progresses by recognizing his roots. In fact, the singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and Matchbox Twenty co-founder picks up a thread from his formative years and weaves a bold and bright new chapter on his fourth solo offering, Chip Tooth Smile (Emblem/Atlantic Records].
Matchbox Twenty Announce Massive 2024 Australian Tour
Matchbox Twenty singer Rob Thomas added, "You'd think that it would feel surreal being back on-stage fronting Matchbox Twenty after going solo, but it feels very comfortable, to be honest ...
Matchbox Twenty to perform at 2024 Minnesota State Fair
Matchbox Twenty is the latest act announced for the 2024 Minnesota State Fair Grandstand Series. The band will play the Grandstand stage on Friday, Aug. 30 at 7 p.m. Tickets go on sale Friday at ...
Rob Thomas, Old Crow Medicine Show and Drew Holcomb & the Neighbors
He also fronts the band Matchbox 20, who've been nominated for multiple Grammy Awards and have topped the Billboard Charts on several occasions. Check him out if you like: Matchbox 20, Five For Fighting, Train, Goo Goo Dolls, Santana, Hootie & The Blowfish, Tonic. OLD CROW MEDICINE SHOW. When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday