Soul to Soul Tour

The Soul to Soul Tour was a concert tour through North America, Europe and Australasia, undertaken by American blues rock band Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble from 1985 through 1986. At the beginning of the tour, the band had finished recording their album Soul to Soul. Their commercial and critical acclaim had been demonstrated during the Couldn't Stand the Weather Tour in 1984, when they had played before a sold-out audience at Carnegie Hall. Longing for opportunities to expand the group's lineup, Vaughan and Double Trouble hired keyboardist Reese Wynans during the Soul to Soul recording sessions in Dallas, Texas. Throughout the tour, the band's success was confirmed as their performances consistently amazed and gratified their audiences.

Soul to Soul Tour

World tour by Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble
Location	North America, Europe, Australasia
Associated album	Soul to Soul
Start date	June 7, 1985
End date	October 2, 1986
Legs	7 in North America 2 in Europe 1 in Oceania 9 total
No. of shows	158 in North America 25 in Europe 18 in Oceania 201 total, 13 cancelled
Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble concert chronology

The first leg of the tour's itinerary took the band to the United States and then on to Europe, where they performed for nearly two weeks. They then returned to North America where during a span of eight months, they alternated visits between the US and Canada, before the fifth leg took the group to Australasia. After two additional North American legs, the band made a second trip to Europe, where the schedule of performances was interrupted after Vaughan suffered a mental breakdown, although he continued to perform two more shows with Double Trouble. The final leg in Europe incorporated stops in seven countries, before the group's return to the US in October 1986.

Although the tour elicited a variety of reactions from music critics, it was generally well-received. Among several sold-out shows, the Farm Aid concert sold over 40,000 tickets. The band's 1986 live album, Live Alive, was recorded during select shows of the tour, and many of its songs were played in 1986 through 1988. The length of the Soul to Soul Tour, then Vaughan and Double Trouble's longest, exhausted the band as the final leg unfolded. However, the extended break at the tour's conclusion enabled both Vaughan and bassist Tommy Shannon to enter treatment for drug and alcohol addictions and successfully achieve sobriety. In Vaughan's case, this lifestyle would continue through further tours in the following four years, prior to his death in a helicopter accident in August 1990.

Background

Stevie Ray Vaughan is widely regarded as one of the most influential electric guitarists in the history of blues music, and one of the most important musicians in the revival of blues in the 1980s. Allmusic describes him as "a rocking powerhouse of a guitarist who gave blues a burst of momentum in the '80s, with influence still felt long after his tragic death."^[1] Despite a mainstream career that spanned only seven years, Vaughan eventually became recognized among musicians as the future standard for success and promise in blues.^[2] Biographer Craig Hopkins explains that Vaughan's talent was the result of the youth culture in the 1960s: "the popularity of playing instruments as a form of teen entertainment, the prevalence of teen dances, the success of his older brother, the practicality of playing guitar as an outlet for a shy boy and the singular, intense focus on the guitar all contributed to create one of the best electric guitar players of all time."^[3]

Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, Vaughan began playing guitar at the age of seven, inspired by his older brother Jimmie Vaughan.^[4] He was an apt pupil, no less quick to learn than his brother, and was playing the guitar with striking virtuosity by the time he was fourteen.^[5] In 1971, he dropped out of high school and moved to Austin the following year.^[6] Soon afterward, he began playing gigs on the nightclub circuit, earning a spot in Marc Benno's band, the Nightcrawlers, and later with Denny Freeman in the Cobras, with whom he continued to work through late 1977.^[7] He then formed his own group, Double Trouble, before performing at the Montreux Jazz Festival in mid-July 1982 and being discovered by John Hammond, who in turn interested Epic Records with signing them to a recording contract.^[8] Within a year, they achieved international fame after the release of their debut album Texas Flood, and in 1984 their second album, Couldn't Stand the Weather, along with the supporting tour, brought them to further commercial and critical success; the album quickly outpaced the sales of Texas Flood.^[9]

In October 1984, Vaughan and Double Trouble headlined a sold-out performance at Carnegie Hall in New York City.^[10] For the second half of the concert, he added guitarist Jimmie Vaughan, keyboardist Dr. John, drummer George Rains, and the Roomful of Blues horn section.^[11] The ensemble rehearsed for less than two weeks before the performance, and according to biographers Joe Nick Patoski and Bill Crawford, the big band concept never entirely took form.^[12] However, Vaughan was determined to deviate from the group's power trio format: "We won't be limited to just the trio, although that doesn't mean we'll stop doing the trio. I'm planning on doing that too. I ain't gonna stay in one place. If I do, I'm stupid."^[13] As recording began for the band's third studio album, Soul to Soul, Vaughan found it increasingly difficult to be able to play rhythm guitar parts and sing at the same time, and was longing to add another dimension to the band.^[14] They hired keyboardist Reese Wynans to record on the album in April 1985; he joined the band soon thereafter.^[15]

Tour itinerary

For the opening leg, 21 concerts in the United States and Europe were scheduled from June through July 1985. The second leg of the tour consisted of 23 shows in North America from July to September. Two additional US legs were planned: the third leg from September–December 1985, and the fourth leg from January–March 1986. The fifth leg, which began in March, was the band's second full tour of Australasia and marked the first time they had visited certain venues. Scheduling for the sixth and seventh legs in North America from April–August allowed the band more off-days between shows than previous legs, but this amplified the exhaustion that had set in by the tour's end.

Typical Setlist

^[16]

1. "Scuttle Buttin'"
2. "Say What!"
3. "Ain't Gone 'n' Give Up on Love"
4. Lookin' Out the Window
5. "Look at Little Sister" (Hank Ballard cover)
6. "Mary Had a Little Lamb" (Buddy Guy cover)
7. "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" (The Jimi Hendrix Experience cover)
8. "Pride and Joy"
9. "Cold Shot"
10. "Come On (Part I)" (Earl King cover)
11. "Couldn't Stand the Weather"
12. "Love Struck Baby"
13. "Life Without You" or "Testify" (The Isley Brothers cover) or "Third Stone From the Sun" (The Jimi Hendrix Experience cover) or "Rude Mood'

Tour dates

List of concerts, showing date, city, country, venue, and opening act(s)

Date	City	Country	Venue	Opening Act(s)	Attendance	Revenue
United States[17][18]
June 7, 1985	Chicago	United States	Petrillo Music Shell	Koko Taylor, Sugar Blue	—	—
June 8, 1985	Grand Rapids		Welsh Auditorium	Flash Kahan	2,653 / 3,354	$35,815
June 9, 1985	Cuyahoga Falls		Blossom Music Center	Ray Charles, Bobby "Blue" Bland	—	—
June 14, 1985	Santa Fe		Paolo Soleri Amphitheater	Gary Eckard
June 16, 1985	Los Angeles		Hollywood Bowl	Horace Silver Quintet, Chico Freeman
June 19, 1985	Morrison		Red Rocks Amphitheatre	B.B. King, Albert King	8,886 / 8,886	$140,707
June 21, 1985	Del Mar		Del Mar Fairgrounds Grandstand		—	—
June 25, 1985	New York City		Avery Fisher Hall	Benny Goodman, Carrie Smith
June 26, 1985	Red Bank		Count Basie Theatre	The Shades
June 28, 1985	Hampton		Hampton Coliseum	Jeffrey Osborne, The Manhattans
June 29, 1985	Washington, D.C.		Constitution Hall
June 30, 1985	Saratoga Springs		Saratoga Performing Arts Center	Dave Brubeck Quartet, Woody Herman
Europe[17][19]
July 5, 1985	Hamburg	West Germany	Fabrik		—	—
July 7, 1985	Stockholm	Sweden	Skeppsholmen
July 8, 1985	Oslo	Norway	Chateau Neuf
July 9, 1985	Bergen		Oleana
July 11, 1985	Pori	Finland	Kirjurinluoto	Mezzoforte
			Rantasipi Yyteri	Mombasa, New Jungle Orchestra
July 12, 1985	Vienne	France	Theatre Antique de Vienne	Johnny Otis Show, Johnny Copeland & Arthur Blythe
July 13, 1985	The Hague	Netherlands	Nederlands Congresgebouw	B.B. King, Miles Davis Septet
July 14, 1985	Perugia	Italy	Piazza IV Novembre	Bushrock, Umbria Jazz All-Stars
July 15, 1985	Montreux	Switzerland	Montreux Casino	Duke Robillard and the Pleasure Kings, Johnny Otis Show
North America[17][20]
July 23, 1985	Montreal	Canada	Montreal Forum		—	—
July 24, 1985	Ottawa		Ottawa Civic Centre
July 25, 1985
July 26, 1985	Toronto		Varsity Arena
July 27, 1985
July 28, 1985
July 29, 1985
July 31, 1985	Rochester Hills	United States	Baldwin Memorial Pavilion	James Cotton Blues Band
August 9, 1985	Baltimore		Pier Six Pavilion		3,133 / 3,133	$32,563
August 10, 1985	New York City		Pier 84		—	—
August 12, 1985	Albany		Palace Theatre	The Sharks	2,997 / 2,997	$37,463
August 16, 1985	Kingston		Ulster Performing Arts Center	Jump Street	—	—
August 17, 1985	West Hartford		Agora Ballroom	Shaboo All-Stars
August 18, 1985	Newport		Fort Adams State Park	Wynton Marsalis Quartet, Lee Ritenour & Dave Grusin
August 27, 1985	Edmonton	Canada	Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium	Colin Munn
August 28, 1985	Calgary		Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
August 29, 1985	Vancouver		Commodore Ballroom	Mud Bay Blues Band
August 30, 1985	Victoria		Royal Theatre	The Wardells
August 31, 1985	Vancouver		Commodore Ballroom	Mud Bay Blues Band
September 1, 1985	Seattle	United States	Seattle Center Coliseum	Slamhound Hunters
September 2, 1985	Salem		Oregon State Penitentiary
September 6, 1985	South Bend		Morris Civic Auditorium	Spandex
September 7, 1985	Pittsburgh		Heinz Hall for the Performing Arts	Albert King
September 19, 1985	Tucson		McKale Center		9,914 / 10,000	$120,555
September 21, 1985	Passaic		Capitol Theatre		—	—
United States[17][21]
September 24, 1985	Dayton	United States	Hara Arena	Johnny Copeland	—	—
September 25, 1985	Fort Wayne		Foellinger Theatre
September 26, 1985	Cleveland		Cleveland Music Hall		3,000 / 3,000
September 27, 1985	Ann Arbor		Hill Auditorium		—
September 28, 1985	Louisville		Louisville Gardens
September 29, 1985	Columbus		Veterans Memorial Auditorium
October 1, 1985	Toledo		Masonic Auditorium
October 2, 1985	Kalamazoo		Miller Auditorium
October 4, 1985	Davenport		The Col Ballroom
October 5, 1985	Springfield		McDonald Arena
October 7, 1985	Laramie		Arts & Sciences Auditorium	Lonnie Mack
October 8, 1985	Boulder		Colorado University Events Center
October 9, 1985	Salt Lake City		Utah State Fairgrounds Coliseum
October 11, 1985	Berkeley		Hearst Greek Theatre		6,240 / 8,000	$87,993
October 12, 1985	Los Angeles		Greek Theatre		6,187 / 6,187	—
October 13, 1985	San Diego		UCSD Gymnasium		—
October 15, 1985	Santa Cruz		Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium	Mitch Woods and His Rocket 88's
October 16, 1985	Santa Barbara		Arlington Theatre
October 18, 1985	Albuquerque		Albuquerque Civic Auditorium	Lawyers, Guns and Money
October 19, 1985	Phoenix		Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
October 24, 1985	Stillwater		Gallagher Hall	Jason & the Scorchers
October 26, 1985	Beaumont		Montagne Center		1,334 / 7,000	$16,008
October 30, 1985	Memphis		Orpheum Theatre		—	—
October 31, 1985	Knoxville		Knoxville Civic Coliseum
November 2, 1985	Miami		James L. Knight Convention Center	The Fabulous Thunderbirds
November 3, 1985	Orlando		Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre
November 4, 1985	Jacksonville		Jacksonville Civic Auditorium
November 5, 1985	Tampa		Curtis Hixon Hall
November 7, 1985	Atlanta		Fox Theatre		4,513 / 4,513	$62,053
November 8, 1985	Fayetteville		Cumberland County Memorial Auditorium		—	—
November 9, 1985	Norfolk		The Boathouse
November 10, 1985	Richmond		The Mosque	Terry McNeal	2,381 / 3,667	$32,144
November 12, 1985	Springfield		Springfield Symphony Hall	The Fabulous Thunderbirds	—	—
November 13, 1985	Providence		Providence Performing Arts Center
November 14, 1985	New Haven		Palace Theater
November 15, 1985	Portland		Cumberland County Civic Center
November 17, 1985	Boston		Orpheum Theatre		2,800 / 2,800
November 18, 1985	Burlington		Burlington Memorial Auditorium		—
November 19, 1985	Poughkeepsie		Mid-Hudson Civic Center
November 21, 1985	Upper Darby Township		Tower Theater	Shaboo All-Stars
November 22, 1985	Albany		JB's Theatre
November 23, 1985	Rochester		Auditorium Theatre	The Fabulous Thunderbirds	2,464 / 2,464	$30,800
November 24, 1985	Syracuse		Landmark Theatre	Shaboo All-Stars	—	—
United States[17][22]
December 6, 1985	Chicago	United States	Aragon Ballroom	Eddy Clearwater	—	—
December 7, 1985	Milwaukee		Oriental Theatre	R&B Cadets	2,074 / 2,200	$30,073
December 8, 1985	Madison		Oscar Mayer Theater	Paul Black and the Flip Kings	2,170 / 2,170	—
December 9, 1985	West Lafayette		Loeb Playhouse	Contact Blues Band	—
December 11, 1985	Eau Claire		UW-Eau Claire Arena	J.D. and the Back Alley Madmen	721 / 2,373	$7,502
December 12, 1985	Des Moines		Easy Street	The Jailbreakers	—	—
December 13, 1985	Minneapolis		Orpheum Theatre
December 15, 1985	Dallas		Fair Park Coliseum	The Fabulous Thunderbirds
December 16, 1985	Austin		Palmer Auditorium	Omar & the Howlers
December 31, 1985	San Antonio		HemisFair Arena	The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Joe King Carrasco and the Crowns
United States[17][23]
January 23, 1986	Utica	United States	Stanley Theater	The Fabulous Thunderbirds	—	—
January 24, 1986	Pittsburgh		Syria Mosque		3,774 / 3,774	$48,119
January 25, 1986	Charlottesville		University Hall		—	—
January 27, 1986	Athens		Georgia Coliseum
January 28, 1986	Nashville		Grand Ole Opry House		4,425 / 4,425	$60,445
January 29, 1986	Birmingham		Boutwell Auditorium		—	—
January 30, 1986	Jackson		Jackson Municipal Auditorium
February 1, 1986	Houston		Sam Houston Coliseum
February 4, 1986	Fort Worth		Will Rogers Auditorium		2,964 / 2,964	$48,906
February 5, 1986
February 7, 1986	St. Louis		Kiel Opera House		—	—
February 8, 1986	Kansas City		Kansas City Memorial Hall		3,314 / 3,314	$40,703
February 9, 1986	Omaha		Omaha Music Hall		2,608 / 2,608	$37,164
February 11, 1986	Athens		Alumni Memorial Auditorium		—	—
February 12, 1986	Royal Oak		Royal Oak Music Theatre		4,953 / 4,953	$79,248
February 13, 1986
February 14, 1986
February 16, 1986	Bloomington		Indiana University Auditorium		—	—
February 18, 1986	Champaign		Virginia Theatre
February 19, 1986	Merrillville		Holiday Star Theatre	The Fabulous Thunderbirds, René Martinez
February 20, 1986	Royal Oak		Royal Oak Music Theatre	The Fabulous Thunderbirds	4,953 / 4,953	$79,248
February 21, 1986
February 22, 1986				Walk the West
March 2, 1986	Honolulu		Blaisdell Arena	The Fabulous Thunderbirds	—	—
Australasia[17]
March 6, 1986	Auckland	New Zealand	Logan Campbell Centre	The Fabulous Thunderbirds, René Martinez	—	—
March 8, 1986	Palmerston North		Arena Manawatu
March 10, 1986	Dunedin		Dunedin Town Hall
March 11, 1986	Christchurch		Christchurch Town Hall
March 12, 1986	Wellington		Wellington Town Hall
March 13, 1986
March 14, 1986	Auckland		Auckland Town Hall
March 16, 1986	Sydney	Australia	Hordern Pavilion	The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Weddings Parties Anything
March 17, 1986
March 19, 1986	Brisbane		Brisbane Festival Hall	The Fabulous Thunderbirds, René Martinez
March 20, 1986
March 22, 1986	Melbourne		Melbourne Festival Hall	The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Weddings Parties Anything
March 23, 1986
March 24, 1986	Adelaide		Thebarton Theatre	The Fabulous Thunderbirds, René Martinez
March 25, 1986
March 27, 1986	Perth		Perth Concert Hall
March 29, 1986
United States[17][24]
April 13, 1986	Montclair	United States	Panzer Gymnasium	Shaboo All-Stars	—	—
April 15, 1986	Piscataway		Livingston Gymnasium
April 16, 1986	Amherst		Fine Arts Center
April 18, 1986	Ithaca		Bailey Hall
April 19, 1986	Oneonta		SUNY Oneonta
April 20, 1986	West Long Beach		Alumni Memorial Gymnasium
April 22, 1986	Springfield		Prairie Capital Convention Center	The Fabulous Thunderbirds	1,942 / 8,420	$26,217
April 23, 1986	Cedar Rapids		Paramount Theatre	Lonnie Brooks	1,913 / 1,913	—
April 25, 1986	Norman		Lloyd Noble Center	Edgar Winter	—
April 26, 1986	Tulsa		Brady Theater
April 27, 1986	Monroe		Ewing Coliseum	The Producers
May 3, 1986	New Orleans		Fair Grounds Race Course	Will Soto, Dave Bartholomew
May 25, 1986	Liverpool		Long Branch Park	The Band, Pure Prairie League
June 7, 1986	Wichita Falls		Lucy Park	Red River Lyric Theater, Take To
North America[17][25]
June 20, 1986	Hoffman Estates	United States	Poplar Creek Music Theatre	The Fabulous Thunderbirds	—	—
June 21, 1986	Indianapolis		Indianapolis Sports Center
June 22, 1986	Ionia		Ionia Fairgrounds
June 23, 1986	Cincinnati		Riverbend Music Center		7,387 / 16,289
June 24, 1986	Cuyahoga Falls		Blossom Music Center		—
June 26, 1986	New York City		Pier 84
June 27, 1986	Columbia		Merriweather Post Pavilion
June 28, 1986	Philadelphia		Mann Music Center	The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Roy Buchanan
June 29, 1986	McCreary	Canada	Beaver Dam Lake	John Anderson, Eddy Raven
July 2, 1986	Milwaukee	United States	Summerfest Grounds	The Fabulous Thunderbirds	22,500 / 22,500
July 4, 1986	Manor		Manor Downs	Delbert McClinton, John Conlee	40,500 / 40,500	$810,000
July 9, 1986	Toronto	Canada	Kingswood Music Theatre	Johnnie Lovesin	—	—
July 11, 1986	Saint Paul	United States	Harriet Island Regional Park	The Blasters
July 17, 1986	Austin		Austin Opera House		2,000 / 2,000
July 18, 1986
July 19, 1986	Dallas		Park Central Amphitheater	René Martinez	—
July 20, 1986	Mansfield		Great Woods Center for the Performing Arts	James Cotton Blues Band, Roy Buchanan
July 22, 1986	Bonner Springs		Sandstone Center for the Performing Arts	Bonnie Raitt
July 24, 1986	Morrison		Red Rocks Amphitheatre	Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal	8,897 / 8,897	$137,513
July 27, 1986	Los Angeles		Greek Theatre	Bonnie Raitt	6,187 / 6,187	—
July 29, 1986	Tucson		Tucson Music Hall	René Martinez	—
July 31, 1986	San Diego		SDSU Open Air Theatre	Bonnie Raitt
August 2, 1986	Sacramento		Sacramento Community Center Theater
August 3, 1986	Concord		Concord Pavilion		8,350 / 8,350	$127,763
August 4, 1986	Santa Cruz		Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium	René Martinez	1,964 / 1,964	—
August 6, 1986	Salem		Oregon State Penitentiary		—
August 7, 1986	Eugene		Cuthbert Amphitheater	Bonnie Raitt, Robert Cray Band
August 8, 1986	Portland		Portland Civic Auditorium	Bonnie Raitt
August 9, 1986	Spokane		Spokane Opera House
August 10, 1986	Seattle		Paramount Theatre
August 11, 1986	Vancouver	Canada	Expo Theatre
August 23, 1986	Syracuse	United States	New York State Fair Grandstand	René Martinez
August 24, 1986	Saratoga Springs		Saratoga Performing Arts Center
August 26, 1986	Memphis		Orpheum Theatre	Marshall Chapman
August 29, 1986	Montreal	Canada	Parc Jarry	Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes	12,035 / 40,000	$132,385
Europe[17]
September 12, 1986	Copenhagen	Denmark	Saga Cinema	René Martinez	—	—
September 14, 1986	Hamburg	West Germany	Große Freiheit 36
September 15, 1986	Berlin		Metropol
September 16, 1986	Offenbach am Main		Stadthalle
September 17, 1986	Essen		Saalbau
September 18, 1986	Bonn		Biskuithalle
September 19, 1986	Kerkrade	Netherlands	Rodahal
September 20, 1986	Deinze	Belgium	Brielpoort
September 21, 1986	Utrecht	Netherlands	Muziekcentrum Vredenburg
September 23, 1986	Paris	France	Paris Olympia
September 24, 1986
September 25, 1986	Sindelfingen	West Germany	Stadthalle
September 26, 1986	Munich		Circus Krone Building
September 28, 1986	Ludwigshafen		Pfalzbau
September 29, 1986	Zürich	Switzerland	Volkshaus
October 2, 1986	London	England	Hammersmith Palais	Electric Bluebirds
October 4, 1986	Doetinchem	Netherlands	Markthal	—
October 5, 1986	Amsterdam		Haarlem
October 6, 1986	Helsinki	Finland	Kulturehuset
October 8, 1986	Örebro	Sweden	Park Teatern
October 9, 1986	Lund		Akademiska föreningen
October 10, 1986	Stockholm		Gröna Lund
October 12, 1986	Bergen	Norway	Olena
October 13, 1986	Stavanger		De Rode Sjohus
October 14, 1986	Oslo		Circus
October 16, 1986	London	England	Hammersmith Palais
October 17, 1986	Newcastle		Mayfair Ballroom
October 18, 1986	Manchester		Manchester Apollo
October 20, 1986	Dublin	Ireland	National Stadium

See also

• Stevie Ray Vaughan
• Soul to Soul