Bob Seger is another famous American rock singer-songwriter who came into popularity in the 1970s with popular hits such as “Old Time Rock and Roll”, “Night Moves”, and “We’ve Got Tonight”. Seger is now 77-years-old and he rose to fame in the 70s and 80s but he left the road between 1996 and 2006. He went back to the road for a three-year tour and has been giving concerts to his loyal fan base ever since.
As expected, Seger’s most recent tours have been less extensive than his heyday of packing arenas and stadia in the 1980s. In his 2017 Runaway Train tour, he performed before midsize venues that could accommodate between 5,000 and 10,000 persons. In total, he performed 28 concerts across North America, which received favorable feedback from both the audience and critics. Above all, Seger proved that his voice was more powerful than ever before and he was able to perform two and half hour shows with an emphasis on ‘Turn the Page’, ‘Hollywood Nights’, and ‘Mainstreet’.
There was some question whether Runaway Train would be the last major tour for Seger or if maybe the Motor City rock icon might feel the itch to tour again when the mood struck him as Rolling Stone did in their seventies. The Runaway Train tour proved to be the latter when Seger came out in September 2018 to declare that he was done touring. Seger’s final live tour called The Travelin’ Man was then revealed shortly after this. Seger and his Silver Bullet Band planned to embark on the final Cross Canada tour in the first half of 2019.
The Travelin’ Man tour was just as its name implied and saw Seger and his band traveling from one city to the next to perform shows for weeks straight. The tour schedule originally had Seger perform several shows in most cities perhaps because audiences wanted to see the Rock & Roll Never Forgets singer again. The tour started in the first leg in winter which was not strange to him as he hailed from Michigan. The Travelin’ Man trek was initiated and it visited Seger’s hometown, Detroit, in the first phase of the tour for a memorable three shows.
For the second leg which began in March 2019, Seger altered the approach by performing entirely in arenas and not the combination of arenas and amphitheaters seen in the first part of the tour. Presale tickets were popular, especially for fans who wanted to be part of Seger’s farewell tour. Almost all the shows were witnessed to be fully booked in advance and this clearly explained that the rock legend was going out at the high climax of his popularity. Reviews mentioned about timeless songs of Seger and his energy on stage at the age of 73 years approximately at the time of the concert.
Songs ranged through his oeuvre but focused even more on the 1976–1980 period. Songs such as “Hollywood Nights”, “Old Time Rock and Roll” or “Night Moves” were songs people were sure to hear. The element of surprise surfaced in such things as song tracks and cover songs that were taken in and out of circulation in the tour. The covers especially the Seger and band rendition of Tom Waits’ “Downtown Train” were particularly appreciated when played.
The last Bob Seger concert could be considered the last concert of his 60-year career as a musician as it occurred on September 28th, 2019, and it was held in Michigan. His Saint Paul show occurred in April and after this, he took a two-month rest before going back on the road to continue where he left off. The ‘hometown throwdown’ brought an end to the Travelin’ Man tour after 33 shows that solidified Seger’s legendary rock star. Comments about the eternal rocker appreciated his ability to perform late, rather than speaking about a professionally successful last tour.
Some of the fans were wondering if Seger would follow the trend of most of the artists in the classic rock genre whose retirement from touring was not permanent. That was quickly dispelled, however, when Seger had spinal surgery in November 2021 that ultimately prevented him from performing again. Seger conceded that surgery had relieved him of chronic back pain, albeit a very small consolation as one could well imagine that live concerts are not going to be on any time in the future.
Bob Seger probably won’t be playing live again, but his music is now etched into the DNA of rock radio and streaming services. His travelling days may be over but the journey now is to ensure that his music is preserved for generations to come. There are tales about Seger having stacks and stacks of unreleased material at some point in the future this could come out. Another proposed idea before the surgery was the creation of a cover album.
Bob Seger found his niche.
