Don McLean Sets Final UK and Ireland Farewell Tour for 2027

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Don McLean is saying goodbye to British and Irish audiences. The "American Pie" singer will tour the UK and Ireland for the final time in May 2027 on an eight-date run called The Farewell Tour. The tour opens at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on Tuesday, May 11, and closes at London's Royal Albert Hall on Saturday, May 22. Since the London date went on sale on October 2, tickets for every show are now available. "I would rather choose the place myself" "I love these audiences. They have kept me going for 55 years and given me a career I could not have had anywhere else," McLean said. "A troubadour has to make his farewells somewhere, and I would rather choose the place myself. The Albert Hall was the first room that ever felt like it belonged to me, and it seems right that it should be the last." He first played the Royal Albert Hall in 1972, on a three-concert British tour that also took in Fairfield Hall in Croydon and the Manchester Odeon. That was the year "Vincent" reached Number 1 on the Official Singles Chart and the album American Pie peaked at Number 2. The final London show falls 55 years after that first appearance. The Farewell Tour 2027 May 11 – Glasgow, Royal Concert Hall May 13 – Belfast, Waterfront Hall May 14 – Dublin, 3Arena May 16 – Birmingham, Symphony Hall May 17 – Bristol, Beacon May 19 – Manchester, Bridgewater Hall May 20 – Gateshead, The Glasshouse ICM May 22 – London, Royal Albert Hall A city-by-city history The Independent reports that McLean, 80, has a distinct history with every city on the route. Opening in Glasgow honours his Scottish ancestry: his father and grandfather were both named Donald McLean, and he first headlined there at the Apollo in 1973. His connection to Belfast goes back to the Troubles, when he believed music could help bring a divided community together. Dublin was the setting for the finest surviving film of his early career, recorded by RTÉ at the National Stadium in December 1975. In Birmingham, he recorded his first British television special at Pebble Mill with Elkie Brooks and The Jordanaires. Bristol Beacon, formerly Colston Hall, was one of the venues used to record his 1973 live album Solo . A 1991 gig at Manchester's Free Trade Hall was filmed, lost for two decades and eventually released as Live in Manchester . On Tyneside, he had added "Geordie's Lost His Penker" to his set by 1971, and his support act on his 1980 British tour was Prelude, the Gateshead trio behind "After the Goldrush". What the shows will include The setlists will draw on all 22 of his studio albums, Official Charts says. The Independent says early favourites such as "Castles in the Air" and "And I Love You So" will sit alongside material from American Boys , his 22nd studio album, released in May 2024. McLean, from New Rochelle, New York, is one of several veteran folk and soft rock songwriters planning farewell runs. Stephen Bishop has also announced a 2027 farewell tour with London and Dublin dates. Why the UK matters to McLean McLean's statement makes clear how much British audiences have meant to his career; he says they gave him a career he "could not have had anywhere else". Official Charts calls his relationship with the UK a fairy tale. "Vincent" reached Number 1 in 1972 and the American Pie album went to Number 2, and he kept returning to British stages for decades afterwards, from his 1973 Glasgow Apollo headline show to the filmed 1991 Free Trade Hall concert. Choosing the Royal Albert Hall for the last night closes that circle in the room where he says it all began. What's next Tickets for the seven dates outside London went on sale on September 18, when the tour was first announced, and the Royal Albert Hall show followed on October 2. The run begins in Glasgow on May 11, 2027. Sources: Official Charts | The Independent