ADRIAN SMITH + RICHIE KOTZEN Announce Touring Band For West Coast Shows

January 12, 2022

Adrian Smith and Richie Kotzen's project SMITH/KOTZEN will kick off its U.S. West Coast tour on Saturday, January 15 at the Ventura Theatre. Joining Smith and Kotzen as part of their touring band is Richie's wife, internationally acclaimed bass player Julia Lage, formerly of the Latin Grammy-nominated Brazilian rock band BARRA DE SAIA. With a strong pedigree in rock, Lage has played alongside the likes of Pat Travers, Elliot Easton (THE CARS),Nuno Bettencourt (EXTREME) and Mark McGrath (SUGAR RAY). In addition, SMITH/KOTZEN has enlisted drummer Bruno Valverde of ANGRA for the U.S. West Coast dates.

West Coast tour dates:

Jan. 15 - Ventura Theatre - Ventura, CA
Jan. 20 - Whisky A Go-Go - West Hollywood, CA
Jan. 22 - Count's Vamp'd - Las Vegas, NV
Jan. 23 - Brick By Brick - San Diego, CA
Jan. 26 - Goldfield Trading Post - Roseville, CA
Jan. 27 - The Siren - Morro Bay, CA

There will be local support for each show in the U.S.

For all on sales and ticketing information, go here.

Adrian comments: "It's always been our intention to take these songs on the road and give them a good kicking about. We're delighted that we've been able to set up this tour around a very hectic 2022 schedule and we both can't wait to finally get out there and play live."

Richie adds: "We're excited that we can take SMITH/KOTZEN to the next level and bring our music to the stage. We're still figuring out which musicians we'll be bringing with us to deliver the songs in the way we've always envisaged to give fans a dynamic live experience. We're really looking forward to this tour and we're planning to have a lot of fun!"

SMITH/KOTZEN's eponymous debut album was released globally through BMG in March 2021 to media and fan acclaim, charting No. 10 on Billboard's Top Album Sales chart in the U.S., Top 20 in the U.K. as well as in other major markets such as Germany, Japan and Canada. A follow-up EP, "Better Days", featuring four new tracks was released on November 26 in conjunction with international Record Store Day's Black Friday event.

Smith is best known as one of IRON MAIDEN's principal guitarists, having also enjoyed success as a solo artist. Kotzen is the frontman for THE WINERY DOGS as well as having been the guitarist for both MR. BIG and POISON during his long and acclaimed career, which has to date seen him release more than 20 solo albums. Both artists are also prolific songwriters.

Find more on Iron maiden
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).