Stevie Wonder Sets 18-Date ‘Songs in the Key of Life’ 50th Anniv. Tour

Stevie Wonder is hitting the road this fall to mark the 50th anniversary of one of his most beloved, critically acclaimed studio albums. The singer announced on Tuesday morning (Sept. 8) that he will celebrate his 1976 Songs in the Key of Life LP on the 18-date outing slated to kick off on Oct. 13 at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham, U.K.

The tour will then hit Paris, Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm, Hannover, Cologne, Amsterdam, Dublin, London, Manchester and Glasgow before heading back to the U.S. for a run of winter shows at Madison Square Garden in New York on Nov. 19, followed by gigs in Chicago, Washington, D.C. and Detroit before winding down with a show at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles on Dec. 19.

According to an Instagram post announcing the gigs, tickets for the special run of international stops will go on sale with a presale slated to begin on Wednesday (Sept. 9), followed by a general -on sale on Friday (Sept. 11) at 10 a.m. local time. A general on-sale for the U.S. shows (except Detroit), is set for Thursday (Sept. 10) at 10 a.m. local time through Ticketmaster. The Detroit shows will go on sale on Sept. 15 at 10 a.m. local time.

Songs in the Key of Life, Wonder’s 18th studio LP, was released on Sept. 28, 1976 and as a double-album with a four-track bonus EP and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart. It spun off two Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 singles in “I Wish” and “Sir Duke” and won Album of the Year at the 1977 Grammy Awards. In addition to those two singles, the album features such classics as the opening track, “Love’s in Need of Love Today,” “Isn’t She Lovely” and “Pastime Paradise,” with the latter the source for Coolio’s 1995 hit “Gangsta’s Paradise.”

According to a press release, Wonder, 76, will perform the entire album on the tour. “At a time when the world continues to search for connection, healing and joy, the messages at the heart of Songs in the Key of Life feel as urgent and necessary today as they did in 1976,” read the release. “Songs like ‘As,’ ‘Love’s in Need of Love Today,’ ‘Sir Duke’ and ‘Isn’t She Lovely’ remain woven into the emotional fabric of generations around the world, reminding audiences not only where they’ve been, but who they are.”

Back in June, Wonder performed a short set at the opening of former President Barack Obama’s Presidential Center in Chicago, performing “All I Do” and “Signed, Sealed,Delivered I’m Yours” with the Roots, as well “Higher Ground” with an all-star group of fellow performers including Bruce Springsteen, Jennifer Hudson, Christina Aguilera, John Legend,Eddie Vedder and Common.

Check out the dates for Wonder’s Songs In The Key of Life Performances – 50th Anniversary Tour below.