Tony Orlando is hanging up his mic — but not before a final lap of North American shows.
Announced Monday (Jan. 15), Orlando’s Farewell Concerts kick off with dates across three consecutive nights at South Point Casino in Las Vegas, Jan. 19-21; followed by shows at Niagara Falls, ON; Des Plaines and St. Charles, IL; Atlantic City, NJ; and Uncasville, CT. His final performance in Vegas should be an emotional one, wrapping 51 years as a headliner on the Strip.
“I still hit the ball, I just can’t run the bases!!!” Orlando, 79, tells Billboard about ending this touring career, adding that the cost of travel and his age were contributing factors. “It’s also time for me to satisfy my creative juices with the need in me to produce, create new products from films, to Broadway shows, to streaming new product.”
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Orlando says he plans to launch new companies Tony Orlando Productions and Explosive Films and Entertainment. He will also “pay more attention to writing a Broadway show and pitching my ideas for films and writing my next book.”
“Performing live shows for 63 years has been a glorious dream come true run!” he says. “And, man oh man, I will miss the audiences, friends and fans who have stuck by me for these last 63 incredible years. But now it’s time to grow and turn a new page in my life. How exciting!”
As it stands, Orlando will call time on his 63-year concerts career on March 22 at Mohegan Sun’s 10,000-seat arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.