Black Tusk Will Continue on Without Jonathan Athon, Announce European Tour with Black Label Society
According to a press release, Black Tusk will be continuing on — at least for the time being — without frontman/bassist Jonathan Athon, who passed away last month way before his time. While it might initially seem odd that the band would choose to tour so soon after losing a key member in such a tragic fashion, the band says the tour had already been confirmed and that Athon himself was extremely excited about it:
It’s been an incredibly trying time for us over the past month and we want to thank everyone for their support. We had confirmed the tour with Black Label Society and finished the new album before Athon’s accident and Athon, specifically, had been very excited about the opportunity to tour with BLS and we feel there’s no way he’d want things to end on this note. Corey Barhorst, formerly of Kylesa and currently of Niche, will be stepping in for Athon for the time being. All of us go back over 10 years and Corey seemed the natural choice to carry on for Athon.
So that’s obviously great news; I can’t think of a more fitting way for the remaining members of Black Tusk to honor Athon’s memory than to get out on the road. I can only imagine how difficult that will be for all involved. It’s also fantastic to learn that Black Tusk were able to finish recording their new album before Athon passed; his legacy will live on in more ways than one.
Also: touring with BLS is a HUGE break for Black Tusk. Kudos! Crobot will join the trek as well.
Whether Corey Barhorst will replace Athon on any kind of permanent basis remains to be seen… but let’s take things one step at a time here.
Dates:
Feb 11 Glasgow, UK 02 ABC
Feb 12 Birmingham, UK The Institute
Feb 13 London, UK Roundhouse
Feb 14 Bristol, UK Bristol 02 Academy
Feb 15 Leeds, UK Leeds 02 Academy
Feb 17 Norwich, UK Norwich UEA
Feb 18 Nottingham, UK Rock City
Feb 19 Manchester, UK Manchester Academy
Feb 21 Amsterdam, NL Melkweg
Feb 22 Brussels, BE Ancienne Belgique
Feb 24 Frankfurt, DE Batschkapp
Feb 25 Dortmund, DE FZW Freizeitzentrum West
Feb 26 Paris, FR Le Bataclan
Feb 27 Strasbourg, FR La Laitere
Mar 01 Aarhus, DK Train
Mar 03 Oslo, NO Rockefeller Music Hall
Mar 05 Stockholm, SE Close Up Baten (Crusie)
Mar 06 Helsinki, FI Nosturl
Mar 08 Tallinn, EE Rock Cafe
Mar 09 Vilnius, LT Forum Palace
Mar 11 Gdansk, PL B90
Mar 12 Krakow, PL Studio
Mar 14 Pratteln, CH Z7
Mar 15 Lausanne, CH Les Docks
