Little River Band Will Share Stages With Southern Rock Royalty in 2027
The Little River Band has already confirmed more than a half dozen 2027 dates, including a short run with the Marshall Tucker Band that they've dubbed the Rivers and Highways Tour. That's after playing another dozen North American concerts to close out 2026.
Key upcoming stops include Detroit, Kansas City, Nashville, Ottawa and metro Chicago. Their shared concerts with the Marshall Tucker Band are all in February 2027. See a complete list of dates, cities and venues below. For more Little River Band information and tickets, visit the group's official website.
"Little River Band and the Marshall Tucker Band have been part of the same musical family for a long time," stalwart Marshall Tucker Band singer Doug Gray said in a news release, "and I'm really looking forward to getting back out there and sharing the stage with those guys."
Who's Part of the Little River Band Today?
Like their touring mates from South Carolina, the Little River Band continues with one legacy member. Unlike Doug Gray, however, Wayne Nelson wasn't an original cofounder. Instead, he was brought on board by Graeham Goble in 1979, then sang "The Night Owls" to the U.S. Top 10 in 1981.
"Little River Band's legacy and history is certainly strong," Nelson admitted to The Daily Times, "but that history and legacy are always peering over our shoulders. Now they're in my care, and I take that responsibility very seriously."
Goble had started the Little River Band in the mid-'70s with Glenn Shorrock in Australia. They notched two consecutive Top 20 finishes in the U.S. with 1978's Sleeper Catcher and 1979's First Under the Wire, featuring hit singles like Reminiscing," "Lonesome Loser" and "Cool Change." Into the early '80s, John Farnham joined to help spark a comeback with the gold-selling Time Exposure.
Then bandmates began heading out the door behind fellow co-founder Beeb Birtles. By 2000, Nelson had become frontman while Birtles, Shorrock and Goble started an offshoot group. All the other members of the Little River Band's current lineup have joined since then.
"We don't try to pretend that we are those people," Nelson admitted to City View magazine. At the same time, however, "we have to get as close to it as we can, to honor that memory."
When Does the Little River Band's Tour Begin?
Unfortunately, health issues have taken center stage with other legacy members. Original bassist Roger McLachlan died in April at age 71 after a pancreatic cancer diagnosis. Farnham, the vocalist on the Little River Band's most recent Top 40 hits, was also diagnosed with mouth cancer and may never sing again.
READ MORE: How Wayne Nelson Kept the Little River Band Together
Nelson will be joined on tour by Little River Band guitarists Bruce Wallace and Colin Whinnery, drummer Ryan Ricks and keyboardist Chris Marion. "We're still singing the songs in the same keys," Nelson added, "and we make it feel like that memory."
Dates with the Marshall Tucker Band are set for Michigan, Illinois and Indiana. "There's something special about taking these songs to the people who've grown up with them, while also introducing them to a whole new generation," Gray said. "We're going to have a great time and I know these shows are going to be something special."
Little River Band’s 2026-27 North American Tour Dates
10/23 – Mahnomen, MN @ Shooting Star Casino Hotel & Event Center
10/24 – Medina, MN @ Medina Entertainment Center
10/29 – Carterville, IL @ Walker's Bluff Casino Resort
11/6 – Dubuque, IA @ Five Flags Center
11/7 – Joliet, IL @ Rialto Square Theatre
11/13 – Nashville, IN @ Brown County Music Center
11/14 – Effingham, IL @ Effingham Performance Center
11/20 – Wichita, KS @ The Cotillion Ballroom
11/21 – Kansas City, MO @ Uptown Theater
12/4 – Pickering, Canada @ Pickering Casino Resort
12/5 – Ottawa, Canada @ Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Ottawa
12/10 – Lafayette, IN @ Long Center For the Performing Arts
12/11 – Troy, OH @ Hobart Arena
12/13 – Richmond, KY @ Eastern Kentucky University
1/16 – Marietta, OH @ Peoples Bank Theatre
2/2 – Detroit, MI @ Masonic Temple Theatre
2/4 – Rockford, IL @ Hard Rock Live Rockford
2/5 – Gary, IN @ Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana
2/11 – Englewood, NJ @ Bergen Performing Arts Center
2/13 – Lancaster, PA @ American Music Theatre
3/5 – Jacksonville, FL @ Florida Theatre
