Concert

MINNEAPOLIS (Nov. 19, 2025) — Hennepin Arts has announced that the iconic multi-platinum-selling group AMERICA, a perennial classic-rock favorite who formed in 1970 and continue to deliver their timeless songs with powerful performances, will be bringing their “The Happy Trails Tour 2026” to the historic State Theatre (805 Hennepin Ave.) on Thursday, April 23, 2026 at 7 p.m. The tour follows this year’s 55th anniversary tour with acclaimed sold-out shows across the country.

Tickets go on sale Friday, Nov. 21 at 10 a.m. online at HennepinArts.org. and at the State Theatre Box Office (805 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis) at 12 p.m.

The tour launches this spring and will continue throughout the year, with many more shows to be added coast to coast. Original member Dewey Bunnell is at the helm of AMERICA’s touring while fellow original member Gerry Beckley announced his retirement from touring in early 2024. Known for their timeless magicand powerful performances, the Grammy Award-winning bandwill draw on their deep catalog of hits including signature song “A Horse With No Name,” a Number One hit on Billboard’s Hot 100 in 1972.

Notably, the Songwriters Hall of Fame (SHOF) recently announced AMERICA’s co-founders, Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell, are among the SHOF nominees for the class of 2026 in the performing songwriter category.

In this decade, the band released their ultimate 8-disc anniversary box set, Half Century (America Records, 2020), and streamed their special concert America—Live at the London Palladium for the very first time (it is commercially available as a DVD and CD). 2020 also saw the release of the book America, the Band, An Authorized Biography by journalist Jude Warne. She weaves original interviews with the band and many others into a dynamic cultural history of America, the band, and America, the nation. Billy Bob Thornton wrote the foreword.

In 2024, the band released a live album, America–Live From The Hollywood Bowl 1975 (Primary Wave Music; distributed by Sun Records). It features never-before-heard recordings of their iconic 1975 performance backed by a symphony conducted by the legendary George Martin. This extraordinary performance has been preserved in never-before-heard tapes that were recently restored and remastered for this special release. In 2025, Omnivore Recordings released a 50th anniversary expanded edition of their fifth album, Hearts, that was produced by Sir George Martin. It includes six bonus tracks with five previously unissued alternate versions.

The band is also the subject of a new documentary, I Need You: 53 Years Of The Band America. The documentary takes audiences backstage as Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell privately say goodbye to a lifetime together on the road. Beckley remains an active member of the band but retired from touring in 2024, while Americacontinues to tour with Bunnell at the helm. It’s currently making the rounds at film festivals this year after winning the Audience Award at Newport Beach Film Festival for “Best Music Film.”

ABOUT AMERICA

AMERICA formed in 1970 and achieved immediate success with their Number One signature song “A Horse With No Name” in 1972. On the iconic multi-platinum-selling and Grammy Award-winning group’s way to becoming a global household name, theirjourney found them exploring a wide variety of musical terrain. Their best-known tunes, which also include "I Need You," "Ventura Highway," "Don't Cross The River," "Tin Man," "Lonely People," and "Sister Golden Hair" were cornerstones of 1970's Top 40 and FM rock radio. Yet beyond their impressive catalog of hits, listeners would discover there was always much more to AMERICA than surface perceptions. The combination of melodic pop rock and folk-jazz elements, slinky Latin-leaning rhythms and impressionistic lyric imagery contrasted well with other more traditional country-rock leanings and highly personal lyrics.

AMERICA's albums—six certified gold and/or platinum, with their first greatest hits collection, History, hitting four plus million in sales—displayed a fuller range of the trio's talents than did their singles. Their material encompassed an ambitious artistic swath; from effects-laden rockers to oddball medleys to soul-bearing ballads, AMERICA displayed a flawless blend of disparate genres and styles as wide-open as the great American plains.

Enjoying massive success early in their career, AMERICAearned their stripes as musical soldiers on the battlefield amidst the excess, craziness, and chaos of the 70's. The trio won the Grammy for Best New Artist in 1972 and began working with George Martin and Geoff Emerick in 1974. This successful team went on to record seven albums and several Top Ten hits, including "Tin Man," "Sister Golden Hair" and "Lonely People."

Their growth as singers, songwriters and musicians has continued into the present day as illustrated by landmark releases such as 2000's Highway 3-disc box set, 2002's Holiday Harmony, an album comprised of seasonal classics and live showcases, 2007's Here & Now, 2009's Live In Concert: Wildwood Springs, 2011's Back Pages, and 2015's Lost And Found and America: Archives Vol. 1.

For more information on AMERICA, visit:

WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM

Hennepin Arts drives cultural and economic vitality in Minnesota through leadership of the dynamic Hennepin Theatre District in downtown Minneapolis and educational programming that reaches every area of the state. Its historic theatres — Orpheum, State and Pantages — and the Dudley Riggs Theatre light up Hennepin Avenue with top-tier entertainment, including the best of Broadway and a wide variety of arts programming. Hennepin Arts is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. Learn more at HennepinArts.org.

This activity is made possible by voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.