People In The News: Petty to follow Super Bowl show with a summer tour
Eugene Register-Guard - Saturday, January 26, 2008
Tom Petty says he's not much of a football fan, but playing the Super Bowl halftime show was an offer he couldn't refuse.
"The most significant thing about it is the people watching worldwide. ... It's probably the biggest audience you can have I would imagine," the 57-year-old singer said.
"It's quite an honor to be asked, if you look at the people who have done it, it's a very elite crowd. ... It's a great opportunity to play for the whole world at once," Petty said.
The day after their Feb. 3 Super Bowl performance, tickets will go on sale fro Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers' North American summer tour. Steve Winwood is slated to be the opening act.
The band last went on tour in 2006. Back then, Petty indicated that it could be their last.
But Petty said recently, "The band wants to go really bad, so we had a meeting about it, and we decided, why not? ... We're doing a shorter tour than we did the last time."
Currently, the tour includes a pair of shows in the Northwest, both at the Gorge in George, Wash., on Aug 15-16.