Jimi Hendrix fans have cause for celebration: the Experience Hendrix Tour, the only official multi-artist celebration of Jimi Hendrix’s musical genius, will return in March 2025. Among a crowded field of live music options, the tour stands alone for consistently delivering a star-studded lineup of acts, all assembled to do just one thing – to celebrate Jimi Hendrix. The tour has just announced dates for 2025 that will begin at the legendary Taft Theatre in Cincinnati, Ohio. The tour will wind its way through the Midwest, move to the East Coast and through the South, and conclude in Atlanta at The Fox Theatre.
The tour will include Experience Hendrix Tour mainstays including Kenny Wayne Shepherd (see our interview in Copper Issue 211), Zakk Wylde, and Eric Johnson, as well as Devon Allman, Samantha Fish, and Christone “Kingfish” Ingram. Marcus King is a first-timer for 2025 and is expected to bring new energy to Hendrix’s timeless repertoire.
Among the other artists featured are Ally Venable, Chuck Campbell and Calvin Cooke, vocalist Noah Hunt and bassist Kevin McCormick, Mato Nanji, blues guitar prodigy Mathias Lattin, Artur Menezes, Dylan Triplett and Henri Brown, and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Chris Layton (of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble).
Chris Layton, Noah Hunt, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Kevin McCormick. Photo: © Chris Schmitt/Grtwht Photography/SFL Music Magazine. Courtesy of Experience Hendrix.
Janie Hendrix, President and CEO of Experience Hendrix and co-founder of the tour explained the magnitude of each event (quoted from a press release): “It’s a beautiful and powerful phenomenon to witness! We have all of these incredibly talented musicians, each with their own special vibe, coming together in celebration of Jimi and his music. You can feel the energy and the love being poured out on stage and every audience adds to the electricity! It’s amazing!” She continued, “I think this is the kind of experience Jimi was talking about in his songs. The power of soul! This is why we do the tour. We want to share that experience!”
Copper spoke with longtime tour producer John McDermott about the origins of the Experience Hendrix tour, what makes this event so special, how they strike the perfect balance between new and returning acts, and where it all might just lead somewhere not too far down the road.
Ray Chelstowski: How did you become involved with Experience Hendrix?
John McDermott: I’d written a number of articles, and then ultimately published a book with [Hendrix recording engineer] Eddie Kramer in 1992 called Hendrix. Setting The Record Straight. After that, Eddie and I collaborated with Warner Records in doing a tribute to Jimi that would fund scholarships in his name across the United States. So, we had thought we had done Jimi right, and moved on to our own respective projects. I then noticed that the Hendrix family had decided to sue MCA Records for trying to sell the music catalog out from under them, and volunteered my services during the litigation to help them secure back the rights. That led them to ask me to help oversee the music catalog, which I was happy to do. Since then, Janie, Eddie and I have been involved in overseeing all of the various releases that have come out.
John McDermott.
RC: Do you think this tour can evolve into something like a residency in one location that runs year-round?
JM: I don’t know. It’s a celebration of his music in a concert setting. We’ve had a wonderful roster of artists participate year after year but it’s not necessarily a scripted, note-for-note, dress up like Jimi kind of thing. We don’t have a living artist [present] who an articulate what they think we should be doing. Instead, he’s left us with these amazing songs and it’s really great to see how artists interpret them. That was something we were excited about when we did the tribute record in 1993 [Stone Free: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix]. So, I think the idea of providing a forum with artists who love Jimi is just fun. The audience enjoys it too because they are seeing their favorite guitarists in a setting that isn’t normal. For us it’s a fun way to promote Jimi. It can’t always be, “buy the new record!” It has to be more about why we dig this guy. That’s the mission.
Kenny Wayne Shepherd calls this “summer camp,” because you don’t have the pressures of your own tour or [driving] your own album sales. You come here to have fun and hang with everybody. As long as people enjoy it it’s something worth doing. Could it work in a residency? Perhaps. The audience always tells you.
Ayron Jones and Samantha Fish. Photo: © Brad Gregory. Courtesy of Experience Hendrix.
RC: How do you go about putting the artist roster together and how do you strike a balance between emerging and returning acts?
JM: I reach out to everyone and try to find their window of availability. It tends to be in the late fall or the early part of the spring because so many of them have big summer tours and you can’t get them to break away from what they have to do with their own careers. In terms of new artists like Marcus, they’re trying to establish a name for themselves and in turn are doing a ton of dates.
It’s a lot to ask. We’re not a band. We are a family foundation asking you to come participate in something cool. Marcus has reached a place where I think he can do this and still do other touring.
Kingfish got his start with us. Buddy Guy told us that he wanted us to meet him. He was 16 years old at the time and he sat in and we were blown away. Now he’s a Grammy winner. For us it’s just wonderful to have someone like that who is passionate and comes at things with a totally different feel and flavor. It’s part of what I call “the farm team.”
RC: It seems like Kenny Wayne Shepherd has been with you since day one.
JM: Kenny bought in right away, so he’s become a “first call guy.” He understood what we were trying to do right away. Jonny Lang and Eric Johnson were like that as well. We kind of avoid going after the “flavor of the month.” It’s more exciting to explore one of a kind pairings. That kind of presentation, that collaborative spirit, is what the artists and fans enjoy most.
RC: Who comes to these shows?
JM: We see the “grads to dads” effect in the audience. You see a lot of young people and then you see fans that may have seen Jimi Hendrix perform live. That’s always exciting, to see the influence that he has. Not only does it spread out as wide as it does from a genre perspective, but it’s also cool to see that a younger generation sees him as “the guy.”
RC: Dunlop, Fender, and Marshall are sponsors. Do you like it being limited to music industry companies or would you be open to a major advertiser, like say Ford, sponsoring the tour?
JM: I don’t know. You’d have to look at it and see what it would mean. But by keeping it where it is keeps it about the event. It’s why we just play in theaters as opposed to trying to trade off the popularity of the artists. We’d rather have a party that’s full than play a shed and say “well, at least we got 7,000 people.” We don’t have to do that. We’re not selling a record. I often say that we are like a Broadway show. We are artist-driven so if the guys aren’t available I have to wait until that widow opens again.
Visit www.experiencehendrixtour.com for artist lineups by date.
Chris Layton and Devon Allman. Photo: © Chris Schmitt/Grtwht Photography/SFL Music Magazine. Courtesy of Experience Hendrix.
2025 Experience Hendrix Tour dates:
March 11 – Cincinnati, OH – Taft Theatre
12 – Columbus, OH – Palace Theatre
13 – Greensburg, PA – Palace Theatre
14 – Northfield, OH – MGM Northfield Park
15 – Toronto, ON – Massey Hall
18 – Waukee, IA – Vibrant Music Hall
19 – Milwaukee, WI – Riverside Theater
20 – Indianapolis, IN – Murat Theatre
21 – Chicago, IL – Chicago Theatre
22 – Detroit, MI – Fox Theatre
23 – Buffalo, NY – Kleinhans Music Hall
25 – Syracuse, NY – Landmark Theatre
27 – Lynn, MA – Lynn Memorial Auditorium
28 – Westbury, NY – Flagstar at Westbury Music Fair
29 – Wallingford, CT – Toyota Oakdale Theatre
30 – Wilkes-Barre, PA – F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts
April 1 – Red Bank, NJ – Count Basie Center for the Arts
2 – Morristown, NJ – Mayo Performing Arts Center
3 – Hampton Beach, NH – Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom
4 – Atlantic City, NJ – Ovation Hall at Ocean Casino Resort
5 – Washington, DC – Warner Theatre
6 – Durham, NC – Durham Performing Arts Center
8 – North Charleston, SC – North Charleston Performing Arts Center
9 – Charlotte, NC – Ovens Auditorium
10 – Knoxville, TN – Tennessee Theatre
11 – Greenville, SC – Peace Center Concert Hall
12 – Atlanta, GA – Fox Theatre
