Like most of us, you probably thought that was it for Aerosmith when they officially announced their retirement from touring last August – Steven Tyler had suffered a fractured larynx three gigs into their 2023 farewell tour and had not fully recovered. Now, Joe Perry has given fans fresh hope that they might yet see the band live once more.
In an interview with Sirius XM show Trunk Nation the guitarist sounded positive that the band will take to the stage again. When asked about future gigs, Perry said: “We’re talking about it. We’re all alive and well, so we will just have to see.”
“I know there’s going to be at least another Aerosmith gig, and I’m not looking forward to putting the setlist together for that one.”
The $64 million question is whether Tyler would be up for it? And - more importantly - fully able to take part? “I think he would,” said Perry. “But it’s a matter of getting there. We’re up there man, and it’s a lot.”
“I don’t think I’ve gone a year without something on the calendar and having to be somewhere. So that’s the bigger picture. I don’t know. I got enough left in me, I still want to do it.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbexOeoH5hg
This is some turnaround from less than a year ago when the band seemed to have drawn a final line under their long career. In a long message to fans on social media, they said that with Tyler's vocal cords still not recovered after they cut short the Peace Out Farewell tour in 2023, they had made the “heartbreaking and difficult decision” to retire from the road.
“He has spent months tirelessly working on getting his voice to where it was before his injury,” they said. “We’ve seen him struggling despite having the best medical team by his side. Sadly, it is clear that a full recovery from his vocal injury is not possible.”
Fans’ hopes were briefly raised when Tyler appeared at the annual Jam For Janie benefit gig at the Hollywood Palladium in February. However, the music director of that event, ex-Guns N’ Roses drummer Matt Sorum quickly shot down the idea that this was anything more than a one-off for Tyler. “Is he going to tour again? No, he’s not,” Sorum told New York classic rock station WBAB.
Hope springs eternal, both for Perry and the band's many fans. The final decision though, will ultimately be the frontman's.
