Jeff Slate & Jake Thistle to Celebrate Tom Petty's 'Wildflowers' with October Tour

This October, fellow musicians Jeff Slate and Jake Thistle will headline Tom Petty Weekend in the late rocker’s hometown, Gainesville, Florida, playing Petty’s classic album Wildflowers in full (and more) with additional shows in Los Angeles, New York and more. 

In a career full of remarkable peaks, Wildflowers still stands as an astonishing creative achievement. One of Rolling Stone magazine’s 500 Greatest Albums of All-Time, it features some of Tom Petty’s best and most enduring songs and performances, including “You Don’t Know How It Feels,” “You Wreck Me,” “It’s Good to Be King,” “Crawling Back to You” and, of course, the elegiac title track. 

Petty long-teased a tour built around celebrating Wildflowers, but didn’t get around to it before his untimely passing in 2017. A box set, featuring demos, outtakes and alternate and live versions of the songs from the album - something Petty had also often spoken of - was released in 2020. 

Slate and Thistle have collaborated often in recent years, celebrating Petty’s birthday each year, most notably as part of an all-star show at the El Rey Theater in 2019 which featured former-Heartbreakers Ron Blair and Steve Ferrone. 

The tour currently includes the following dates:

• Friday, October 11 - Tom Petty Weekend, Gainesville, FL
• Friday, October 18 - Desert 5 Spot, Los Angeles, CA
• Thursday, October 24 - Live at the Falcon, Marlboro, NY
• Friday, October 25 - Hill Country Live!, New York, NY

In related news, Jeff will also be featured as "The Last DJ" guest host on SiriusXM Tom Petty Radio during the week of 9/16. In November, Jeff Slate and his band will be back on the road, supporting the Wallflowers for a string of East Coast shows (dates below). 

Jeff Slate is known as a world-class frontman and songwriter on the New York City music scene, where his band’s monthly residency in the heart of Chelsea draws sellout crowds and famous guests.

Slate came up in the mid-1980s US East Coast post-punk scene, playing CBGBs and other legendary clubs of the day. By the early '90s, Slate was a solo artist, and made his name working with The Who’s Pete Townshend, touring with Sheryl Crow and founding the mod-influenced band The Badge.

Since then, Slate’s solo releases have included famous friends and A-list session players, and his songs have appeared in advertising and films, and on television, including in the hit show Gossip Girl. Slate has also toured throughout the US over the past 14 years, sharing the stage with Roger McGuinn, Jeff Tweedy, Willie Nile and Margo Price, as well as headlining the Switchyard Festival at Tulsa’s legendary Cain’s Ballroom, and Tom Petty Weekend in the late artist’s hometown of Gainesville, Florida.  

Jeff’s recent fourth solo album, The Last Day of Summer, featuring Dave Stewart, Duff McKagan, Earl Slick, members of Paul Weller’s band and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, is out now on Schnitzel Records. Click here to order.

Jake Thistle has performed across the US and Europe, and for crowds of thousands at major music events. His first studio single, “Ghosted Road,” garnered the Best Americana Song of 2022 Award from Indie Boulevard Magazine, and The Jersey Sound recently ranked Thistle’s “Brooklyn Can Wait” as a top 50 song of all time with a NJ connection, alongside major artists like Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Whitney Houston and Frank Sinatra. The Hollywood Sentinel had this to say about Thistle's original, “The Dreamer”: "Jake has it all. The looks, the voice, the talent, and even a great song here... be prepared to be blown away."

Thistle has also raised hundreds of thousands for a variety of charitable organizations through an extensive range of fundraising performances, and has contributed music to events that raised millions. In recognition of those efforts, Thistle was recently named an official artist for WhyHunger's Artists Against Hunger and Poverty, alongside legends like Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Browne, Brandi Carlisle and Carlos Santana. He was also honored with a special service award from the American Cancer Society for his significant contributions to the cause through his music.

In addition to his nationally-acclaimed debut album, Down The Line, Thistle recently released The Half Left Out. Click here to order.

The Wallflowers with Jeff Slate & Friends 2024 Tour Dates:

Wednesday, Nov. 6 - Boston, MA - Wilbur Theatre 

Friday, Nov. 8 - Providence, RI - The Strand Ballroom & Theatre

Saturday, Nov. 9 - Ithaca, NY - State Theater of Ithaca

Sunday, Nov. 10 - Newton, NJ - The Newton Theatre

Photo credit: Greg Thistle

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