Events

[ROCK] In the three year hiatus from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ 2014 tour—the bands longest break from the road in 25 years—66 year old Petty became a grandfather; and a radio station programming manager, sorta. He may not be the only aging rocker with his own SiriusXM satellite radio channel, but he’s likely the only one that personally oversees it’s operation. Petty treats his station as it should be: an extension of his personal taste and his career. He has a vested interest in its feel and tone. The station evolved from a weekly specialty program entitled Tom Petty’s Buried Treasure—a hotly anticipated trove of cherry-picked deep cuts, the planning of which he said sometimes kept him up all night when speaking with Rolling Stone in 2011. Perhaps working hard keeps him feeling younger, but as recently as late 2016, Petty was talking as if this summer’s 40th Anniversary Tour with The Heartbreakers, which hits CMAC in Canandaigua on Sunday, July 2, might be the last. Citing his young granddaughter as a key reason, he wants to curtail the pattern of endless summer tour schedules adhered to by so many of his classic rock peers. And why shouldn’t he? Petty has always been a rebel, and while the annual summer-shed cash grab probably looks mighty attractive—especially when record sales no longer pay the bills—Petty would do better to preserve his untarnished musical legacy by knowing when to rein it in. But longtime fans needn’t fret, since he was careful not to say he would no longer perform, but rather just avoid large scale, cross-country treks. It’s not about retiring, it’s about making time to enjoy the life he’s been lucky enough to create – and let’s not forget, he’s threatened to end the tour cycle before. What’s more likely is that the summer shows will be followed by the expanded WIldflowers box he’s been discussing for a while, with a string of smaller acoustic shows to perform the material from it—a pared down 1994 solo set that’s remained a fan favorite for over two decades. Although originally conceived as a chance for deep cuts, the current tour sticks mainly with Petty’s most recognizable repertoire—no complaints there.