In 1964, when the Beach Boys were at their commercial peak, band mastermind Brian Wilson suffered a nervous breakdown on an airplane while heading to a gig. Soon after, Wilson told his bandmates that he wanted to quit touring entirely and focus full-time on producing the group’s layered, masterful, mind-blowing pop records. A lot of incredible music came out of that decision. In the decades after that, Wilson suffered all sorts of mental health calamities, so it’s strange and wonderful to see the 79-year-old Wilson eager to return to the road. Wilson has been steadily touring, mostly on his own, for a long time now. In 2019, Wilson postponed a tour to focus on his mental health. Then, two weeks later, he told the world that he was feeling better, and he went right back to playing shows. Now, he’s getting ready to play some more shows, starting next month.

Wilson will soon his the road for a series of Greatest Hits Live! shows, which will feature his former Beach Boys bandmates Al Jardine and Blondie Chaplin. Wilson has also unveiled a newly redesigned website, which features a whole lot of rarities and Beach Boys ephemera. On the site’s front page, Wilson says, “Thanks for visiting my new website. We decided to put up some cool demos, outtakes and live tracks you haven’t heard before. I hope you dig listening to them as much as we did making them. Stay safe and we’ll see you on tour soon!”

On the “timeline” feature of Wilson’s site, you can click through the different periods of his life and find photos, outtakes, and audio clips of Wilson talking about his own music. Click on “1966,” for instance, and you can hear the vocal insert overdubs for the Pet Sounds song “Don’t Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder),” or you can hear Wilson discussing “Good Vibrations” in depth. On YouTube, Wilson’s team has also shared a 1995 instrumental demo of “Desert Drive,” a song that appeared on his 2004 solo album Gettin’ In Over My Head. Below, check out the demo and Wilson’s tour dates.

TOUR DATES:
8/29 – Long Beach, CA @ Terrace Theater
10/05 – Huntington, NY @ The Paramount
10/06 – Port Chester, NY @ Capitol Theater
10/08 – Wallingford, CT @ Oakdale Theatre
10/09 – Lowell, MA @ Lowell Memorial Auditorium
10/10 – Rochester, NY @ Kodak Center
10/12 – Albany, NY @ Palace Theatre
10/13 – Morristown, NJ @ Mayo Performing Arts Center
10/15 – Washington, DC @ Warner Theatre
10/16 – Atlantic City, NJ @ Hard Rock Live
10/17 – Reading, PA @ Santander Performing Arts Center
10/19 – Greensburg, PA @ The Palace
10/20 – Akron, OH @ Goodyear Theater
10/22 – Nashville, IN @ Brown County Music Center
10/23 – Waukegan, UL @ Genesee Theatre