2009 summer concert tours - When Aerosmith launches their summer tour tonight, one member of the band will be missing.  A post on the group's AeroForceOne.com says guitarist Brad Whitford is recovering from surgery, and will have to skip the start of the trek.  They don't reveal his condition or the reason for the operation, and also don't indicate how many dates he'll miss.  But they do name his replacement.  Guitarist Bobby Schneck, who has performed with Green Day, Weezer, and Slash, has been tapped to fill in.  Band members add that they, quote, "regret any inconvenience to their fans and thank everyone for their support."  Aerosmith will be kicking off their road trip in Maryland Heights, Missouri tonight.  The classic rockers will also perform in East Troy, Wisconsin on Saturday before hooking up with ZZ Top in Boston on June 16th.  The bands will spend the rest of the summer on tour together, with dates scheduled through mid-September.

Aerosmith's portion of the concert will feature a presentation of their 1975 album "Toys In The Attic."  It's the type of show Whitford had been lobbying for for quite some time.  Last October he told LiveDaily.com, quote, "The thing I've always wanted to do -- that I have never been able to get the guys to do, which would be very cool -- is doing albums in sequence.  I think it would be great to do a concert playing "Rocks" and "Toys in the Attic," that's the set list.  And play it the way you hear it."

Aerosmith and ZZ Top Tour Dates

June 10 - Maryland Heights, Missouri, at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater (Aerosmith only)
June 13 - East Troy, Wisconsin, at the Alpine Valley Music Theater (Aerosmith only)
June 16 - Boston, Massachusetts, at the Comcast Center
June 21 - Bristow, Virginia, at the Nissan Pavilion at Stone Ridge
June 24 - Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, at the Post-Gazette Pavilion
June 26 - Wantagh, New York, at the Nikon Jones Beach Theater
June 28 - Uncasville, Connecticut, at the Mohegan Sun
July 1 - Cincinnati, Ohio, at the Riverband Music Center
July 3 - Hershey, Pennsylvania, at Hersheypark Stadium
July 5 - Virginia Beach, Virginia, at the Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach Amphitheater
July 7 - Raleigh, North Carolina, at the Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion at Walnut Creek
July 9 - Charlotte, North Carolina, at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
July 11 - Tampa, Florida, at the Ford Amphitheater
July 13 - Sunrise, Florida, at the BankAtlantic Center
July 15 - Atlanta, Georgia, at the Lakewood Amphitheater
July 17 - Houston, Texas, at the CW Mitchell Pavilion
July 19 - Dallas, Texas. at the Superpages.com Amphitheater
July 25 - Las Vegas, Nevada, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena
July 27 - Phoenix, Arizona, at the Cricket Wireless Pavilion
July 30 - Tulsa, Oklahoma, at the BOK Center
August 1 - Denver, Colorado, at Fiddler's Green Amphitheater
August 5 - Sturgis, South Dakota, at the Legendary Buffalo Chip (Aerosmith only)
August 7 - Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, at the Canada Inns Stadium
August 9 - Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, at the Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field
August 11 - Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, at Commonwealth Stadium
August 13 - Calgary, Alberta, at McMahon Stadium
August 17 - Auburn, Washington, at the White River Amphitheater
August 19 - Concord, California, at the Sleep Train Pavilion
August 21 - Los Angeles, California, at the Staples Center
August 23 - Irvine, California, at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
August 28 - Tinley Park, Illinois, at the First Midwest Bank Amphitheater
August 30 - Indianapolis, Indiana, at the Verizon Wireless Music Center
September 1 - Kansas City, Missouri, at the Sprint Center
September 3 - Toronto, Ontario, Canada, at the Air Canada Centre
September 5 - Kanata, Ontario, Canada, at Scotiabank Place
September 8 - St. Paul, Minnesota, at the Xcel Energy Center
September 10 - Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, at the Blossom Music Center
September 12 - Holmdel, New Jersey, at the PNC Bank Arts Center
September 14 - New York, New York, at Madison Square Garden
September 16 - Auburn Hills, Michigan, at the Palace of Auburn Hills

Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood are set to begin their collaborative tour.  The rock legends are embarking on a 14-date U.S. tour, scheduled to begin Wednesday night in East Rutherford, New Jersey.  The trek includes stops in major metropolitan areas across the country, including Philadelphia; Washington, DC; Chicago; Denver; Dallas; Houston; Phoenix; Las Vegas; Oakland; and Los Angeles.  The trek comes a year after the veteran stars played their first full concerts together in nearly 40 years.  Last February the pair played a three-night stand in New York City, which was the first time they'd shared the stage to perform complete shows since 1969, when they were band mates in Blind Faith.  Fans can check out highlights from those shows with the recently released "Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood Live from Madison Square Garden."  It's available as a two-disc CD or DVD, as well as a limited edition CD/DVD set.

Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood Tour Dates

June 10 - East Rutherford, New Jersey, at the Izod Center
June 12 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at The Wachovia Center
June 13 - Washington, DC, at the Verizon Center
June 15 - Columbus, Ohio, at the Schottenstein Center
June 17 - Chicago, Illinois, at the United Center
June 18 - Saint Paul, Minnesota, at the Xcel Energy Center
June 20 - Omaha, Nebraska, at the Qwest Center Omaha
June 21 - Denver, Colorado, at the Pepsi Center
June 23 - Dallas, Texas, at the American Airlines Center
June 24 - Houston, Texas, at the Toyota Center
June 26 - Glendale, Arizona, at the Jobing.com Arena
June 27 - Las Vegas, Nevada, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena
June 29 - Oakland, California, at the Oracle Arena
June 30 - Los Angeles, California, at the Hollywood Bowl

The economic downturn apparently isn't having much impact on this summer's concert tours. "USA Today" reports music fans are still keeping live music concerts in their budgets and are buying tickets for high profile acts. Gary Bongiovanni, editor of the touring trade publication "Pollstar" says some fans are forgoing a more expensive vacation and staying close to home and, quote, "treating themselves to a concert." That's good news for the hundreds of acts scheduled to play venues from coast to coast. The industry had a banner year in 2008, grossing one-billion-dollars in summer ticket sales.

Industry observers say 2009 is looking good, too. Live Nation, the world's largest promoter of live music, says it expects to put on 67-hundred concerts worldwide this summer. Among the artists on tour are such renown acts Aerosmith, Beyoncé, Bruce Springsteen, Coldplay, U2, the Dave Matthews Band, Elton John & Billy Joel, Green Day and Kenny Chesney. One new wrinkle this year is teamed acts, such as Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp, Chicago and Earth Wind & Fire, Aerosmith and ZZ Top and Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood. Live Nation's Jason Garner says the teamed effort give fans a lot of bang for their limited bucks. "The average fan," Garner says, "only goes to one or two shows a year. There may be 80 baseball games in your city this summer," he says, "but only one night with U2."

The "Entertainment Weekly" list of the "20 Summer Concert Tours We Can't Wait to See"

AC/DC - Kicks off July 28th
Green Day - Kicks off July 3rd
Beyonce - Kicks off June 21st
No Doubt - On Tour
Jay-Z and Ciara - Kicks off July 3rd
Taylor Swift - On Tour
Jamie Foxx - Kicks off July 3rd
Coldplay - On Tour
Kid Rock and Lynyrd Skynyrd - Kicks off June 26th
John Legend - Kicks off June 27th
Blink 182 - Kicks off July 24th
Kenny Chesney - On Tour
Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp - Kicks off July 2nd
Crue Fest 2 - Kicks off July 19th
Keith Urban - On Tour
Phish - Kicks off May 31st
Brad Paisley - Kicks off June 5th
TV on the Radio and Dirty Projectors - On Tour
Vans Warped Tour - Kicks off June 26th
Nickelback - Kicks off July 10th