Elton John Officially Returns to the Stage for World Tour After Nearly 2 Years

Despite a nearly two-year hiatus, Elton John isn’t bidding farewell to the yellow brick road just yet.

Despite a nearly two-year hiatus, Elton John isn’t bidding farewell to the yellow brick road just yet. Instead, the iconic star officially resumed his world tour on Wednesday as he finally returned to the stage in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour, which John kicked off from Pennsylvania in September 2018, came to a halt in early March 2020 as a result of the burgeoning coronavirus pandemic. Shows were once again postponed in September 2021 to give the singer time to undergo hip surgery

“You have been holding on to these tickets for 745 days,” the legendary performer told the sold-out crowd inside the Smoothie King Center on Wednesday night.

Though the tour is meant to be John’s last, he has more than a year of show dates remaining before he officially says goodbye in Sweden on July 8, 2023. By then, he’ll be 76 years old.

“I want to do something different with the rest of my life,” he said during a recent CBS Mornings interview. But first, the road has his attention. “I want to finish [the tour] in the best way possible,” he said, “in the most triumphant way possible."

Now 74, the legendary performer is indeed still standing after more than 50 years in the music business. Having recently released his latest collaborative album, aptly titled The Lockdown Sessions, John is also back at the top of the charts thanks to new hits like “Cold Heart (Pnau remix)” with Dua Lipa and “Merry Christmas” with Ed Sheeran.

Still, as he told CBS Mornings, the six-time GRAMMY winner is looking forward to being with his family in the next chapter of his one-of-a-kind life. “I’ve been touring since I was 17, in the back of a van,” he said. “I’ve had the most incredible life. I’ve been so lucky and I’ve loved every single minute of it, but I’ve had enough of that applause.”

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