Influential and pioneering Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees YES—who are Steve Howe (guitars, vocals), Geoff Downes (keyboards), Jon Davison (vocals, acoustic guitar), Billy Sherwood (bass guitar, vocals), and Jay Schellen (drums)—have today (June 10) announced their “The Fragile Tour 2025, The Album Series” set for this fall in the U.S. This “evening with Yes” trek launches October 1 in Wallingford, CT and will stop by Cincinnati, OH at Taft Theatre on October 28.
At these shows, the progressive rock titans will perform their iconic Fragile album in its entirety along with classics cuts from their legendary body of work. The multi-platinum album features their signature songs “Roundabout,” “Long Distance Runaround,” and “Heart of the Sunrise.” Fragile, the band’s fourth studio album, was released in the UK in November 1971 and in the US in January 1972. The “Fragile Tour” is regarded as a key moment is YES’ history—it’s when the band became a headline act in the US.
“All the band’s albums had a unique feel and approach,” says Steve Howe. “After ‘The Yes Album,’ so many things came together, with [co-producer] Eddie Offord steering the proceedings. While the band focused on only four main songs with full arrangements, each of us wrote and designed a solo piece, which was Bill [Bruford]'s great idea. It's fairly 'odd-ball,' but we were at the height of our creativity, determined for success.” Howe adds: “It gave us confidence, further than our own in-stock belief, we'd crafted this unusual but noticeable musical twist to rock and what later became prog.”
Fragile also marks the band’s first album to be designed by Roger Dean. He would also design many of YES’ future album covers, the band’s logo, and live stage sets. This striking union of music and design is key in how YES’ sound and vision would be perceived; it also underlined how important artistic visuals were becoming in the rock world. On “The Fragile Tour 2025,” YES will perform in front of a video wall featuring AI treatment of Dean’s art, bringing YES’ art into the 2020s. Roger Dean art will be available in the merch area at all the shows.
“Roger was and is quintessential to the look of Yes,” notes Howe. “He's still creating great paintings and design—he has no competition.”
