What to know about BEAT’s 2026 tour
- Tour lineup: BEAT’s current tour features Adrian Belew, Steve Vai, Tony Levin and Terry Bozzio, who is filling in for Danny Carey.
- King Crimson music: The band performs material from the 1981–1984 albums Discipline, BEAT and Three of a Perfect Pair.
- Additional material: The set includes songs from 1995’s Thrak and a surprise drawn from Frank Zappa’s music.
- Tour schedule: The listed U.S. dates run from November 10 through December 3, 2026.
This article covers BEAT’s 2026 tour, its King Crimson set list and Terry Bozzio’s role, and provides the announced dates so readers can review the tour details.
BEAT’s 2026 tour pairs King Crimson songs with a lineup featuring Adrian Belew, Steve Vai, Tony Levin and Terry Bozzio.
The fever dream of seeing BEAT play King Crimson music is still underway, with the band’s current tour running through early December. The dates appear below.
The all-star group made its debut in 2024 with guitarist and vocalist Adrian Belew, guitarist Steve Vai, bassist Tony Levin and drummer Danny Carey, earning strong reviews.
Danny Carey is occupied with his usual Tool commitments this time, so drum legend Terry Bozzio has stepped in. Alongside Belew and Vai, Bozzio’s addition brings the number of Frank Zappa alumni in the lineup to three. His appearance also gives fans an unexpected chance to see him perform live in 2026.
READ MORE: BEAT Launches Fall Tour With New Drummer
Why shouldn’t fans miss BEAT?
BEAT’s current tour gives fans another opportunity to hear King Crimson music performed live, while also addressing a concern Adrian Belew had about some of his songs falling out of circulation. The band’s set draws on the three albums Belew made with King Crimson in the 1980s.
BEAT’s live performances bring Belew-era King Crimson songs back to the stage.
“You know, another reason I started the BEAT thing was I was getting worried that the three records that I did in the ’80s, the songs that I wrote and the things that I was, you know, the principal interest in, were getting lost because Robert [Fripp] wasn’t playing those songs [from that era],” Belew told UCR in a recent interview you can hear below.
“I was thinking, ‘Wow, you mean to tell me all those songs are getting lost in the shuffle?’ I was worried about that,” he admits. “It probably really shouldn’t have been a worry of mine, but that’s just how I am sometimes.”
Whether or not the concern was necessary, the result is that fans have heard BEAT perform material from Discipline (1981), BEAT (1982) and Three of a Perfect Pair (1984), the final album of Belew’s initial King Crimson era.
READ MORE: Robert Fripp Explains Why He Won’t Revive King Crimson
Could this be BEAT’s final tour?
BEAT has not confirmed whether this will be its final tour. Adrian Belew says the group will know more after the end of next year, and the members’ schedules and interest in continuing will shape any decision.
The band’s future remains undecided until its members assess their schedules and plans.
This tour adds material from Thrak (1995) and a surprise connected to Frank Zappa. Both shows we recently saw in Columbus and Cleveland included a well-received moment featuring the surprise.
For Thrak, “People” was a highlight, as shown in the video below by Kenz Vidz. The question for fans is whether this is their last chance to see BEAT.
“Well, we can’t say because we will only know that after the end of next year,” Belew says. “To the extent that we can’t do anything for the next year, at least. And then you have to start wondering, ‘Well, what will we do if we come back to it? And are we all just going to continue to want to play King Crimson music?”
“I mean, that’s a kind of a big lift for somebody like Steve, who has so many irons in the fire, or even me,” he adds. “But I think everyone loves the band, so that’s not a problem. But you’ll just have to see, you know, what does everyone want to do at that point? Everybody will be coming from their place.”
Watch BEAT Perform ‘People’ From the ‘Thrak’ Album in Cleveland
What could BEAT do next?
BEAT has not started recording new material. Belew says the band’s members have limited periods when their schedules align, and touring has been the project’s priority so far.
Schedule availability is the main constraint on the group’s next steps.
Fans have discussed the possibility of the band entering the studio to record newly written music, but the members’ busy schedules make that difficult to arrange.
“Yeah, that’s absolutely the biggest factor. We can only get together for certain periods of time where our schedules are all open at the same time, and immediately we say, ‘Okay, book a tour for that period,'” he explains. “Because our goal has been since we started to play this music live in as many places around the world as we can — and basically do a world tour.”
“We’ve kind of done that now. We didn’t get to all the Asian countries I was hoping, but we did get through Europe, you know, 21 countries, 31 shows. South America, same thing,” he adds. “We didn’t play as much in Japan as we normally would, but we did play the Budokan, which is kind of like playing Royal Albert Hall. You know, it’s one of those places that everybody reveres. And now we’re making our second run through the United States, so I feel like that’s what we really set out to do.”
“And that’s why we haven’t even tried to start making any new music. Now, next year is taken up with obligations from everyone, especially Steve Vai, I think, and maybe Tony a bit. I have left my schedule open only because I want to decide when I’m ready. I’m not ready to decide: am I going to tour some more? Am I going to record? Am I going to lay around the house and read books? I’ll figure it out by January.”
What does Terry Bozzio bring to BEAT?
Terry Bozzio is replacing Danny Carey on the current tour, bringing a different drummer into the group’s live lineup. Belew has described Bozzio’s independent coordination and distinctive playing as qualities that impressed him when they first worked together.
Bozzio’s drumming adds a new live dimension to BEAT’s King Crimson material.
Fans have welcomed Bozzio’s addition. The legendary drummer has spent several years away from regular touring, and he has brought a large drum kit on the road; Tony Levin’s ongoing tour blog features additional photos of it.
Belew was also excited to welcome Bozzio to BEAT and shared memories of their first encounters with UCR.
“Well, when I first worked with Terry, I was as green as it gets. I had never done anything,” he says. “I remember Terry and Patrick O’Hearn had just returned from a tour playing jazz with the Brecker Brothers, so they were seasoned professionals. You know, I was this guy from Nashville who was playing in cover bands.”
“What I remember thinking is, first of all, Terry looked like he was 16 years old, but he was playing drums like I’d never seen anyone play before,” he recalls. “It was like each of his arms and each of his legs could do completely different, independent things, and I’d never really seen anybody with that kind of ability.”
“So I studied him as I was studying everything else that was going on,” Belew adds. “It was really a few years later when he was coming to King Crimson shows, and I would see him there. He finally took me to his apartment and played me some music. He was hoping they’d get a record deal, and it was Missing Persons.”
How has BEAT’s world tour developed?
BEAT has toured internationally as part of Belew’s original aim to perform live with Vai, Levin and Carey. The current fall tour continues that effort with Bozzio filling in for Carey.
BEAT’s touring history reflects the group’s goal of taking King Crimson music to audiences around the world.
As Belew noted during our conversation, the group has covered considerable ground in pursuit of its original mission: performing live with Vai, Levin and Carey.
The current fall tour with Bozzio stepping in for Carey shows how far the group has come. Bozzio took a little time to find his footing with BEAT, but by the time we saw the band in Ohio, the musicians were well-rehearsed and in sync. Many young people also attended the shows.
Seeing these performances matters to the audience because the musicians are masters of their instruments. That is true of any chance to see Belew, Levin, Vai and Bozzio live, and having all four onstage together makes the occasion unusual.
“You know, we’ve been all around the world since the last time we saw you,” Belew told the audience in Cleveland.
The latest shows also showed how the musicians have developed their shared chemistry. For fans who saw BEAT’s first tour, the current performances reveal a more defined connection among Belew, Levin and Vai.
The musicians also have room to explore, a freedom Belew says he encouraged as the group prepared to tour in 2024. He said the BEAT lineup with Bozzio would keep that approach, pointing to what happened when Carey played with the band.
“We have to play the things that are essentials that everyone knows have to be there. After that, though, we can all take off and go our own ways with it,” he detailed. “So, once Danny Carey realized he didn’t have to be Bill Bruford, and he became Danny Carey, the doors just kicked wide open, and wow, he started playing incredible stuff that you know was King Crimson material. It just wasn’t on those records.”
Listen to Adrian Belew on the ‘UCR Podcast’
When and where is BEAT playing in 2026?
BEAT’s listed 2026 dates run from November 10 to December 3 across the United States. The schedule below includes each announced city and venue.
The 2026 tour schedule lists 16 performances in U.S. cities.
- 11/10: Washington, DC, MGM National Harbor
- 11/11: Rochester, NY, Kodak Center
- 11/13: Virginia Beach, VA, Sandler Center
- 11/14: Reading, PA, Santander Performing Arts Center
- 11/15: Philadelphia, PA, Academy of Music
- 11/17: Durham, NC, DPAC
- 11/18: Nashville, TN, Grand Ole Opry House
- 11/21: Charlotte, NC, Ovens Auditorium
- 11/22: Daytona Beach, FL, Peabody Auditorium
- 11/24: St. Petersburg, FL, Mahaffey Theater
- 11/25: Atlanta, GA, Cobb Energy Center
- 11/28: Houston, TX, 713 Music Hall
- 11/29: Austin, TX, ACL Live
- 11/30: Dallas, TX, Music Hall at Fair Park
- 12/02: Inglewood, CA, YouTube Theater
- 12/03: Riverside, CA, Riverside Municipal Auditorium
The announced BEAT tour dates include stops in the District of Columbia, New York, Virginia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, Texas and California.
What songs and albums does BEAT perform?
BEAT performs King Crimson material from the Adrian Belew-era albums Discipline, BEAT and Three of a Perfect Pair, as well as songs from Thrak. The current performances also include a surprise connected to Frank Zappa.
BEAT’s set list combines music from several King Crimson eras with a Zappa-related surprise.
“People” from Thrak was a highlight at the Cleveland show covered in the article. The exact Zappa surprise is not revealed.
Will BEAT record new music?
BEAT has not begun recording new music, and Belew says the members’ schedules are a major obstacle. The group’s next plans depend on when they can meet and what each member wants to do.
New BEAT music remains unconfirmed, while the band’s touring commitments and individual obligations shape its availability.
Belew says the group has focused on playing King Crimson music live around the world. He has left his own schedule open while he decides whether he wants to tour, record or take time at home.
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Why is Danny Carey not on BEAT’s current tour?
Danny Carey is occupied with his regular Tool commitments, so Terry Bozzio is playing drums with BEAT on the current tour.
Is Terry Bozzio a permanent member of BEAT?
Terry Bozzio is filling in for Danny Carey on the current tour; the article does not state whether he will remain with BEAT permanently.
Has BEAT announced another tour?
BEAT has not confirmed future touring plans. Adrian Belew says the members will have a clearer idea after the end of next year.
