Three bands that defined the sound of ’90s rock radio are converging on SPAC this summer, and the combination is hard to dismiss even if the nostalgia packaging is obvious. Blues Traveler headlines the evening, with Gin Blossoms co-headlining and Spin Doctors in support — a triple-bill that Live Nation is bringing to Saratoga Performing Arts Center on Thursday, July 30, at 6:00 PM.
About Blues Traveler
The band formed in a Princeton basement and earned their following the way few acts bother to anymore — relentless touring, year after year, before “Run-Around” made any of it easier. That Grammy Award-winning single, which still holds the Billboard record for longest-charting radio single, marked its 30th anniversary last year. It was the kind of milestone that apparently calls for a summer tour, and the reasoning is hard to argue with.
Fourteen studio albums in, Blues Traveler continues to tour with an endurance that has always been their most reliable characteristic. Their most recent work — the Grammy-nominated Traveler’s Blues (2021) and Traveler’s Soul (2023) — reimagines American blues, soul, and R&B standards in ways that suggest a band still interested in the source material rather than merely coasting on their own catalog. The SPAC show is part of a 35-date summer run that expands on a 2025 tour with the same lineup. John Popper has described the chemistry among the three acts as generating “a spirit which becomes tangible to an audience” — which is either the plain truth or the best possible argument for buying a ticket.
About the Supporting Acts
Gin Blossoms’ quadruple-platinum New Miserable Experience was, in a very real sense, the sound of early ’90s alternative radio cohering into something broadly beloved. Spin Doctors bring their own milestone to the bill: this year marks 35 years since Pocket Full of Kryptonite, the multi-platinum debut that produced the Grammy-nominated “Two Princes.” Three legacy acts, three catalogs worth knowing — the summer setting at SPAC suits the occasion.
Venue: SPAC
SPAC — the Saratoga Performing Arts Center — is a 25,000-capacity outdoor amphitheater at 108 Avenue of the Pines in Saratoga Springs, and one of the Northeast’s most reliable large-scale outdoor venues. A 6:00 PM start in late July means the show begins in full sunlight and runs toward dusk — which, on those grounds, is among the better ways to spend a Thursday evening in the Albany / Capital District.
Tickets
Tickets are on sale now, with an average price of $184.68, through Live Nation. Buy Tickets →