Phil Vassar had already given away enough songs to build another artist’s entire career before he launched his own. He wrote “My Next Thirty Years” for Tim McGraw, “Right on the Money” for Alan Jackson, and hits for Jo Dee Messina and Collin Raye — all before his debut single, “Just Another Day in Paradise,” went to number one in 2000. The “25 Years of Paradise” tour, which Vassar launched to celebrate that debut’s anniversary, arrives at Universal Preservation Hall in Saratoga Springs on Wednesday, April 7.
About the Show
Vassar grew up in Lynchburg, Virginia, raised on gospel and bluegrass alongside the records he’d eventually pivot toward (Billy Joel, Elton John, Motown, the Statler Brothers), and that breadth comes through in live performance more than it does in any single studio track. His “signature blend of country, rock and piano-driven pop,” as the tour billing puts it, has produced 10 No. 1 hits and 27 Top 40 singles across nine albums, including “Carlene,” “Six-Pack Summer,” and “American Child.” He earned two ASCAP Country Songwriter of the Year honors and an ACM Top New Male Vocalist award along the way.
The “25 Years of Paradise” shows are built around that full catalog: fan favorites, deep cuts, and covers honoring the artists who shaped him, Billy Joel and Elton John among them. Vassar brings to the stage the ease of a writer who has spent decades inside the craft of a hit song, and his performances are known for the singalongs and storytelling that fill the spaces between numbers.
This tour carries particular weight. After a heart attack and stroke in 2023, Vassar returned to performing with a changed perspective. “Now that all this health stuff is behind me, I feel great, and I am so blessed,” he said. “I’ve learned to enjoy the moment.” For an artist who has spent 25 years on the road, that is not a small thing to say.
Venue & Logistics
Universal Preservation Hall is a theater at 25 Washington St in Saratoga Springs — a setting the tour schedule has mixed with amphitheaters and fairgrounds, but one better suited to the storytelling that runs between Vassar’s songs. The show begins at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets
No ticket price was available from sources at the time of publication. Tickets are available through the Proctors Collaborative. Buy tickets