BY MIKE METTLER – MARCH 9, 2018

Todd Rundgren, Kasim Sulton, Willie Wilcox, and Ralph Schuckett are reuniting for their first North American tour since the Chernobyl nuclear reactor exploded 32 years ago (but who’s counting?). Presented by Sirius XM and produced by Live Nation, Todd Rundgren’s Utopia will be performing all across North America beginning on April 18, 2018.

In celebration of this upcoming reunion tour, Friday Music will be releasing a 7-disc box set, The Road to Utopia: The Complete Recordings (1974-82). This limited-edition collection will bring each of the band’s seven classic albums to life via CD digipak gatefold covers featuring the original album artwork elements, rare inner sleeve art, newly written commentary from the band, and more. The box set has a scheduled street date of April 20, 2018. You can pre-order it now at Friday Music, Amazon, and Record Store Day.

You can also watch the first on-camera reunion interview of Todd Rundgren’s Utopia right here:

Todd Rundgren’s Utopia was formed in 1974 out of Todd’s desire to explore new musical territory. Starting as a prog-rock-progenitor septet, the band’s music ranged from extended synth experiments to four-song albums, while their live shows were distinguished by their ahead-of-the-curve video backdrops and computer-generated music.

In 1976, the band evolved into Utopia, the shiny, mainstream power-pop rock quartet, uniting Todd Rundgren on guitar, Willie Wilcox on drums, Roger Powell on keyboards, and Kasim Sulton on bass. Known for their hallmark lyrics, lush inventive background vocals, and a voracious appetite for the highest level of musicianship. Utopia became known as the quintessential “musician’s band.” Every member took his turn singing lead on every album, and all songwriting was collaborative.

By 1980, Utopia had developed into a hit-making entity in its own right. Standout Utopia albums include 1977’s Oops! Wrong Planet, 1979’s Adventures in Utopia, and 1984’s Oblivion, spawning hits such as “Rock Love,” “Set Me Free,” “Mated,” and “Love Is the Answer,” the latter of which also became a global #1 for England Dan & John Ford Coley in 1979.

Utopia’s tours, among the first to aggressively incorporate then-state-of-the-art video technology produced at Todd’s groundbreaking Utopia Video Studios, featured some of the most lavish and audacious stage productions in rock history. Their headlining concerts frequently featured opening acts like future superstars Cheap Trick and The Cars, and the band performed at some of the 1970s’ most epic rock festivals, such as Knebworth Castle in the UK — once with The Rolling Stones in 1976 and twice with Led Zeppelin in 1979, all before a combined audience of over 1.2 million that counted a Who’s Who of rock royalty amongst them, including Paul McCartney and David Gilmour.

Vintage Utopia, the skinny-tie version.

Always on the bleeding edge, Utopia chalked up a long history of groundbreaking media “firsts,” including:

• The first interactive television concert, broadcast live over Warner/QUBE, the experimental interactive cable system in Columbus, Ohio, where the home television audience chose each song in real time during the concert by voting via QUBE’s 2-way operating system (1978);

• The first live nationally broadcast stereo radio rock concert (via microwave), linking 40 cities around the country (1978); and

• The first live national cablecast of a rock concert (on the USA Network), simulcast in stereo to over 120 radio stations (1982).

In 1986, after 10 years of nonstop recording and arena touring cycles, the band declared they were “going on sabbatical,” and Todd, Willie, Roger, and Kas each embarked on their own career paths.

The SoundBard had occasion to sit down with Kas Sulton in Nashville on July 22, 2017, and he told me, “Utopia was a great band. It was a really, really really great band, and we were a great band live too. I like to think I’m kind of humble, and I don’t walk around all ‘puffed up,’ or anything like that. but I have certainly been blessed over the years with the career that I’ve had.” At that time, Kas couldn’t wholly confirm the Utopia reunion per se, but he did tell me, “I’m looking forward to getting out there with everyone again.”

You can also read a pair of my most recent interviews with Todd Rundgren that were conducted in 2015: first, over on Sound & Vision; and second, over on Palm Springs Life.

And now, as fate would have it, in early April, Todd, Kas, Willie, and Ralph will find themselves back in Woodstock, New York, essentially right where it all started, rehearsing their newest stage spectacle. Todd Rundgren’s Utopia North American reunion tour, featuring the combined talents of Todd, Kasim, Willie, and Ralph, begins on April 18 and ends on June 5 (see the tour dates below). Tickets and more information are available at Live Nation, Ticketmaster, and all Ticketmaster outlets.

TODD RUNDGREN’S UTOPIA
2018 TOUR DATES

APRIL 18 JIM THORPE PA, PENNS PEAK
APRIL 20 ENGLEWOOD NJ, BERGEN PAC
APRIL 22 HOUSTON TX, HOUSE OF BLUES
APRIL 23 DALLAS TX, MAJESTIC THEATER
APRIL 25 BROWARD FL, BROWARD PAC
APRIL 27 ST PETERSBURG FL, MAHAFFEY THEATER
APRIL 28 ATLANTA GA, TABERNACLE
APRIL 29 DURHAM NC, CAROLINA THEATER
MAY 1 HUNTINGTON NY, PARAMOUNT THEATER
MAY 2 WASHINGTON DC, WARNER THEATER
MAY 3 NEW YORK NY, TOWN HALL
MAY 5 PHILADELPHIA PA, TOWER THEATER
MAY 6 BOSTON MA, ORPHEUM THEATER
MAY 7 RIDGEFIELD CT, RIDGEFIELD PLAYHOUSE
MAY 9 ST LOUIS MO, PEABODY OPERA HOUSE
MAY 10 CINCINNATI OH, TAFT THEATER
MAY 12 MILWAUKEE WI, PABST THEATER
MAY 13 MINNEAPOLIS MN, STATE THEATER
MAY 15 GRAND RAPIDS MI, 20 MONROE LIVE
MAY 16 TORONTO ONT, MASSEY HALL
MAY 17 DETROIT MI, THE FILLMORE
MAY 19 CLEVELAND OH, HARD ROCK LIVE
MAY 20 CLEVELAND OH, HARD ROCK LIVE
MAY 22 CHICAGO IL, CHICAGO THEATER
MAY 24 DENVER CO, PARAMOUNT THEATER
MAY 26 LAS VEGAS NV, THE JOINT @ THE HARD ROCK
MAY 27 PHOENIX AZ, COMERICA THEATER
MAY 29 LOS ANGELES CA, THE WILTERN
MAY 30 SAN FRANCISCO CA, THE MASONIC
JUNE 1 SEATTLE WA, MOORE THEATER
JUNE 2 PORTLAND OR, REVOLUTION THEATER
JUNE 4 SACRAMENTO CA, CREST THEATER
JUNE 5 RIVERSIDE CA, FOX PAC