By Randy Patterson, Boomerocity.com
In Concert • April 15 • Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center
When British synth-pop pioneer Howard Jones steps onto the stage at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center on April 15, the Knoxville audience will be witnessing a musician whose career spans more than four decades of innovation, hit songs, and electrifying live performances. Jones will open for rock legend Rod Stewart on the Knoxville stop of the tour, a pairing that feels both nostalgic and fresh. For Jones, the opportunity is especially meaningful because the two artists have become friends in recent years.
“I’ve got to know Rod recently… we’re friends of friends, and we hang out and have dinners,” Jones said during a recent interview. “I had a birthday recently, and Rod was there with his wife, Penny. It’s really nice to be doing something with somebody you can call a friend.”
The Knoxville show is one of a handful of dates Jones is performing with Stewart, and fans can expect an energetic set packed with the songs that made Jones a defining voice of 1980s pop. “I’ll be 35, 40 minutes,” he explained. “That’s been the challenge for me… it will be wall-to-wall hits.” For audiences that grew up with songs like “New Song,” “Things Can Only Get Better,” and “No One Is to Blame,” the Knoxville performance promises a quick-hitting celebration of Jones’ enduring catalog.
While Jones continues touring and creating new music, he has also been looking back at the early days of his career with the release of Live at the Marquee 1983, a newly remixed live album capturing a pivotal moment just as his career was taking off. The recording captures Jones during the period when he was performing as a one-man band, programming sequences between songs and interacting closely with audiences as his music began climbing the charts.
“It was 1983, just before I did my first sort of big Top of the Pops show,” Jones recalled. “It was like time travel… remembering how it all started off.”
What makes the album especially fascinating is that many of the songs appear in their raw, early forms before being fully developed in the studio. “The songs had not been recorded yet, so they were in their raw state… before we actually recorded the album,” Jones explained. For fans, the album offers a rare glimpse into the creative spark that ignited Jones’ rise during the early days of synth-driven pop music.
Despite the long career and numerous accolades, Jones says the excitement of performing live has never faded. “Live performance to me is the most thrilling thing you can do as a musician,” he said. “To interact with an audience, and every night it’s going to be different… I don’t think you can get a bigger thrill really as an artist than playing in front of people who know your work and know the songs and are singing along with you.”
That connection with audiences has been a constant throughout Jones’ career, beginning with those early one-man shows where he programmed sequences onstage and fans learned to recognize songs before they started. “The audience would recognize what song was coming up by the programming I was doing,” he recalled with a laugh. Today, while Jones performs with a full band and modern technology, that same spirit of musical interaction remains central to his concerts.
For the Knoxville show, Jones is focused on delivering a concise but powerful set designed to connect with both longtime fans and Rod Stewart’s audience. “I want to play them stuff that they recognize,” he said. That approach makes the April 15 performance an appealing opportunity for music lovers across generations – fans who remember Jones’ chart dominance in the 1980s as well as those discovering his music for the first time.
Jones is also excited to watch Stewart perform each night. “I watched his show at Glastonbury last year,” he said. “He covers the whole career… all the hits.”
And while fans shouldn’t expect an official collaboration just yet, Jones hinted that the two musicians might find time for some informal musical moments backstage. “I’m hoping that backstage, there’s going to be a piano somewhere and we can do some jamming,” he said.
More than 40 years after his first breakthrough, Jones continues to embrace both the past and the future of his music. Whether revisiting archival recordings or stepping onto arena stages with rock royalty, the British hitmaker remains driven by the same passion that launched his career. When he arrives in Knoxville, audiences will get to experience that energy firsthand – one synth-pop classic at a time. For fans of great songwriting, iconic 1980s sounds, and timeless live performance, it promises to be a memorable night.
The full interview with Howard Jones is available at Boomerocity.com, its YouTube channel, and on all podcast platforms.