Ted Nugent coming to Alabama on ‘Adios MOFO ‘23: The Final Tour’: How to get tickets
Ted Nugent says he’s retiring from the road, so if you want to see him perform live in Alabama, here’s your chance.
The hard rock veteran and political provocateur, 74, is set to play on July 18 at Avondale Brewing Co. in Birmingham. The 7 p.m. show is part of Nugent’s new concert trek, called “Adios MOFO ‘23: The Final Tour.” The tour starts July 12 and runs through Aug. 20, according to Nugent’s website. Right now, the Birmingham show is his only stop in Alabama.
Tickets are $35 and $65 via Ticketmaster, plus service charges, on sale Friday, May 5, at 10 a.m. CT. Pre-sales start at 10 a.m. CT on Tuesday, May 2, and end at 10 p.m. CT on Thursday, May 4, according to the Ticketmaster website. The show is standing room, general admission. (No chairs, no blankets and no pets will be allowed on site.)
Nugent announced his farewell tour in an April 13 Instagram video, but reassured fans that he’ll continue to make music.
“This is my last tour,” Nugent said in the video. “Now I’ll always play music; I’ve got new records I’m going to make. I can’t wait to unleash some of these new songs. I’ve got a new instrumental called ‘Butterfingers’ that is just greasy. You can’t eat barbecue ever again adequately without the song ‘Butterfingers’ playing loud next to your brisket. The point being is thank you, everybody, for an incredible musical dream. The musical dream will continue, but I’m not going on tour anymore, because hotels are jail. …The logistics are just too complicated when you have dogs and grandkids and kids and so many other things.”
In the video, Nugent promised “the greatest, most intense, tightest, most dynamic outrageously fun tour of my life.” He also said, “A good man has to know his limitations. I’m physically fit. I can’t jump off amps anymore with my fake legs. I’m not going to be swinging from ropes, but maybe I should get a flaming arrow.”
The guitarist and singer — a Michigan native also known as “Uncle Ted,” “The Nuge” and “the Motor City Madman” — is no stranger to Alabama, and has performed here several times over the years.
Nugent performed at Birmingham’s Iron City in 2017, for example, and has appeared at venues such as Oak Mountain Amphitheatre in Pelham. During his ‘70s heyday, Nugent headlined at least three times at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex, according to data provided by the venue. Most recently, he performed in August 2022 at Mars Music Hall in Huntsville.
Nugent started his career as the lead guitarist of the Amboy Dukes in the 1960s. He came to fame in the 1970s as a high-decibel solo artist, with albums such as “Ted Nugent,” “Free-For-All” and the multi-platinum “Cat Scratch Fever.”
During the early 1990s, Nugent was a mainstay of the rock supergroup Damn Yankees, performing alongside Alabama native Tommy Shaw, the singer-guitarist for Styx; bassist Jack Blades of Night Ranger; and drummer Michael Cartellone, who’d later secure a spot with Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Nugent revved up his solo career in the mid-’90s and has continued to record and tour ever since. Over the years, he’s also appeared on reality TV shows such as “Spirit of the Wild,” “Surviving Nugent” and “Runnin’ Wild … From Ted Nugent.”
Nugent, a longtime outdoorsman, is an outspoken advocate for hunting and gun ownership rights and an equally ardent opponent of animal rights. This stance has put him at odds with animal-rights groups, but Nugent appears to relish the conflict, bluntly sharing his views via interviews on TV and radio shows, and on social media. He’s also written commentary pieces for newspapers and magazines.
Nugent’s also known as a staunch conservative and supporter of former President Donald Trump — one of the few music celebrities to openly support Trump during his campaign and afterward.
Nugent has expressed strong views about COVID, as well. After dismissing the virus and declining to take the vaccine, the rocker said he tested positive for COVID in 2021. (“I thought I was dying,” Nugent said.)
In the video announcing his 2023 farewell tour, Nugent proclaimed himself a “political firestorm” and added that “my music is radical; my attitude is radical, my middle finger is radical; my guitar tone is radical.”
He shares his views with about 3.7 million followers on Facebook, 660,000 followers on Twitter and 474,000 followers on Instagram.
(See Nugent perform “Stranglehold” during his Huntsville show in the video below. His introduction to the song includes vulgar language.)