The Pretenders Announce a New Headlining Tour To End 2023

The Pretenders Will Headline A New Tour Starting August 16th...

Is there anything in this world that is better than live music? Well, if you think there is something better let’s just pretend for a second.

One of my all-time favorites, Chrissie Hynde, and the Pretenders are set to hit the road again this late summer and fall on their own headlining tour across the country. The band is set to make a few stops in some smaller venues after their current tour in support of Guns N’ Roses, which is, of course, a full-blown stadium tour.

If you remember from a post I wrote a few months back, I am stoked for the Guns N’ Roses show I am going to on August 11th at Hersheypark Stadium and a lot of that is because I will get to see the Pretenders as a supporting act.

Well, now my late summer concerts get twice as good because I will have a chance to swing up to Asbury Park, NJ, on August 29th and see the Pretenders in a smaller venue, The Stone Pony, as a headliner.

The Pretenders are an all-time great band and one that actually has performed during some legendary shows in Philadelphia. If you remember, they played at the original Live Aid in Philly on July 13th, 1985, which my buddy Larry Magid helped put together, and that alone is iconic on its own.

However, another awesome part about that weekend was the night before when the Pretenders played a surprise gig at the old Chestnut Cabaret on 28th and Chestnut, which closed in 1996. I saw so many great shows at that venue, including Albert Collins, the Replacements, the Hooters, and the Counting Crows, who played their first show as the opener for Cracker.

What I would do to see another show there! But seeing the Pretenders perform live at any venue is always a great time and one I am looking forward to a lot! Maybe I will see a couple of you at one of the shows!

More from Matt Cord...

As many of you know after reading my post about the Stanley Cup from yesterday, I spent the last week on vacation down the Jersey shore.

And from many of my other posts before that, you know I enjoy going for some long bike rides — especially down the shore!

So what could be better than squeezing in a nice bike ride on a week's long vacation? Squeezing in a nice bike ride on a week’s long vacation with a great friend of mine, of course!

I got to go on a great ride with my buddy Casey Boy from The Preston and Steve Show on our sister station, WMMR.

We rode through multiple shore towns as we got in a practice ride in preparation for this Sunday’s Ben To The Shore ride! For those that don’t know, the Ben To The Shore Bike Tour is a charity event that raises funds for Families Behind the Badge Children’s Foundation, which is for the families of fallen first responders and police officers.

It is always a lot of fun and something I look forward to each year!

During our practice route, Casey Boy and I rode about 25.81 miles from Wildwood to Town Bank to Cape May Point to Cape May then all the way back to Wildwood where we started.

It was a great time and has me ready to conquer the 65-mile Ben To The Shore ride! This will actually be my tenth year riding in the event and each year it gets better and better.

If you are interested in donating, visit fbbcf.org or visit the Team WMMR Rock and Rollers page.

I can’t wait for Sunday and hopefully, the weather holds up for the ride! I’m sure there will be a lot of people on the ride for this great cause!

Who do you think will cross the finish line first, me or Casey Boy?

Here's a selfie Casey Boy took on our ride. It is of Casey, Pattyann, and myself. What a great crew.

I took this during our ride. I'm not sure how I kept my balance! Just ahead of my leading the way are Casey and Pattyann.

Like I mentioned in the photo above, there they are leading the way. It's a tight bridge like many down the shore. Luckily, we all managed to make it across.

The first sign you see in Town Bank. Apparently, it is the birthplace of the South Jersey. I wonder what it was like in 1635?

Outside the beautiful Willow Creek Winery. What a cool sign. We definitely needed to check this place out on the ride.

The land the winery was on was beautiful. Look at those flowers! The property was huge.

You know we had to make our way into the winery! Riding on the bricks was not as hard as you would think. It was even cooler on the inside.

You know I had to grab a group picture inside the winery! I am actually wearing a jersey from a previous Ben To The Shore ride! I wonder what this year's will look like?

Just a group of people that love a good bike ride. I know we all can't wait for Sunday's ride. Hopefully, the weather is as nice as it was on this day!

The map of our 25-mile ride. We covered so much ground. It is nuts looking at it in map form!