MICKY DOLENZ 60 YEARS OF THE MONKEES TOUR 2026

 Micky Dolenz has embarked on a 2026 tour celebrating the 60^th anniversary of The Monkees. The show incorporates the group’s hits between 1966 to 1968 from the singles, the first six group albums and beyond.

I caught the tour on April 12^th at the beautiful Lansdowne Theatre in Lansdowne, PA. Accompanying Micky on the tour are his sister Coco Dolenz, guitarist and musical director Wayne Avers, bassist John Billings, Rich Dart on drums, Emeen Zarookian on guitar and Alex Jules on keyboards.

The band opened by performing The Monkees Theme after which Micky made his entrance and led them into the Monkees’ first hit ‘Last Train To Clarksville’. The evening allowed the fans to follow Micky on the musical and visual history of the Monkees. The projection screen behind the band featured scenes from the Monkees television series, the movie ‘Head’, the 1969 TV special ‘33 & 1/3^rd Revolution Per Monkee’, the 1986 MTV Reunion period and the 2016 ‘Good Times!’ album which in 2026 marks its 10^th anniversary.

Micky and the band kept the evening light and fun by performing all the hits, with Dolenz telling stories highlighting the Monkees career. Micky allowed the other band members to shine with some taking the lead on songs previously performed by the late Davy Jones, Peter Tork and Michael Nesmith. Drummer Rich Dart performed a highly energetic version of ‘Your Auntie Grizelda’ with Micky remarking how much Dart resembled a younger Peter Tork. Rich also tackled ‘Peter’s Percival Pet Pig Porky’ before the band broke into ‘Pleasant Valley Sunday’. Alex Jules took the vocals on ‘Tapioca Tundra’ and ‘Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow)’ and Emeem Zarookian sang ‘You Just May Be The One’ and ‘Valleri’. Coco Dolenz performed ‘Different Drum’ written by Michael Nesmith which became Linda Ronstadt’s first hit. Coco also traded vocals with Micky on ‘Me & Magdalena’ from the ‘Good Times’ album.

While not overtly political as a group, the Monkees didn’t shy away from performing and recording songs with political messages. Songs like ‘Zor and Zam’, ‘Mommy & Daddy’ and the previously unreleased ‘War Games’ broached more serious themes. The performance of ‘Shades of Gray’ with Micky and his sister Coco sharing vocals touched on the uncertainties of the late 1960’s-early 70’s, making the song very topical for today’s times.

It was a great evening of memories and music with Micky and the band taking the audience down a Monkees memory lane. The tour will be going on till November 13^th, with a date marked down for the United Theater in Los Angeles, CA on September 12^th, the 60^th anniversary of the premiere of the Monkees TV series.

As part of the 60^th anniversary of The Monkees, this tour with Micky Dolenz and company is one that fans should not miss!

Official Micky Dolenz Website: https://mickydolenz.com/home

Fred Velez, 2026.

Fred Velez is the author of the books ‘A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You: The Monkees From A Fan’s Perspective’ and ‘A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You 2: The Monkees From International Fan Perspectives’.