Udo Dirkschneider to Embark on 2017 Tour Celebrating Accept

Udo Dirkschneider is best known as the former singer for German traditional metal purists Accept. In total, he recorded 10 albums with the icons across three separate tenures and is now saying goodbye to the material he established his legacy under. At the turn of the year, the singer will embark on a solo tour dubbed "Back to the Roots - Farewell to Accept" where he will perform material from the legendary act one last time.

Venturing out on his own under the U.D.O. moniker in 1987, Dirkschneider has recorded 15 albums, but his Accept legacy has always been joined at the hip. Looking to sever the tie at least in the live setting, the frontman will kick off the trek on Jan. 5 of 2017 in New York City, heading North into Canada before dropping back down to the Midwest, out to the West Coast and circling back East, closing things out one month later in Philadelphia on Feb. 4.

When speaking on the 1 on 1 With Mitch LaFon podcast last year, Dirkschneider spoke about his readiness to retire the Accept material and focus solely on his solo records live. "A lot of people ask me, 'Why do you do this?' And I said… Always people are asking, 'Oh, can you play this Accept song and this Accept song and this Accept song?' I mean, I have 15 U.D.O. albums out, and, for me now, U.D.O. is U.D.O.," he began. "Of course, I know that the people like to hear Accept songs with my voice, but I wanna close something — I wanna close, like a book, and say, 'Okay, that's it. I read it.' Sometimes you have to come to an end with something. I wanna close up everything with Accept. And this will be the last time."

Dirkschneider was a member of Accept between 1976 through 1987, rejoined in 1992 when the band was reactivated and departed in 1997 when they dissolved, returning again in 2005 for a one year reunion. He was replaced by Mark Tornillo when they again reformed in 2009, going on to record three albums with Accept so far.

Udo Dirkschneider 2017 Tour Dates

1/05 - New York City, N.Y. @ Stage 48
1/06 - Clifton Park, N.Y. @ Upstate Concert Hall
1/07 - Quebec City, Quebec @ Salle Multi
1/08 - Montreal, Quebec @ Foufounes Électriques
1/10 - Toronto, Ontario @ MOD Club
1/11 - Cleveland, Ohio @ Agora Ballroom
1/12 - Westland, Mich. @ Token Lounge
1/13 - Chicago, Ill. @ Concorde Music Hall
1/14 - St Paul, Minn. @ Amsterdam
1/16 - Denver, Colo. @ Bluebird Theater
1/18 - Seattle, Wash. @ El Corazon
1/19 - Vancouver, British Columbia @ Rickshaw Theater
1/21 - San Francisco, Calif. @ Slim's
1/22 - Anaheim, Calif. @ City National Grove
1/23 - West Hollywood, Calif. @ Whisky a Go Go
1/24 - Las Vegas, Nev. @ Brooklyn Bowl
1/26 - Dallas, Texas @ Trees
1/27 - San Antonio, Texas @ Alamo Music Hall
1/28 - Houston, Texas @ Scout Bar
1/30 - Tampa, Fla. @ Orpheum
1/31 - Atlanta, Ga. @ Variety Playhouse
2/02 - Baltimore, Md. @ Soundstage
2/03 - Sayreville, N.J. @ Starland Ballroom
2/04 - Philadelphia, Pa. @ The Trocadero