Cyndi Lauper Says She Is Saying Goodbye To Touring, But Not To Music
Cyndi Lauper isn’t slowing down just yet. The 71-year-old music icon has announced she’s adding more dates to her Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Farewell Tour, giving fans across North America one last chance to see her live. The new leg runs from July 15 to August 20 and will feature performances in cities she didn’t visit in the first round.
The tour has already taken her across the U.S., Canada, and Europe, marking her first time headlining major arenas since the True Colors tour in the ‘80s. This time, many of the shows will be in outdoor amphitheaters, making for magical nights under the stars with fans singing along to hits like Girls Just Want to Have Fun, Time After Time, and more.
Reflecting on the tour, Cyndi said it’s been a deeply personal experience. “I haven’t done this since 1986, so I figured, ‘You know what? If I’m going out, I’m going out big…’ I want to be proud of what I’m doing, and I am,” she shared.
According to the singer, the show itself is more than just music — it’s performance art, filled with visuals that bring her journey to life. But I think that being able to do this tour and bring people together to celebrate not who I was, but who I am now and who we all are now, bring us together and make it happy. And mix art with it, right? Make the people laugh, and maybe make them cry a little,” she shared.
The added summer dates will allow her to perform in cities she missed due to scheduling conflicts. “…there’s all these places all over the States, that I never got to say goodbye. It’s the places I mainly didn’t go — except California. I’m doing the Hollywood Bowl, mainly because my sister and her wife like to go to the Hollywood Bowl, sit and have a picnic, and it’s a family thing. Plus, you know I’m superstitious. I stepped on a bee there, so,” she shared.
Joining her on this leg of the tour will be Jake Wesley Rogers and DJ Tracy Young, keeping the energy high with music, dancing, and pure joy. “We’re going to do the whole thing that we always do. Inform, be happy, dance, whatever. And be who you want to be,” she promised.
Cyndi also revealed that the show has taken on a life of its own, evolving into a story about her life, the people she’s met, and the way music has shaped her. “You know, first I had a heart attack before because I thought, “Oh my God, how the hell am I going to be doing this? It’s a long show,” she admitted, adding, “But once you’re in it, it don’t feel long. It just goes by. And then once I did it, and I saw that I could do it, the show started to become this narrative of my actual life.”
As for what’s next after the tour, Cyndi won’t be taking a break. She’s diving right into the Broadway adaptation of Working Girl, a project she’s been developing for over a decade. “The weird thing about the Broadway thing is it takes a long time. So, it’s not like I’m not going to be working, I’m just not going to be touring. Touring is a whole different animal,” she explained.
New music isn’t off the table either, as she revealed that once the Broadway adaptation of Working Girl is done, she might write again. She’s especially excited about the musical, which she’s working on with Rob Hyman (who co-wrote Time After Time) and Cheryl James from Salt-N-Pepa.
