Paul Simon to finish touring career in NY

NEW YORK: Folk rock legend Paul Simon said Monday he plans to close out his touring career with a last series of concerts in his hometown of New York.

The 76-year- old former half of Simon and Garfunkel had last month announced a farewell tour that will take him across North America and Europe, although New York was notably absent from his initial itinerary.

Revealing new dates, Simon said he will play on Sept 15 in nearby Newark, New Jersey, where he was born and spent his first few years, before concerts on Sept 20 and 21 in New York’s Madison Square Garden.

He also said he plans a final concert in New York on Sept 22, although he did not immediately specify the location.

“I’ve often wondered what it would feel like to reach the point where I’d consider bringing my performing career to a natural end,” he said in a statement.

“Now I know: it feels a little unsettling, a touch exhilarating and something of a relief.”

Simon said he has grown tired of touring after 50 years as a performer but will still consider one- off shows in the future, especially benefits for causes dear to him such as the environment.

Simon made his name as a conscience of the 1960s generation with peaceful folkrock songs such as “Bridge over Troubled Water” and “Mrs. Robinson”.

He later became one of the pioneers of world music fusion, bringing in South African musicians for his Grammywinning 1986 album “Graceland”. — AFP