Beach Boys Hint at Possible 60th Anniversary Reunion Tour

The surviving members of the Beach Boys have been touring in two competing camps since the bitter conclusion of their 50th-anniversary tour in 2012, but Mike Love told Rolling Stone he is open to the idea of another reunion — this time for the 60th anniversary. “I’m not against anything like that,” he said. “Anything that’s creative and done for positive reasons is good with me. We will continue thinking about stuff like that and see what we can do.”

Next year would mark the 60th anniversary of the formation of the group. They debuted with “Surfin’” in December 1961 and released their first album, Surfin’ Safari, in October 1962.

The idea of a 60th anniversary tour first surfaced in March, when Al Jardine told Chicago Concert Reviews that another reunion tour was a strong possibility. “Oh, it will happen,” he said. We’ll probably do about 20 or 30 [shows] together next year.”

Responding to Jardine’s comment, Love told Rolling Stone, “He and I have spoken, but not about that specifically. Al’s a really good singer, but he’s been traveling and performing with Brian Wilson, [and] Brian has some serious health issues. We are in a very fortunate and blessed position to be able to do music for a lifetime. It’s pretty amazing. I can remember when my cousin Brian was a young boy. He sang ‘Danny Boy’ sitting on my Grandma Wilson’s lap. So that’s how far back we go musically.”

Brian Wilson has yet to comment publicly on the possibility of another reunion. “No one has spoken to Brian about a 60th Anniversary tour,” Wilson’s manager, Jean Sievers, told Rolling Stone. 

Wilson postponed his tour last summer due to mental health issues, but was soon back on the road and played solo shows as recently as February of this year. An upcoming film, Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road chronicles the last 20 years of Wilson, featuring the songwriter and Rolling Stone editor Jason Fine driving around Los Angeles. It also includes new footage of Wilson in the studio with his band and My Morning Jacket’s Jim James.

The 50th anniversary tour didn’t end well in 2012, after Love unexpectedly announced new tour dates for the fall that weren’t part of the reunion. “As we move on, Bruce and I look forward to performing live for Beach Boys fans everywhere,” Love said.

“As far as I know, I can’t be fired — that wouldn’t be cool,” Wilson told the Los Angeles Times. “The negativity surrounding all the comments bummed me out. What’s confusing is that by Mike not wanting or letting Al, David [Marks] and me tour with the band, it sort of feels like we’re being fired.”

Although Wilson and Love haven’t performed together since the 2012 tour, they met with the other remaining band members for a SiriusXM Q&A session at Capitol Records in Los Angeles in 2018. “Brian and I connect on a pretty primordial level,” Love said after the event. “He’s got his own band. We’ve got our own. We’re usually on our own trajectories. It’s very nice to get together.”