They’ve been hangin’ tough for three decades — and they don’t plan on stopping now.
The New Kids on the Block celebrated the 30th anniversary of their 1988 breakout album Hangin’ Tough on Sunday night with a special performance at the Apollo Theater in Harlem — and with a new tour announcement that will have the band joining forces with other pop music icons.
The MixTape Tour will see NKOTB’s Donnie Wahlberg, Jordan Knight, Jonathan Knight, Joey McIntyre and Danny Wood hitting the road in 2019 with ’80s music stars Tiffany and Debbie Gibson and hip hop acts Salt-N-Pepa and Naughty By Nature.
“We’re creating a mixtape on tour every night in every city,” Wahlberg said during an appearance on TODAY Monday morning. “It’s going to be fun, happiness, emotions, tears, joy, love, most of all.” The band has previously toured with the Backstreet Boys, Boyz II Men, 98 Degrees, TLC, Nelly and Paula Abdul.
As part of the anniversary, the band also debuted “80’s Baby”, a new song and throwback video featuring all five acts on the tour, to the sold-out Apollo audience on Sunday — marking the first time NKOTB has performed at the legendary venue since appearing on Apollo’s famous amateur night to sing “Please Don’t Go, Girl” 30 years ago.
“It’s all ’80s, taking you back to the time that you love,” Salt-N-Pepa’s Cheryl James said of the new song.
“We’re celebrating our 30th anniversary of Hangin’ Tough, our 30th appearance at the Apollo and the 30th anniversary of the day we all fell in love with all you amazing fans,” said Wahlberg, who teared up as he spoke to the packed Apollo crowd.
The band confirmed Hangin’ Tough will also get a special anniversary re-issue in early 2019 with new, unreleased music. The album, which included hits “You Got It (The Right Stuff),” and “I’ll Be Loving You (Forever)” — the group’s first No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 — was the second album released by the group in 1988.
Kicking off May 2nd in Cincinnati, the MixTape tour will stop in 53 cities and end in Hollywood, Fla. on July 14th. Tickets go on sale to the general public starting Friday, Oct. 12 at Ticketmaster.com.
See the full list of Mixtape tour dates below:
Thursday, May 2, 2019 — Cincinnati, Ohio — U.S. Bank Arena
Saturday, May 4, 2019 — Cleveland, Ohio — Quicken Loans Arena
Sunday, May 5, 2019 — Indianapolis, Ind. — Bankers Life Fieldhouse
Tuesday, May 7, 2019 — Kansas City, Mo. — Sprint Center
Wednesday, May 8, 2019 — St. Louis, Mo. — Enterprise Center
Thursday, May 9, 2019 — Nashville, Tenn. — Bridgestone Arena
Friday, May 10, 2019 — Memphis, Tenn. — FedEx Forum
Saturday, May 11, 2019 — New Orleans, La. — Smoothie King Center
Monday, May 13, 2019 — Corpus Christi, Texas — American Bank Center
Wednesday, May 15, 2019 — Houston, Texas —Toyota Center
Thursday, May 16, 2019 — San Antonio, Texas — AT&T Center
Friday, May 17, 2019 — Dallas, Texas — American Airlines Center
Saturday, May 18, 2019 — Oklahoma City, Okla. — Chesapeake Energy Arena
Tuesday, May 21, 2019 — El Paso, Texas — UTEP Don Haskins Center
Wednesday, May 22, 2019 — Phoenix, Ariz. —Talking Stick Resort Arena
Thursday, May 23, 2019 — San Diego, Calif. — Viejas Arena
Friday, May 24, 2019 — Anaheim, Calif. — Honda Center
Saturday, May 25, 2019 — Las Vegas, Nev. — Mandalay Bay Events Center
Sunday, May 26, 2019 — Los Angeles, Calif. — Hollywood Bowl
Tuesday, May 28, 2019 — Bakersfield, Calif. — Rabobank Arena
Wednesday, May 29, 2019 — San Jose, Calif. — SAP Center
Thursday, May 30, 2019 — Sacramento, Calif. — Golden 1 Center
Saturday, June 1, 2019 — Tacoma, Wash. —Tacoma Dome
Sunday, June 2, 2019 — Portland, Ore. — Moda Center
Tuesday, June 4, 2019 — Boise, Idaho — Taco Bell Arena
Thursday, June 6, 2019 — Salt Lake City, Utah — Vivint Smart Home Arena
Friday, June 7, 2019 — Denver, Colo. — Pepsi Center
Saturday, June 8, 2019 — Lincoln, Neb. — Pinnacle Bank Arena
Sunday, June 9, 2019 — Des Moines, Iowa — Wells Fargo Arena
Tuesday, June 11, 2019 — St. Paul, Minn. — Xcel Energy Center
Wednesday, June 12, 2019 — Milwaukee, Wis. — Fiserv Forum
Thursday, June 13, 2019 — Grand Rapids, Mich. — Van Andel Arena
Friday, June 14, 2019 — Rosemont, Ill. — Allstate Arena
Tuesday, June 18, 2019 — Detroit, Mich. — Little Caesars Arena
Wednesday, June 19, 2019 — Toronto, ON — Scotiabank Arena
Friday, June 21, 2019 — Buffalo, N.Y. — KeyBank Center
Saturday, June 22, 2019 — Columbus, Ohio — Schottenstein Center
Sunday, June 23, 2019 — Pittsburgh, Pa. — PPG Paints Arena
Tuesday, June 25, 2019 — Washington, D.C. — Capital One Arena
Thursday, June 27, 2019 — Philadelphia, Pa. — Wells Fargo Center
Friday, June 28, 2019 — Boston, Mass. — TD Garden
Sunday, June 30, 2019 — Uniondale, N.Y. — NYCB, Home of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Tuesday, July 2, 2019 — Newark, N.J. — Prudential Center
Wednesday, July 3, 2019 — Uncasville, Conn. — Mohegan Sun Arena
Friday, July 5, 2019 — Atlantic City, N.J. — Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa
Saturday, July 6, 2019 — Hershey, Pa. — Hersheypark Stadium
Sunday, July 7, 2019 — Raleigh, N.C. — PNC Arena
Tuesday, July 9, 2019 — Charlotte, N.C. — Spectrum Center
Wednesday, July 10, 2019 — Greenville, S.C. — Bon Secours Wellness Arena
Thursday, July 11, 2019 — Atlanta, Ga. — State Farm Arena (Philips)
Friday, July 12, 2019 — Jacksonville, Fla. — Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena
Saturday, July 13, 2019 — Orlando, Fla. — Amway Center
Sunday, July 14, 2019 — Hollywood, Fla. — Hard Rock Event Center
