Matchbox Twenty & Counting Crows Are Going On Tour

So many aspects of the '90s music scene have been the subject of the modern nostalgia lens: riot grrrl music acts like Sleater-Kinney, Nirvana, rave, and the fashion and art those musicians and genres inspired. But certain bands remain more resistant to becoming critically-acclaimed, which is why Matchbox Twenty and Counting Crows' 2017 tour is for real '90s enthusiasts — not that person you see on the bus who has distilled the aesthetic of an entire decade into a yellow smiley face iPhone case.

You guys, these bands may never be deemed cool and typically '90s, but these were the bands that dominated the radio during that decade. Counting Crows released a song about being a musician dreaming of making it big called "Mr Jones" and, in a great case of art imitating life, MTV picked up the video for the song. Suddenly, the band was everywhere. Heck, their album August and Everything After went on to sell 7.1 million copies, which, to put in perspective, is the same amount that *NSYNC's first album sold.

So the news that they're going on their A Brief History of Everything Tour in July is particularly welcome if you genuinely do miss that decade. Of course, the two bands toured together in summer 2016, too, but they clearly enjoy hanging out.

The Matchbox Twenty frontman Rob Thomas said of the 2017 tour “nothing feels like home as much as playing these songs with these guys and it never will.” Counting Crows’ Adam Duritz added in a statement: “To be honest, we took a vote after last year and decided to spend every summer with Rob from now on. Can. Not. Wait.”

Given the fact that neither band has a particularly recent release — Counting Crows' last album, Somewhere Under Wonderland was in 2014, while Matchbox Twenty's last album, North, came out in 2012 — presumably this means that most wonderful of things. Namely, that both bands are going to spend a fair chunk of the concert belting out the hits you'd sing along to in your car to, rather than encouraging us to listen to their new music. And don't get me wrong. Both of the records above are decent, but they're not what you've got on loop when you're feeling nostalgic. So I'm crossing my fingers that we'll get "Colorblind," "Round Here" and "Catapult" from Counting Crows.

And when it comes to Matchbox Twenty's back catalogue, I'm looking forward to the chill college rock stylings of "Push" and "3AM."

If you want to snap up your tickets immediately (and honestly, if you're genuinely committed to that trendiest of decades, why not?), I'd suggest you check out the A Brief History of Everything tour dates and secure tickets here. See you in the front row.