Rancho Santa Fe resident Steve Vai is bringing a very un-San Diego kind of noise downtown this fall: BEAT, the King Crimson offshoot featuring the guitar virtuoso, will play San Diego Civic Theatre on Sunday, Oct. 11. The concert is part of a 40-city North American run revisiting the band’s knotty 1980s catalog, with a major drum-seat switch for the new tour.
The San Diego booking follows BEAT’s two sold-out Humphreys Concerts by the Bay appearances in 2024. According to The San Diego Union-Tribune, local tickets are expected to range from $69 to $125, while VIP packages run considerably higher.
BEAT’s official lineup now features Vai alongside former King Crimson guitarist and singer Adrian Belew, former King Crimson bassist and Chapman Stick player Tony Levin, and Terry Bozzio, the former Frank Zappa drummer. The band’s official lineup page says Bozzio is stepping in for Tool drummer Danny Carey on the fall 2026 North American tour.
BEAT was formed to revisit and expand the music from King Crimson’s Discipline, Beat, and Three Of A Perfect Pair. In an interview with Louder, Vai described the project as a serious challenge because he was taking on parts originally played by Robert Fripp, including the intricate guitar work in “Frame By Frame.” This is not exactly a three-chord-and-a-cloud-of-dust tour.
BEAT Opens Its Tour With Three California Dates
The group will begin the North American run with three California shows: Santa Cruz on Oct. 9, Napa on Oct. 10, and San Diego on Oct. 11. The official tour calendar lists the Napa concert at Blue Note Napa Summer Sessions at Meritage Resort before the band heads to Las Vegas and Phoenix.
After the opening California stretch, BEAT will make its way through major markets including Denver, Chicago, Toronto, Boston, Washington, Nashville, Atlanta, Houston, Austin, Dallas, Inglewood, and Riverside. The tour is scheduled to conclude with Southern California shows at YouTube Theater on Dec. 2 and Riverside Municipal Auditorium on Dec. 3.
San Diego Ticket Presales Start Thursday
The San Diego Union-Tribune lists artist and promoter presale information for Thursday, including the password “gv2026,” while the San Diego Theatres presale uses “sdbeat.” VIP packages are listed at roughly $265.50 to $813, depending on the package and seating.
Fans should purchase through the venue or Ticketmaster rather than unofficial resale pages. San Diego Theatres says its website and Ticketmaster are the only authorized ticket sellers for events at the Civic Theatre and Balboa Theatre.
