With Matchbox Twenty officially back after 11 years with a new single, "Wild Dogs (Running in a Slow Dream)," a new album on the way, and a new tour, Christine and Salt zoomed with frontman Rob Thomas, who revealed the band's new single is actually about being an outsider kid in high school.
LISTEN NOW: Rob Thomas with Christine and Salt
"Wild Dogs is about when I was young in high school and being a weird kid and finding other weird kids and feeling like I had found my family," Thomas explains. What the new record isn't about — even though the band's 2020 tour was sidelined due to COVID-19 — is the pandemic.
"The one thing that we refused to do -- is we didn't want to make a pandemic record... we didn't want to make a record that had any cynicism, or fear and doubt. We just wanted to make a record that had a lot of positivity and joy in it," Rob admits of Matchbox Twenty's forthcoming record Where the Light Goes. "And so that was our main focus... trying to find the joy in the moments and write about those."
Over the years, Rob has rocked some seriously iconic hairstyles. It's got its own name — The Rob Thomas, in the same way there's The Clooney and The Rachael! Even Rob's wife, Mari, sees how his hair still influences artists today, he shared: "Last year Justin Bieber came out and my wife was like, 'look he's got Rob Thomas hair!'"
In honor of International Women's Day, Rob tells us he has always been surrounded by strong women, having been raised by his sister and mother.
When his beloved mom passed away, Rob tells Christine and Salt his mother-in-law lovingly filled that role. "I've only known really strong women," says Rob. "My wife is a really strong Latina woman, her mother -- who has become my mother ever since my mother passed away -- she's my mom and she's one of my best friends... but she's also my partner-in-crime and drinks too much wine with me!"
Matchbox Twenty's new single, "Wild Dogs (Running in a Slow Dream)," is available now, while the new album, Where the Light Goes, is set to drop on May 26, and the band's 50+ date Slow Dream Tour kicks off on May 16. Take a look at the full list of dates below. Tickets are available now via Live Nation.
Matchbox Twenty - Slow Dream Tour dates:
5/16 | Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena*
5/18 | Auburn, WA @ White River Amphitheatre*
5/19 | Ridgefield, WA @ Sunlight Supply Amphitheater*
5/21 | Concord, CA @ Concord Pavilion *
5/ 22 | Hollywood, CA @ Hollywood Bowl*
5/ 24 | Fresno, CA @ Save Mart Center*
5/ 25 | Bakersfield, CA @ Mechanics Bank Arena*
5/27 | Las Vegas, NV @ The Chelsea at the Cosmopolitan*
5/28 | Irvine, CA @ FivePoint Amphitheatre*
5/30 | San Diego, CA @ Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre*
5/ 31 | Phoenix, AZ @ Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre*
6/2 | Sparks, NV @ Nugget Event Center*#
6/ 3 | West Valley City, UT @ USANA Amphitheatre*
6/4 | Boise, ID @Ford Idaho Center Amphitheater*
6/ 6 | Denver, CO @ Ball Arena*
6/8 | Omaha, NE @ CHI Health Center Omaha*
6/9 | Sioux Falls, SD @ Denny Sanford Premier Center*
6/10 | Welch, MN @ Treasure Island*#
6/13 | Cuyahoga Falls, OH @ Blossom Music Center*
6/14 | Clarkston, MI @ Pine Knob Music Center*
6/ 16 | Cincinnati, OH @ Riverbend Music Center*
6/17 | Moline, IL @ Vibrant Arena at The Mark*
6/ 18 | Kansas City, MO @ Starlight Theatre*
6/ 20 | St. Louis, MO @Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre*
6/ 21 | Oklahoma City, OK @ The Zoo*#
6/ 23 | Rogers, AR @ Walmart AMP*
6/ 27 | Birmingham, AL @ Oak Mountain Amphitheatre^
6/29 | Dallas, TX @ Dos Equis Pavilion^
6/ 30 | Houston, TX @The CWM Pavilion presented by Huntsman^
7/2 | Atlanta, GA @ Lakewood Amphitheatre^
7/3 | Nashville, TN @Bridgestone Arena^
7/ 5 | Jacksonville, FL @Daily's Place^
7/7 | West Palm Beach, FL @ iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre^
7/ 8 | Tampa, FL @ MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amp. at the FL State Fairground^
7/11 | Charlotte, NC @ PNC Music Pavilion^
7/ 12 | Raleigh, NC @ Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek^
7/14 | Burgettstown, PA @ The Pavilion at Star Lake^
7/15 | Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center^
7/16 | Camden, NJ @ Freedom Mortgage Pavilion^
7/18 | Wantagh, NY @ Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater^
7/19 | Bethlehem, PA @ The Wind Creek Event Center^
7/21 | Gilford, NH @Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion^
7/22 | Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun Arena^
7/23 | Mansfield, MA @ Xfinity Center^
7/26 | Virginia Beach, VA @ Veterans United Home Loans Amp.^
7/27 | Bristow, VA @ Jiffy Lube Live^
7/29 | Syracuse, NY @ St. Joseph's Health Amphitheater at Lakeview^
7/30 | Saratoga Springs, NY @ Saratoga Performing Arts Center^
8/1 | Darien Center, NY @ Darien Lake Amphitheater^
8/ 2 | Toronto, ON @ Budweiser Stage^
8/ 4 | Toledo, OH @ Toledo Zoo Amphitheater^
8/ 5 | Noblesville, IN @ Ruoff Music Center^
8/ 6 | Tinley Park, IL @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre^
* Matt Nathanson supporting
^ Ben Rector supporting
~ Hudson Thames supporting
# Non-Live Nation show
WATCH NOW: Rob Thomas with Christine and Salt
Check out Christine and Salt's full interview with Rob Thomas above, where he also talks about Amazon Studio's hot new show Daisy Jones and The Six, along with a sweet nod to the success of his son's band.
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