(3/8/02, 10 a.m. ET) – The funkmaster Rick James is on the road, but don’t put off getting tickets–this is his farewell tour. James and his Stone City Band have played a handful of dates already, including one at the recently concluded Winter Olympics (news - web sites) in Salt Lake City, and they’ve got shows at B.B. King’s Blues Club in New York City tonight and tomorrow (March 8 and 9).Why this is a farewell tour? “I’m basically doing it for a couple of reasons,” he said. “One is, it’s an ego thing, to prove I can still do it. And the other side of it is to give people that didn’t get a chance to see a great band, the Stone City Band, and hear some really good music, and kind of take people back to a time that was simpler.”

More dates are being added to the itinerary that follows.

Rick James & the Stone City Band tour dates (subject to change):

March 8,9 - New York, NY - B.B. King’s Blues Club

May 1 - West Palm Beach, FL - SunFest

May 3 - Mashantucket, CT - Foxwoods Casino

May 4 - Atlantic City, NJ - Trump Marina

May 5 - Atlanta, GA - Music Midtown Festival

June 7 - Gulfport, MS - Grand Casino Gulfport

June 9 - Atlanta, GA - Chastain Park Amphitheatre