Critic's Pick — Beat: Belew/Vai/Levin/Bozzio Performing the Music of King Crimson

In 2024, guitarist-vocalist Adrian Belew and bassist/Chapman Stick player Tony Levin decided to revisit the three landmark albums they made as members of King Crimson in the 1980s — 1981’s Discipline, 1982’s Beat and 1984’s Three of a Perfect Pair. Enlisting Steve Vai to play Robert Fripp’s guitar parts and Tool’s Danny Carey to fill Bill Bruford’s drum chair, they embarked on a tour of North America as Beat, a name suggested by Fripp himself. After their first tour of North America, a 65-date run that included a stop at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, the group considered Beat’s future. “We were all so excited by playing together, and the reception was so great that we said, ‘Well, let’s take this around the world,’” Belew tells the Scene. Tours of South America, Japan and Europe followed, and now Beat is in the midst of a 40-date North American tour that lands at the Opry House Nov. 18. On what is probably their final tour, legendary rock drummer Terry Bozzio has taken over for Carey, who was not available. “It’s just a strange tapestry,” Belew says, reflecting on the three albums. “It’s very, very modern and very timeless — that’s the thing about this. It’s amazing to me. We’re talking about music that was made in 1981.”

7:30 p.m. at the Grand Ole Opry House

600 Opry Mills Drive