In the years leading up to the pandemic, one of the hottest trends in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame crowd was to hit the road for one final tour. But once the concert industry came roaring back to life in 2022, some of rock’s biggest names hopped on board and flipped the bird at the notion of retirement.

Back in 2023, I wrote three columns about that very trend and asked a simple question about aging rockers: What are the chances we’ll see them play the Twin Cities again?

Two years later, here’s an update on the future of six aging musical acts and whether or not another show in the metro is in the cards.

Billy Joel

Billy Joel performs at Allegiant Stadium on November 09, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Age: 76.

Last seen: Nov. 10, 2023; U.S. Bank Stadium.

The dirt: Joel hasn’t released an album of pop music since 1993, but the New York native has kept himself busy on the road. In the time since, Joel has played Twin Cities arenas and stadiums 11 times, both on his own and in joint concerts with Elton John and Stevie Nicks. In 2014, he launched a monthly residency at Madison Square Garden that ended last summer after 104 shows.

But in May, the Piano Man shocked fans when he canceled all of his upcoming concerts due to a diagnosis of normal pressure hydrocephalus. It’s a buildup of fluid deep within the brain that can cause vomiting, vision problems, difficulty walking and memory loss or other cognitive impairment. He’s undergoing at least four months of physical therapy as he has said he’s having trouble with his hearing, vision and balance.

Will we see him again: Assuming he does recover, it won’t be surprising if he says farewell to touring, possibly with one final concert in his hometown.

Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band perform at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul on Sunday, March 5, 2023. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

Age: 75.

Last seen: March 5, 2023; Xcel Energy Center.

The dirt: In February 2023, Springsteen hit the road for his first tour with the E Street Band since 2016. The first 130 dates sold more than four million tickets and the outing was named Pollstar’s Rock Tour of the Year for 2024. I gushed about his 2023 show at the X and wrote that the “rollicking, emotionally charged, nearly three-hour concert … was as good, if not better, than any others he’s done here in the 21st century.”

But by the fall of 2023, rumors started flying that the tour would be Springsteen’s last after he postponed the rest of that year’s concerts to recover from peptic ulcer disease. Springsteen rallied, though, and resumed touring last year. In August, he told a Philadelphia crowd: “We’ve been around for 50 f—— years and we ain’t quitting! We ain’t doing no farewell tour b——-! … Farewell to what? A thousand people screaming your name? Get the hell out. I ain’t going anywhere!”

Will we see him again: Springsteen at the E Street Band are currently playing a 16-date European tour, with no other shows planned this year. He could very well launch another full band outing at some point in the future, revive his solo Broadway show or even take that on the road. Not to put too fine of a point on it, but in October, the Boss appeared on “The Graham Norton Show” and said he’ll perform live until he dies: “I am going to keep going until it’s over.”

Aerosmith

BOSTON, MA – September 8: Steven Tyler of Aerosmith pretends to smoke a joint as he performs at Fenway Park on September 8, 2022 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)

Ages: Steven Tyler, 77; Joe Perry, 74; Tom Hamilton, 73; Brad Whitford, 73; Joey Kramer, 74.

Last seen: July 19, 2019; Twin Cities Summer Jam.

The dirt: The American Rolling Stones have weathered plenty in their decades together, from drug addiction to inter-band feuding. Flamboyant frontman Tyler and guitarist Perry have publicly feuded over Tyler’s stint as a judge on “American Idol” and his failed attempt to launch a solo country career with 2016’s “We’re All Somebody from Somewhere.” In 2015, band members began publicly discussing a final tour and a 2017 European outing was billed as their farewell.

In May 2023, the band announced a farewell tour that kicked off that September and included a stop at Xcel Energy Center. But three nights into the tour, the band postponed the rest of the tour to 2024 after Tyler suffered from vocal chord damage. That damage turned out to be more severe than doctors initially realized and the band announced last August they had officially retired from the road.

Will we see them again: No, although Hamilton has told reporters it’s possible the band may record new music together.

The Who

Ages: Roger Daltrey, 81; Pete Townshend, 80.

Last seen: Sept. 6, 2019; Xcel Energy Center.

The dirt: The Who famously embarked on a farewell tour in 1982, but by the end of that decade, they were already back on the road. The sole surviving members have soldiered on in the years since, despite Daltrey’s voice shrinking to a shadow of its former self. As I wrote in a 2019 review: “Daltrey once again struggled throughout the evening with his vocals noticeably diminished from 2016 (when he seemed to be rallying in what he probably believed would be his final tour). At times, he looked pained as he attempted to strangle the lyrics from his throat. Needless to say, he skipped a whole lot of notes, not to mention screams, along the way.”

In May, the Who announced their upcoming North American fall tour would be their final shows in the U.S. and Canada. The news follows an embarrassing move by Daltrey, who announced longtime drummer Zak Starkey (son of Ringo Starr) would not join the tour due to his loud playing style at a Royal Albert Hall gig. Days later, Townshend said it was a miscommunication and that Starkey was still in the group. But then Townshend backtracked and said Starkey was indeed out of the band for good so he could pursue other projects. Starkey responded by confirming he was fired. Imagine that, a drummer was fired by the Who — the Who! — for being too loud. Keith Moon is spinning in his grave.

Will we see them again: There’s no Minnesota stop on the fall tour, so unless they extend it, the answer is no.

Paul Simon

Paul Simon performs onstage during the Brooks Brothers Bicentennial Celebration at Jazz At Lincoln Center on April 25, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Brooks Brothers)

Age: 83.

Last seen: April 20, 22 and 23, 2025; Orpheum Theatre.

The dirt: In 2018, Simon announced his retirement from touring with one final outing, citing time away from his family and the death of longtime guitarist Vincent Nguini as key factors. “I’ve often wondered what it would feel like to reach the point where I’d consider bringing my performing career to a natural end,” Simon said in a news release at the time. “Now I know. It feels a little unsettling, a touch exhilarating and something of a relief.”

But in 2023, Simon released his 15th album, “Seven Palms,” a single piece of continuous music in seven movements that’s intended to be listened to as one long piece. It earned Simon his 28th Grammy nomination.

Despite revealing that he has lost most of his hearing in his left ear, Simon went ahead and unretired this year. According to the news release announcing his 2025 tour, Simon “chose to perform in intimate venues where the acoustics are optimal in consideration of the severe hearing loss that he incurred over the last few years. … Together with the Stanford Initiative to Cure Hearing Loss, and his own production team, Simon redesigned his entire stage set up to make performing viable.”

Will we see him again: His current outing runs through August. It remains to be seen if that will truly be the end of the road for Simon.

Bob Dylan

FILE – In this Jan. 12, 2012, file photo, Bob Dylan performs in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

Age: 84.

Last seen: Oct. 25, 2017; Xcel Energy Center.

The dirt: Dylan clearly loves the road. On June 7, 1988, he started a tour that, for the most part, hasn’t stopped since. Fans and the media have dubbed it the Never Ending Tour, a term Dylan has dismissed several times. Yet he has played roughly 100 shows a year for decades now, stopping only for a few months in 1997 when he was hospitalized with a serious chest infection and then again during the pandemic.

When Dylan hit England in 2022, several critics wrote about his concerts as if his retirement was imminent. But Dylan has yet to confirm whether or not he’s on the final leg of his storied career.

Will we see him again: Dylan did play Somerset (Wis.) Amphitheater in September as part of Willie Nelson’s annual Outlaw Music Festival, which Dylan will again join this year, although the tour is hitting East Troy on the other side of Wisconsin. Dylan seemed to be trolling the metro this spring when he hit Omaha, Sioux City, Mankato, Eau Claire, Green Bay and Davenport. His current outing is now billed to run through spring 2025, so it’s possible he’ll finally hit the Cities again, but one never knows when it comes to Dylan.

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The Minnesota Supreme Court has indefinitely suspended attorney Susan Shogren Smith, who authorities say filed legal challenges in the November 2020 election without permission of the plaintiffs.

The suspension from practicing law came Thursday, on the heels of a petition for disciplinary action against Shogren Smith filed by the Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility saying that she has conducted professional misconduct.

The Brooklyn Center attorney was given a $10,000 sanction in 2021 after a judge found she “bamboozled” voters into signing on as plaintiffs without their knowledge or permission to file legal challenges against the election of five congressional Democrats.

Calls to Shogren Smith on Friday were not returned.

The petition for disciplinary action noted that a three-judge panel had determined she had committed a “fraud on the court” and gave her an additional $15,000 sanction. The petition claims that Shogren Smith has failed to pay the $25,000, according to court documents.

“Respondent’s misconduct is serious,” the state Supreme Court document said, “and involved not just lack of competence and failure to communicate with clients, but dishonesty to the courts and disregard for the discipline process.”

The court documents said her actions were “not a brief lapse of judgement” but something that occurred for several years.

Shogren Smith is a member of the MN Election Integrity Team, a conservative group that sought to prevent the state from certifying its election results while President Donald Trump and his allies promoted unfounded claims of election fraud.

On Dec. 1, 2020, she filed five complaints in Ramsey County District Court, naming as defendants Secretary of State Steve Simon and the Democratic candidates who won their Congressional races.

Those legal challenges were filed in the names of 14 separate voters, at least four of whom had no idea they were participating.

“Susan Shogren Smith … perpetrated a fraud against this court and, more importantly, perpetrated a fraud against these plaintiffs,” Ramsey County Chief District Judge Leonardo Castro said at the time the first sanction was imposed.

In February of 2021, Republican activist Corinne Braun discovered her name was connected to one of the cases.

“To my horror, I saw that I had sued Steve Simon and Ilhan Omar. It was a surreal moment for me,” she said, likening the discovery to finding her car had been broken into.

Braun testified she had received an anonymous email asking to add her name to a list of disgruntled voters. She filled out the form and signed her name and then forwarded the email to about 5,000 people on her mailing list.

As Shogren Smith explained in court, what Braun had signed was an affidavit that agreed she “will be joining with other voters across Minnesota to contest Minnesota election results.”

Braun, though, said she didn’t understand the implications.

Shogren Smith acknowledged she never spoke with the plaintiffs or informed them of the outcome of the case, even when Braun and two other unwitting plaintiffs were ordered to pay $3,873 to the defendants at the conclusion of the case.

Shogren Smith said at the time, she believed someone else with the MN Election Integrity Team was having those conversations with plaintiffs.

“I absolutely believed that those conversations were happening with these plaintiffs,” she said.

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An Apple Valley woman is the 72nd person federally charged for her role in the $250 million fraud scheme that exploited a federally funded child nutrition program during the COVID-19 pandemic, acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson announced on Friday.

Dorothy Jean Moore, 57, of Apple Valley, was charged in a federal indictment with three counts of wire fraud and two counts of money laundering, Thompson said in a news release.

According to the release, Moore launched two purported federal child nutrition program sites in late 2020 under the sponsorship of Feeding Our Future. Moore completed and signed meal count forms, claiming to have served 1,500 meals to children each day at each of her sites, which she said she operated out of community churches.

Moore claimed and received reimbursements for those meals through the Feeding Our Future program, the release said. In addition, she said she operated a catering company called Jean’s Soul Food and claimed additional federal reimbursements for food from that company used at the other sites.

The release cited her bank records, saying they show she used “little of the reimbursement dollars she received to purchase food. Instead, Moore used those funds for other purposes, including to purchase cars and fund an enhanced lifestyle.”

She is the 72nd Minnesotan charged with defrauding the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s child nutrition programs during the pandemic, when regulations temporarily were loosened and a variety of businesses and nonprofits were allowed to help feed hungry kids while schools were closed. Federal prosecutors have called the scheme the nation’s largest coronavirus pandemic fraud, amounting to more than $250 million.

“This fraud is outrageous, brazen, and seemingly never-ending,” said Thompson in the release. “Stealing from a program designed to feed vulnerable children is not only criminal — it’s unconscionable,” said Special Agent in Charge Alvin M. Winston Sr. of FBI Minneapolis.

Moore made her initial appearance in U.S. District Court Friday.

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By DEEPA BHARATH, Associated Press

“Captain America doesn’t wear a beard and a turban, and he’s white.”

Vishavjit Singh looked at the boy who uttered those words, and then he looked at himself — a skinny, bespectacled, turbaned, bearded Sikh in a Captain America suit.

“I wasn’t offended, because I knew that this kid was going to have this image of me, a Sikh Captain America, forever in his mind,” Singh said. “This image has so much power to it that it opens up conversations about what it means to be American.”

Vishavjit Singh, who educates youth about Sikhism through his Captain Sikh America character, poses for a portrait in costume at home, in New York’s Harlem neighborhood, Friday, May 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Representation of non-Abrahamic religions and spiritual traditions, particularly in the mainstream comics universe, is minimal. Even when they are portrayed in comics, their presentation, as Singh and others in the field point out, is often inauthentic and sometimes negative.

Recently, however, comic book writers and academics who study the intersection of religion and comics observe a renaissance of sorts, which they say is happening because people close to these faith traditions are telling these stories with a reverence and sincerity that resonate with a wider audience.

A Sikh superhero with a message

Singh’s journey to make that connection began after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, triggered anti-Sikh hate incidents. Having faced hate and exclusion throughout his life, he decided to spread his message of kindness and inclusion by capitalizing on the appeal of comics and superheroes — an area where he found Sikh representation to be “virtually zero.”

He suited up as Captain Sikh America in Manhattan for the first time in summer 2013 — one year after a self-proclaimed white supremacist opened fire inside a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, killing six and injuring four others.

New York’s reaction to Captain Sikh America was joyous.

“Strangers came up and hugged me,” Singh said. “Police officers wanted photos with me. A couple wanted me to be part of their wedding ceremony. I felt I had a certain privilege I’d never had before.”

In 2016, Singh gave up his full-time job to travel around the country to schools, government agencies and corporations to share his story and educate youth about his culture and faith. He doesn’t speak directly about religion but rather the core values of Sikhism.

“I talk about equality, justice and about the universal light being present in every speck of creation,” he said.

Africana religions in comics

Marvel’s Black Panther heralded better representation for Africana religions in the U.S., according to Yvonne Chireau, a professor of religion at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania. However what is seen in Black Panther or other comics is a synthesis of different African religions and cultural practices, she said.

For example, one page might talk about the Orishas, divine spirits that play a key role in the Yoruba faith of West Africa, while another might feature Egyptian gods. One of the first superheroes with African religious roots, Chireau said, was Brother Voodoo, created in the 1970s by Marvel publisher Stan Lee, writer Len Wein and artist John Romita. He was the first Haitian superhero.

The turn of the last century was a time of revival for Black-centric comics, she said, adding that immigration from African and Caribbean countries, including Haiti, led to increased understanding of religious practices originating in those places.

“It’s definitely gotten a lot better and much more authentic because the people who are telling these stories care about those religious practices,” she said.

Incorporating Black mythology and spirituality

Brooklyn-born Haitian American comic book writer Greg Anderson Elysée said he didn’t learn about African and Caribbean religious traditions until he was a teenager. Elysée was raised Catholic, but he now considers himself agnostic. For the past decade, he’s written comics about Is’nana, the son of Anansi the Spider, the god of wisdom, knowledge and mischief in the Akan religion of West Africa.

This image provided by Greg Anderson Elysee shows six covers from Greg Anderson Elysée’s Is’nana comics series about the adventures of the son of Anansi the Spider, a god in the Akan religion of West Africa. (Greg Anderson Elysée via AP)

What drives his vision and his creativity, Elysée said, is the need to see more Black mythology, deities and spirituality showcased with the same level of respect as European fairy tales and Greek mythology.

“When I went looking for anything on African spirituality in the bookstore, I found it in the occult section as opposed to the religion or mythology section,” he said. Common depictions of African faith as voodoo and witchcraft are colonialist narratives aimed at demonizing Indigenous spiritual practices, he added.

“When I started going to ceremonies and rituals, I saw how much power there is in it. When we know who we are — whether you believe in the religion or not — it fills you with joy, a purpose and a sense of being.”

Elysée is excited and relieved by the reaction to his work.

“While this is entertainment, you also don’t want to offend those who believe in it and truly get so much power from it,” he said. “Some of my portrayals of these religions in my comics may not be 100% authentic, but there is a level of research and respect that goes into every piece of it.”

Zen comics that heal, ground and center

Zen Buddhism has informed much of John Porcellino’s work. For over three decades, he has produced and self-published King-Cat Comics and Stories, a largely autobiographical mini-comic series. Porcellino was drawn to Buddhism in his 20s after what he describes as a period of intense mental suffering and health problems.

As a punk rock fan, Porcellino saw commonalities between punk and Zen because “they are both concerned with the essence of things rather than appearances.” Both are ways of life — simple yet nuanced.

This image provided by John Porcellino shows “The Weight of my Bones” by John Porcellino, part of his King-Cat Comics and Stories, his long-running series that reflects the author’s Zen practice. (John Porcellino via AP)

He gave the example of a wordless story titled “October,” featured in King-Cat’s 30th issue, that shows him as a high school student walking home one night from school. When he gets home, his mom asks him to take the dog outside; as he steps out, he sees the stars.

“It’s the experience of being in everyday, mundane life … and then suddenly breaking through to some kind of transcendence,” he said.

Porcellino views these comics as a healing presence in his life.

“They are an important part of my spiritual practice,” he said. “Any time I have a major crisis in my life, my first reaction is to sit down and start making comics and put my focus into that. It just helps ground me.”

This image provided by John Porcellino shows “Non-thinking” by John Porcellino is part of his King-Cat Comics and Stories, a long-running series that reflects the author’s Zen practice. (John Porcellino via AP)

Why representation matters for children

Teresa Robeson, who wrote a graphic novel about the 14th Dalai Lama, said that even though her mother was Catholic and raised her in the faith, her grandmother was Buddhist. She grew up in Hong Kong, with memories of relatives praying to Buddhist gods, taking in the fragrance of burning incense and the sound of Buddhist chants.

Though she practices neither Catholicism nor Buddhism at this time, Robeson jumped at the opportunity to tell the story of the Dalai Lama in graphic novel form because the book focused on a pivotal moment in the spiritual leader’s life, when he fled Tibet for India after the Chinese occupation.

This image provided by Penguin Random House LLC, shows the book cover of “Who Is Tibet’s Exiled Leader?: The 14th Dalai Lama” (Penguin Random House LLC via AP)

Robeson liked the idea of representing a religion and culture that do not get much attention in media.

“Children’s books are like mirrors and windows for kids,” she said. “It’s helpful especially for children of immigrants who don’t often see themselves in mainstream literature. They don’t see anyone who looks like them or prays like them. At the same time, it also helps kids who are not Asian or Buddhist to learn something about those communities.”

The comics renaissance in India

Amar Chitra Katha was a comic book company started by the late Anant Pai in Mumbai in 1967 as a way to teach Indian children about their own mythology and culture. The first title was “Krishna,” an important god in Hinduism and protagonist of the Bhagavad Gita, one of the religion’s main sacred texts.

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Pai was an engineer turned comic books seller who used varied marketing techniques, including walking around with planks, nails and hammers in his bag so he could build shelves for bookstores that refused to display his comics because they lacked shelf space, said Reena I. Puri, the company’s managing director and a 35-year veteran of the business.

Pai started with Hindu mythology and gods but soon expanded to other faiths, releasing a globally successful comic titled “Jesus Christ” and others about Buddha, Sikh gurus and Mahavira, who founded Jainism. Later came secular comics about historical figures and folktales.

But religion remains the mainstay of Amar Chitra Katha, and books that teach children about faith, history and culture are also the most popular in the diaspora, Puri said.

“Most recently we’ve also portrayed (Indigenous) religions and have gathered folktales relating to these traditions from all over India,” she said.

Amar Chitra Katha comics faced criticism in the past for their portrayal of gods as fair-skinned and “asuras” — often the antagonists to the gods — as dark-skinned with demonic facial features. But that has changed, Puri said.

“We’ve educated ourselves and realized that our ancient texts were not as racist or colorist as we may be today,” she said. “We’re correcting those misconceptions now.”

Atheism, paganism and … Lucifer

British comic book writer Mike Carey is known for his 2000-2006 DC Comics series “Lucifer,” which depicts the titular character’s adventures on Earth, in Heaven and in various realms after abandoning Hell. Carey counts himself an atheist who went to Sunday school only “for the fun, stories and chocolate.”

Carey portrayed Lucifer as the “son of God, but as a rebellious disobedient son who wants to find himself as distinct from his father.”

He has also explored pagan themes, particularly what he called the “weird interface between British folklore and British religious traditions.”

Carey delved into the concepts of faith, God and morality in a series titled “My Faith in Frankie,” which tells the story of a teenager with a personal god called Jeriven who gets jealous of her boyfriend.

Even though many of his comics and novels explore religion and ethics, Carey said, he has never “felt any temptation whatsoever to believe.”

“I’ve become more and more entrenched in that position, because organized religions are like any organization that sustain themselves, amass power, wealth and authority,” he said. “So I’ve never really grappled with religious issues. What I do sometimes is explore, play with and tease out moral issues that were important and meaningful to me.”

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.