Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson will launch a 30-city tour behind his follow-up to Tull's 1972 album, Thick As A Brick. In April Anderson released the much-touted follow-up, Thick As A Brick 2: Whatever Happened To Gerald Bostock? The sequel chronicles the fictional Bostock's life now as a 50-year-old -- going so far as to update the album cover artwork, which in 1972's was passed off as an eight-year-old boy's epic poem featured on a newspaper.

Anderson told us that it was more curiosity than nostalgia that made him revisit the story behind Thick As A Brick: "Well, I wonder what the little Gerald Bostock guy would be doing today 40 years down the line. And I wonder what would've happened to St. Cleve Chronicle -- the 16-page newspaper that formed the packaging of the original vinyl album. With an almighty jump 40 years into the future, to think what would be the fate of a young boy growing up at that time; what would he have become later in life? And taking The St. Cleve Chronicle into the Internet age as St.Cleve.com intrigued me enough to make me think, maybe I should explore that idea, or both those ideas, in a new album."

• Ian Anderson North American tour dates (subject to change)
  September 18 - Miami Beach, FL - Fillmore Miami Beach At Jackie Gleason Theater
  September 19 - West Palm Beach, FL - Kravis Center
  September 21 - Saint Augustine, FL - St. Augustine Amphitheatre
  September 22 - Orlando, FL - Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre
  September 23 - Clearwater, FL - Ruth Eckerd Hall
  September 24 - Fort Myers, FL - Barbara B. Mann Performance Arts Hall
  September 25 Fort Pierce, FL - Sunrise Theatre
  September 27 - Atlanta, GA - Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre
  September 28 - Asheville, NC - Thomas Wolfe Auditorium
  September 29 - Durham, NC - Durham Performing Arts Center
  September 30 - Richmond, VA - Carpenter Theatre At Richmond CenterStage
  October 3 - Lynn, MA - The Lynn Memorial Auditorium
  October 5 - New York, NY - Beacon Theatre
  October 6 - Atlantic City, NJ - Caesars Atlantic City
  October 7 - Newark, NJ - Prudential Hall
  October 17 - San Diego, CA - Balboa Theatre
  October 18 - Santa Ynez, CA - Chumash Casino
  October 19 - Rancho Mirage, CA - The Show At Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa
  October 20 - Long Beach, CA - Terrace Theater
  October 22 - Salt Lake City, UT - Abravanel Hall
  October 23 - Denver, CO - Temple Hoyne Buell Theatre
  October 26 - Grand Prairie, TX - Verizon Theatre At Grand Prairie
  October 27 - Houston, TX - Bayou Music Center
  October 28 - Austin, TX - Paramount Theatre
  October 30 - Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium
  November 1 - Milwaukee, WI - Pabst Theater
  November 2 - Chicago, IL - Chicago Theatre
  November 3 - Detroit, MI - Fox Theatre
  November 4 - Akron, OH - Akron Civic Theatre
  November 5 - Newark, OH - Midland Theatre

FAST FACTS

• Thick As A Brick was recorded as a response to critics who referred to their previous album, 1971's Aqualung, as a concept album, which Anderson vehemently denied -- so as their follow-up, Tull decided to make "the mother of all concept albums" as a result.
• Thick As A Brick reached Number One on the Billboard album chart and remains not only their sole Number One album, but also their highest charting collection to date.
• Although the band performed the album in its entirety for a year after its release, no known film, video or soundboard recordings of any of those shows are known to exist, although bootlegs have circulated for years.

CHECK IT OUT: Jethro Tull live in 1978 performing "Thick As A Brick" live at Madison Square Garden:

Ian Anderson On 'Thick As A Brick 2'