Jethro Tull at Mountain Winery

British rock band Jethro Tull has been belting out several incredible hits since their emergence in 1967. The band began their career as a blues rock-jazz fusion act, but their music has evolved into progressive rock music. They heavily incorporate folk, hard rock, and blues into their music and use a wide range of instruments, including the flute, Hammond organ, balalaika, and acoustic guitar. The band released their debut album, This Was, in 1968. The album immediately broke into the U.K. charts peaking at number 10. Over in the U.S., the record landed at a moderate number of 62.

The following year, the band dropped their follow-up album, Stand Up. The album notably topped the U.K. chart and soared to number 20 on the U.S. Billboard 200. Stand-Up spawned the sensational hits “Bourée” and “Living in the Past, which peaked at number 3 on the U.K. Singles chart. In 1970, Jethro Tull made a monumental appearance at the popular music show Top of the Pops. They performed their hit, “Witch’s Promise,” a song from their third studio album, Benefit. This was the last album to showcase Jethro Tull’s earlier sound.

The following year, the band incorporated more progressive rock elements into their music. Aqualung became the band’s career-defining effort. Released in 1971, the album spawned hit singles “Locomotive Breath” and “Hymn 43.” The record was regarded as a concept album, but frontman Ian Andreson mentioned that the record is “an album of varied songs.” Nevertheless, the album became a turning point in the career and remained the band’s best-selling album, with over seven million copies sold worldwide.

Jethro Tull moved on to release a total of 20 studio albums and 33 chart-performing singles. During the 2000s, they took a recording hiatus and didn’t release any new music after their critically-acclaimed holiday album, The Jethro Tull Christmas Album, in 2000. Last year, the band dropped their first album in 22 years — the Zealot Gene. With much fan anticipation, the effort became an instant hit, peaking at number 9 on the U.K. chart and entering three Billboard charts. The album also entered the charts in 15 other countries, making their long-awaited return a very much welcomed moment in the rock industry.

This 2023, fans can look forward to some more new music from the legendary progressive band. RokFlote is set for release in spring and has already been preceded by singles “Ginnuungagap,” “The Navigators,” and “Hammer on Hammer.”

Catch Jethro Tull this September at the Mountain Winery Amphitheatre by scoring your tickets now!