Here’s one that sounds like a punchline setup:
A Southern rap star, a ’70s soft-rock duo and Gene Simmons all book shows at Fresno’s Save Mart Center.
There’s no joke here, just the latest round of concert announcements as the arena continues to add to an already hectic 2026 calendar.
Last week, Lil Wayne announced an additional 25 dates on his current tour, which celebrates the 20th anniversary of Tha Carter series of albums. It will include an Aug. 28 stop at Save Mart Center with the Game as an opener. Tickets start at $51 and are on sale now. Side note trivia: Lil Wayne performed downtown at Selland Arena during the Carter era in 2008.
On Tuesday, the arena announced another pair of concerts.
The ’70 soft rock duo Air Supply (interviewed by The Bee in 2015) will be at Save Mart Center on Aug. 6 with the Little River Band. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday (March 27), with pre-sales beginning Wednesday. Air Supply is best known for “Making Love Out of Nothing” (and also “Lost In Love” and “All out of Love).” This seems like a repeat of the Lost in Love Experience tour, which played Warnors Theatre downtown in 2023.
Gene Simmons, he of devil-make-upped Kiss fame, brings the Rock Road Show to the arena July 17. This is a stacked lineup for fans of hair metal or those who grew up listening to rock music on the radio and cassette tapes. Simmons (playing here with his solo band) will be joined by Sebastian Bach (who was at the Tower Theatre just last month), Lita Ford and Quiet Riot. This doesn’t appear to be part of any full tour, but rather a small run of California shows. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, with a presale 10 a.m. Wednsday (code: SMCROCKS).
SMC is not the only venue adding concerts to the calendar.
For metal fans, Strummer’s nightclub recently announced a Nov. 24 tour stop from the industrial metal band Fear Factory and a July 27 date with Florida death metal band Six Feet Under.
Fulton 55 and Team Neville promotions are bringing in blues-rock powerhouse Mike Zito on May 21.
Tower Theatre will host country singer Elijah Scott’s In a Bar Somewhere tour on June 21 in the lounge. Queensryche singer Geoff Tate will return to the theater proper Sept. 24. The performance is part of Tate’s tour for Operation: Mindcrime – the Final Chapter.
Still no announcements from Valley Children’s Stadium
Meanwhile, there’s no concert announcements out of Fresno State.
The university has been working to diversify its offerings at Valley Children’s Stadium following the success of Shakira’s Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran tour stop last summer. The concert sold out at nearly 30,000 tickets and there was every indication the university hoped its momentum would help land additional stadium tours. So far, that hasn’t happened, though the school is in talks with promoters, including Live Nation.
This story was originally published March 25, 2026 at 9:54 AM.
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Joshua Tehee covers breaking news for The Fresno Bee, writing on a wide range of topics from police, politics and weather, to arts and entertainment in the Central Valley.