SatchVai: Satriani and Vai at Palace

Joe Satriani and Steve Vai are bringing the SatchVai Band to the Palace Theatre in Albany on Thursday, May 21, with the show scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. The date is one stop on the pair’s 2026 “Surfing With the Hydra” U.S. tour, which official tour pages say runs across North America in April and May. Palace Theatre listings describe the Albany date as a one-time-only performance, while Live Nation lists Animals As Leaders on the bill for the tour stop. The concert brings together two guitarists who have been linked for decades but only recently formalized the collaboration as a band. CTvisit says the SatchVai Band marks the first time in Satriani and Vai’s nearly 50-year friendship and musical partnership that they have joined forces as a band, after debuting their collaboration in March 2024 with a duo tour and the release of “The Sea of Emotion, Pt. 1.” The band’s official site says the 2026 run follows a European tour and includes new material tied to a forthcoming album. (palacetheaterct.org) ### When is the Palace Theatre show, and which Palace is it? The Palace Theatre event tied to Satriani and Vai is in Albany, New York, not the Palace Theater in Waterbury, Connecticut. The Palace Theatre Albany and Live Nation both list the performance for Thursday, May 21, 2026, at 7:30 p.m., at the venue on Clinton Avenue. A separate CTvisit listing refers to the SatchVai Band more generally, but the verified on-sale concert page for this stop is the Albany venue’s event listing. (ctvisit.com) The Albany venue page identifies the show as “SatchVai Band featuring Joe Satriani & Steve Vai,” and Live Nation uses the tour branding “Surfing w the Hydra Tour.” News10 ABC also reported in December that the concert was slated for May 21 at the Palace Theatre in Albany. ### Who is actually in the band on this tour? (palacetheaterct.org) The 2026 touring lineup includes Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Kenny Aronoff, Marco Mendoza and Pete Thorn, according to the band’s official site and Satriani’s tour page. Palace Albany’s event page describes the group as a quintet built around Satriani and Vai, with Aronoff on drums, Mendoza on bass and Thorn on guitar. (palacetheaterct.org) Animals As Leaders are listed as the special guest on the tour’s official announcement and on the Albany Live Nation event page. That billing also appears on the Palace Albany event listing. ### What are Satriani and Vai touring behind? The band’s official materials say the tour is tied to new SatchVai music, including the single “Dancing” and a forthcoming joint album. (satchvaiband.com) CTvisit’s event page says the collaboration first surfaced publicly in March 2024 with “The Sea of Emotion, Pt. 1,” a six-minute track released alongside their duo tour. Official tour copy describes the live set as a full-band rock show rather than the earlier duo format. (satchvaiband.com) The SatchVai site says fans can expect Satriani and Vai to debut new material on the 2026 run. ### How far along is the tour when Albany gets the show? Live Nation lists a Boston date on May 20, one day before Albany, followed by Virginia Beach on May 23, Reading on May 27 and New York’s Beacon Theatre on May 28. (satchvaiband.com) The official band site says the North American run spans 40 shows across April and May. Press coverage from Michigan and Long Island shows the band already on the road this month. The Oakland Press reviewed a May 16 performance at Meadow Brook Amphitheatre, and the Long Island Press previewed the Beacon Theatre stop scheduled for May 28. ### Where can readers check tickets and the next dates? (livenation.com) The Palace Theatre Albany page says tickets are on sale now for the May 21 performance. Live Nation and the band’s official website both list additional dates and ticket links for the remaining stops on the 2026 run. Steve Vai’s official tour page and Joe Satriani’s road page also carry current tour-date listings. (theoaklandpress.com) After Albany, the next announced stops include Virginia Beach on May 23 and Reading, Pennsylvania, on May 27, according to Live Nation’s schedule. (vai.com) (palacetheaterct.org)