NANCY WILSON Says 'It's Time' For HEART To Tour With Other Female Artists

HEART's Ann Wilson has denied that the lineup of band's upcoming "Love Alive" summer tour is the result of the wave of female empowerment sweeping through the nation right now. "We just chose the best artists," she told SiriusXM's Jim Shearer at this past Thursday's (March 7) "Love Rocks NYC" all-star benefit at New York City's Beacon Theatre (hear audio below). "They happen to be women. They all have men in their bands. I mean, it isn't like we're trying to isolate women. But, as it turns out, there's a whole bunch of 'em that are really good."

Asked how excited she is about the upcoming trek, Nancy Wilson said: "Really excited. I think for all the times we've avoided being lumped in with other women, I just think it's time — it's finally time to do that."

Ann and Nancy Wilson's first tour in three years, "Love Alive" will kick off on July 9 at the Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in St. Louis, Missouri and will make stops in Chicago, Atlanta, Houston, Denver and more, before wrapping September 9 at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California.

HEART will be joined by JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS, Sheryl Crow and Brandi Carlile on the expansive 39-city outing. Along with the stellar lineup, also appearing are Elle King and Lucie Silvas.

Nancy and Ann had a falling out during HEART's 2016 tour, when Ann's husband Dean Welter was arrested for assaulting Nancy's then-16-year-old twin sons in a backstage altercation at a gig near their hometown of Seattle. He pleaded guilty to two lesser assault charges to avoid jail time, but the damage to HEART had been done.

During an appearance on the "Let There Be Talk" podcast, Nancy spoke about the incident which caused HEART to go on a kind of hiatus for the past three years. "There was a family drama that was highly uncalled for and unnecessary and hurtful, and it was just one of those things that takes time to get past," she said. "So, a couple of years have gone by. It's not anything that Ann ever did wrong, or I ever did wrong, but it's just one of those family dramas that just happened, and it just kind of poisoned the atmosphere for a while there. So it's good. I've had a real positive feeling about now that I'm communicating directly more with Ann."

Asked who it was that made the initial contact about a possible reunion tour, Nancy said: "I've been sort of [reaching out to Ann] for a while, but she was kind of busy and, I think, scared to talk. And I kind of said, 'I'm not ever gonna confront you about anything, but there is this huge offer on the table, so we should talk — just the two of us.'"