^{Pat Benatar and her husband-guitarist Neil Giraldo will be performing at casinos across the country, giving fans a more intimate experience with rock stars from their childhood. (Image: Chris Pizzello / Associated Press / Alamy)} 

Iconic classic pop rocker Pat Benatar is still packing a punch at age 71, and reminding fans that while her career may have taken off in the 1980s, she was just getting started then. 

The four-time Grammy winner and her husband-guitarist-favorite songwriter Neil Giraldo earlier this week announced show dates for their 19-stop “Funtastic 2024” tour. And as seems to be on trend for classic rockers still on the road, five of those venues will be at casinos.

Casino Concert Halls

With capacities at casino locations ranging from just 1,200 to 5,500, these stops offer a more intimate glimpse of former arena rock stars who aren’t quite ready to fade away. 

(And their aging Gen-X fans, of which I am one, seem to appreciate the ability to see musicians from their youth up close and personal while staying in their assigned seats.)

The Funtastic 2024 tour kicks off at Thunder Valley Casino in Lincoln, California (outside of Sacramento), on May 10. 

From there, Benatar and Giraldo will criss-cross the country to perform at Ocean City Casino Resort in Atlantic City on July 6. Four days later, on July 10, they will take the stage at the MGM Northfield Casino in Ohio (outside of Cleveland). 

They will stop in Las Vegas stop at the Pearl Concert Theater at the Palms Casino on Aug. 2. 

And on Aug. 16, the tour that opened at a casino will conclude at one, in Airway Heights, Washington (outside of Spokane), at the Northern Quest Casino Pavilion.

Benatar and Giraldo promise to deliver their biggest hits like “Hit Me With Your Best Shot,” “Love Is A Battlefield” and “Heartbreaker” across North America from May through August, while also singing the songs from subsequent years and decades that you know but might have forgotten belonged to the first tough girl with an attitude that this guy ever heard. 

Hall of Fame Career(s)

Benatar and Giraldo were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022. Though she had been eligible for two decades prior, Benatar supposedly held out until the Hall considered including Giraldo as an inductee. 

"I've lobbied for the past 25 years to get him the credit he's due," she told Billboard magazine at the time of their induction. "I'm sure we would've both had success separately, but together is what actually made it happen and turned it into what it became.” 

Giraldo, 68, began playing with Benatar in 1979, and the two married in 1982.

Giraldo was the producer for both “Love Is a Battlefield” and “We Belong” and has performed on every Benatar album since. He also worked with other ‘80s rock stars, like Rick Springfield, who were stalwarts of the era.

Benatar and Giraldo were inducted into the Hall of Fame alongside Duran Duran, Eminem, the Eurythmics, Dolly Parton, Lionel Richie, and Carly Simon. Benatar (and Giraldo) delivered a live performance of “Love Is A Battlefield,” showing fans that her performing days were far from done. 

Benatar and Brandi Carlile joined current pop sensation P!nk as opening acts and duet partners on her 2023 Summer Carnival Tour, which filled some of the largest stadiums in the country. 

In January, Benatar and Giraldo appeared on an episode of Austin City Limits on PBS, performing some of her greatest hits as well as deeper cuts such as “Promises In The Dark,” “Shadows Of The Night” and “Hell Is For Children.”