SAN DIEGO — As one of the most prominent music critics of the 1970s, Cameron Crowe often accompanied legendary rock bands on tour to conduct interviews and chronicle their work and lives. Now, the Oscar-winning screenwriter and veteran film director is set to hit the road on his own to discuss his upcoming memoir, “The Uncool,” in what is being billed as “An intimate evening of storytelling, behind-the-scenes anecdotes, and the music that shaped his life.”

Crowe’s seven-city book tour will begin Oct. 29 in Washington, D.C., and conclude Nov. 23 in San Francisco. It will include three other California stops — Nov. 13 at The Magnolia in El Cajon and Nov. 20 and 21 in Los Angeles. All the dates and cities are listed below, along with ticket information. “The Uncool” will be published Oct. 28 via Simon & Schuster.

Crowe will be joined on stage at The Magnolia by actress Kate Hudson, one of the stars of his 2000 film, “Almost Famous.” Singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow will join him for his Oct. 30 Nashville book tour stop. The guests for his other tout stops will be announced soon.

The book tour’s El Cajon stop is a homecoming for Crowe who grew up in San Diego and launched his career as a nationally acclaimed music critic here while attending University of San Diego High School.

His screenplay for “Fast Time at Ridgemont High” was based on research he conducted later in the 1970s while posing as a student at Clairemont High School in San Diego. “Almost Famous” — which chronicles his start here as a teenaged music critic for Rolling Stone magazine — was filmed in part in San Diego and serves as something of a valentine to the city in which he came of age.

Crowe is now at work on a film based on the life and music of his longtime friend Joni Mitchell, who attended the 2019 San Diego opening of “Almost Famous” at the Old Globe. His memoir, “The Uncool,” is Crowe’s first-person account of his precocious rise to prominence. “The Uncool” is also the name of his website: theuncool.com.

“I’ve always loved telling the stories behind the stories,” he said in a statement released Wednesday morning.

“Introducing friends and loved ones to the unforgettable characters and adventures that inspired my journalism and movies has always been a passion. Now coinciding with the 25th anniversary of ‘Almost Famous’ and the release of ‘The Uncool,’ I can’t wait to share those intimate stories and evenings with the audiences who’ve followed my work over the years. It’s not only a privilege, it’ll be a blast.”

Tickets for all dates on Crowe’s book tour will go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. local time at livenation.com. A presale will begin Thursday at 10 a.m. on the same website.

Ticket prices for Crowe’s Magnolia date in El Cajon range from $47 to $127.

Cameron Crowe “The Uncool” book tour dates

Oct. 29, Washington, D.C., Warner Theatre

Oct. 30, Nashville, Tennessee, CMA Theater

Nov. 1, Chicago, Athenaeum Center

Nov. 13, San Diego (El Cajon), CA, The Magnolia

Nov. 19, Seattle, Benaroya Hall

Nov. 20, 21, Los Angeles, The Montalban

Nov. 23, San Francisco, Orpheum Theatre

©2025 The San Diego Union-Tribune. Visit sandiegouniontribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.