Daddy G of Massive Attack

Daddy G of Massive Attack

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Massive Attack To Celebrate 21 Years Of 'Mezzanine' With 2019 Anniversary Tour

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The British electronic group will revisit their classic 1998 album with a special tour in Europe and North America in 2019
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Oct 31, 2018 - 2:07 pm

British electronic trip-hop group Massive Attack released their third album, Mezzanine, in 1998. The album, especially its single "Teardrop," made waves in the U.K. and U.S., and was a seminal recording for late-'90s electronic music, with its dark and brooding beats and haunting vocals. On Oct. 30, 20 years after its release, the group has announced that they will be taking the classic album on the road with a special anniversary tour in Europe and North America in 2019.

According the group, Mezzanine XX1 will give attendees a new taste of the classic album 21 years later, using "custom audio reconstructed from the original samples and influences." They have recruited Elizabeth Fraser to tour with them, the vocalist on "Teardrop," "Group Four" and "Black Milk." Fraser, who was part of Scottish rock group Cocteau Twins, hasn't toured since the last time Massive Attack brought her on tour in 2006.

The show will also include new audio/visual elements and sounds, making the experience a very special way for fans to revisit the album and see the group perform its songs live for the first time in years. As the group's Robert "3D" Del Naja said, "It's going to be a one off piece of work; our own personalised nostalgia nightmare head trip."

Mezzanine, which was originally released on April 20, 1998, will be available as a special remastered reissue with previously unreleased Mad Professor remixes. The reissue will be available on streaming and special edition CD on Nov. 16 and as a vinyl boxset on Dec. 7.

Earlier this year, on the 20th anniversary, the group had the album's audio files encoded into synthetic DNA, making it the second largest file to date stored in DNA. On Oct. 19, the group got extra creative and announced that the album's DNA would be available to purchase in the form of can of spray paint, each of which contains about one million copies of the album.

The tour begins in Glasgow, Scotland on Jan. 28 with dates across Europe until March 1 in Bristol, England, after which the North American leg of the tour will begin. Specific dates and venues will be announced Nov. 2, but, according to Pitchfork, will include stops in Washington, Philadelphia, New York, Boston, Detroit, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, St. Paul, Minn. and Toronto. Presale tickets for select European shows go on sale today, Oct. 31. More info can be found on Massive Attack's website.

Beirut Share Story Behind "Gallipoli" From Upcoming Album, Announce Tour

The Cure

The Cure

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Robert Smith Teases New Cure Album, Confirms Tour Dates

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The Cure frontman revealed that fans can expect the band's first new album in over a decade in early 2019
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Dec 14, 2018 - 2:18 pm

Yesterday, on Dec. 13, the iconic GRAMMY-nominated group the Cure was announced as one of the 2019 inductees into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. Following the exciting news, frontman Robert Smith shared in an interview that it's only a matter of weeks before the group finishes up work on their first studio album since 2008.

Smith's interview with SiriusXM Volume may have only been 23 seconds long, but it gave enough information to show that the legendary group who put out such '80s and '90s classics like 1987's "Just Like Heaven" and 1992's "Friday I'm In Love" definitely still have some musical gems up their sleeves.

"Primarily because of the Meltdown [music festival] thing and seeing all these new bands, I've listened to so many new bands and met so many of them, it's kind of inspired me to do something new," Smith shared. "We're going in about six weeks' time to finish off what will be our first album in more than a decade. It's very exciting times for us all around."

Meltdown, according to the organizers, is the "U.K.'s longest-running artist-curated music festival." Smith led the charge for their 25th anniversary in June 2018, which included artists like GRAMMY winners Nine Inch Nails, GRAMMY nominees Death Cab For Cutie and post-rock group Mogwai on the impressive lineup. Smith himself closed out the festival on a high note, with the Cure performing a 28-song, two-part set, for one of the group's only shows in 2018.

Shortly after Meltdown, on Sept. 21, Smith shared an excited update via Twitter: "WE WILL BE HEADLINING AROUND 20 FESTIVALS NEXT SUMMER - MOSTLY IN EUROPE - DETAILS WILL BE POSTED ON thecure.com AND facebook.com/thecure/ WHEN WE GET THEM."

Smith should probably just take over for Santa Claus this year, because indeed the Cure's site currently lists 18 European summer music festivals, including Mad Cool Fest in Madrid, plus two spring shows in South Africa, giving fans exactly 20 festivals, mostly in Europe, where you can catch the group performing.

Topping it off with new music on the way, we're currently singing "it's Friday, I'm in love."

Stevie Nicks Scores Her Second Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Induction

Lucy Dacus

Lucy Dacus

Photo: Lloyd Bishop/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Images

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Lucy Dacus Announces Historian Tour Round Two

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The indie singer/songwriter, who also performs in boygenius with Phoebe Bridgers and Julien Baker, will be embarking on a U.S. headlining solo tour in February
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Dec 10, 2018 - 1:29 pm

Today, on Dec. 10, indie-rock darling Lucy Dacus announced that she would be heading out on a second tour in support of her latest solo album, Historian, released March 2018. Her 2019 dates feature headline shows across the U.S. in February and March, plus two festival appearances in May.

Her headlining tour will begin on Feb. 1 in Durham, N.C., stopping by Savannah Stopover Festival in Savannah, Ga. Mar. 7 and closing out in Washington D.C. on Mar. 22, followed by Shaky Knees Festival in Atlanta and Primavera Sound in Barcelona, at the beginning and end of May, respectively. Her Feb. 15 show in Chicago will feature special guest Sharon Van Etten, with Illuminati Hotties, Mal Blum and Fenne Lily opening on other select dates.

The singer/songwriter recently closed out a month-long joint tour in November with her newly formed group boygenius, the same month the released their self-titled debut EP. Boygenius is made up of fellow female indie-rockers Julien Baker and Phoebe Bridgers; the group received plenty of buzz for their collaboration, with Pitchfork aptly naming them the "egoless supergroup of your indie-rock dreams."

Dacus expressed her appreciation for sharing the spotlight with her groupmates: "I felt so much relief having the focus off me. Having about a third of the attention was wonderful," she told Rolling Stone.

The complete tour lineup plus ticket info is available on Dacus' website. U.S. tickets go on sale Dec. 14.

Primavera Sound 2019 Features A "New Normal" Equal-Gender Lineup

Kim Deal of The Breeders

Kim Deal of The Breeders

Photo: David Wolff - Patrick/Getty Images

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The Breeders Announce North American Tour, Release New Video

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The indie rockers announce their first tour in six years in support of their latest album, ‘All Nerve,’ and release a homemade video for "Nervous Mary"
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Aug 9, 2018 - 12:44 pm

The Breeders have announced they will be touring North America in support of their latest album, All Nerve. Along with the tour dates, they also released a homemade music video for “Nervous Mary” featuring puppet versions of the frontwomen Kim and Kelley Deal dancing to the song on a busy street. The puppets, including their hand-knitted sweaters, were made by fan and professional puppet-maker Milla Risku.

All Nerve was released in March and is the band’s fifth album since their 1990 debut. This will be the first time The Breeders have toured since twin-sister frontwomen Kim and Kelley Deal reunited six years ago with bandmates Josephine Wiggs and Jim Macpherson to celebrate the 20th anniversary reissue of their sophomore album Last Splash.

This tour will include all four members of the band, with 20 stops across the country. The first show is on Sep. 27 in Pioneertown, Calif., a tiny town in the high desert of Southern California, and ends on Nov. 1 in Cleveland, Ohio, after which they head to Europe.

Tickets for most dates go on sale this week, with tour information listed on The Breeders' website.

Catching Up On Music News Powered By The Recording Academy Just Got Easier. Have A Google Home Device? "Talk To GRAMMYs"

Smashing Pumpkins in 2019

Smashing Pumpkins in 2019

Photo: Jeff Hahne/Getty Images

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Smashing Pumpkins Announce "Bare-Knuckle Rock And Roll" Rock Invasion 2 Tour

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Billy Corgan says the tour will bring "the kind of show and set we haven't done for a very, very long time…Full, unrelenting power"
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Mar 2, 2020 - 5:26 pm

The Smashing Pumpkins have announced a U.S. spring headline tour dubbed the Rock Invasion 2. It's named after their Rock Invasion trek that went down in 1993, the same year they catapulted towards fame with their classic GRAMMY-nominated LP Siamese Dream.

"It's been a good while since we've played a straight-up, bare-knuckle rock and roll show—one that avoids little in the way of raw power," frontman Billy Corgan said in a statement. "This tour won't be for those faint of heart and will certainly echo the dynamic modes in which we built our live reputation."

The 11-date jaunt begins in Louisville, Ky. on April 23 and continues with dates across the Southern and Midwestern states, including a stop at Nashville's legendary Ryman Auditorium on April 28. The tour also includes two festival dates—Memphis' Beale Street Fest and Atlanta's Shaky Knees—before the tour wraps up in Greensboro, N.C. on May 8.

Ticket pre-sale starts tomorrow, March 3, at 10 am local time; newsletter subscribers will get pre-sale access codes.

After the headline shows, the GRAMMY-winning band will embark on their previously announced opening sets for select dates on Guns N' Roses stadium tour. This includes shows in larger cities (and much bigger venues) including Philadelphia, Detroit, Toronto and Boston, all in July.

Corgan shared a long note (which you can read above) about Rock Invasion 2 and their upcoming album, which he teases as their "first double album effort since [2000's] Machina." That hard-rocking LP, Machina/The Machines Of God, turned 20 three days ago on Feb. 29.

The singer/guitarist also shared that the upcoming tour will bring "the kind of show and set we haven't done for a very, very long time…Full, unrelenting power. Enjoy! And bring your ear plugs."

Their last release was an LP in 2018 called SHINY AND OH SO BRIGHT, VOL. 1 / LP: NO PAST. NO FUTURE. NO SUN. No release date has been set yet for their upcoming album.

Bon Jovi Announce Additional Tour Dates Due To Popular Demand