As most states eradicate or ease pandemic-era restrictions, the world is opening up again and that means live music is back. This article will summarize the top eight shows that some of 2022’s top artists will be attending when the pandemic ends (sort of).
Tame the impala
February 27 to October 29
Aptly named the Slow Race Tour following his 2020 album and follow-up slow-release remixes and additions, Tame Impala will bring his synth-backed new wave indie rock in support of what will be a Slow Rush box set.
February 27 in Tempe, Arizona will mark the start of the psychedelic project’s second tour of the 2020s after returning to tour in 2021 with the teasing name Phase 1 trials on rushium. Australian-born Kevin Parker and his band will essentially follow with phase two in 2022 after opener Junglepussy rocked the crowd with his bouncy R&B licks.
John Mayer
March 18 to May 10
We still haven’t figured out if John Mayer’s new soft pop-rock experience of the 1990s bloody rock is it a joke or not. What is indisputable, however, is that Mayer knows how to rock. Whether it’s his early indie-rock offerings, his blues phase, or his mellow, sweet new tracks, Mayer is a real musician. Tight tracks, sick licks and undeniable charisma, Mayer’s entire package will be on display throughout this spring.
Locations tend to travel from the West Coast to the East Coast, and Mayer appears with Dead & Company, consisting of remaining Grateful Dead members Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, and Bill Kreutzmann as well as Mayer, Oteil Burbridge, and Jeff Chimenti.
Tyler the Creator
March 18 to August 3
Tyler, the creator embarks on his world tour, traveling up the west coast of North America after his stellar 2021 album, Call me if you get lost. What is perhaps the hip-hop superstar’s best album might also be his most subtle and, as such, his most polished. The basic horror lyrics remain, but they offer cleaner cuts with more deft blade under beats that are less in your face and more in your head.
The international excursion will of course include support from several characters, including Vince Staples, Kali Uchis and Texas MC Teezo Touchdown. Tyler has already kicked off with a show in Phoenix on Feb. 8, and the shows sell out as soon as they roll out.
Beach House, Melody Tour Once Twice
March 22 to July 4
Beach House, the musical duo formed in Baltimore, Maryland in 2004, has only gotten better with each album release. It is equally true of once twice melodytheir 2022 release that captures the band’s high, soaring pop-rock.
The new album is a juggernaut – 18 songs released across four chapters over four months. The band’s next tour is also, quite rightly, a beast in itself – over 30 dates that take them from the eastern United States westward until they cross the pond to the Europe and return to their roots in the summer. It’s not yet known if the band will bring their string ensemble, but vocalist and keyboardist Victoria Legrand and guitarist, keyboardist and backing vocalist Alex Scally are sure to wow crowds across the western world.
The war on drugs
March 22 to October 11
The War on Drugs will support not one, but two albums from 2020 – 2021 I don’t live here anymore and the 2020 live release, Live drugs. Given that the band’s music elevates with melodies that attempt to fill the entire atmosphere, it makes sense that the band’s collective sound works to weave a similar, full-bodied tone.
Lead singer Adam Granduciel often comes across as a drifting man in lyrics that find him on the road, standing in the rain, floating between the waves and lost in a dream. Fans who can catch the epic, floydian show may find themselves forgetting about a cynical and restless world outside.
Olivia Rodrigue
April 5 to July 7
Olivia Rodrigo, the 18-year-old former Disney Princess might be the biggest act on the planet right now. Given that she is going to have the support of teenage boys and girls all over the world, but that belies the fact that Rodrigo is a very talented and entertaining actor. Her pitch-perfect pop, rock and bopping tracks are backed by the singer’s raw, powerful voice. You may already know this, because two of Rodrigo’s tracks on his new Acid album have more than one billion listen.
Although it lasts four months and travels across two continents, Rodrigo Sour visit, however, is already sold out. Don’t be bitter, though. These grapes can be found on alternative vines like StubHub.
Haim
April 24 to June 14
Not only are you going to get near-perfect pop-rock with Este’s trio of multi-instrumentalist sisters, Danielle and Alana Haim, but now you can see an Oscar nominee swinging a bonus guitar. Alana won acclaim for her role as Alana Kane in Paul Thomas Anderson’s 2021 film, Licorice Pizza.
As the sisters kick off their April Another Chaim tour, the public will already know if she is carrying a golden statuette. Don’t just go for the taste of fame, though. Haim’s multi-dimensional and genre-varied songwriting shines with an intimate touch of personality as well as a wonderful exploration of melody and style.
The weekend
July 8 to September 3
The 2020s have already seen Canadian singer-songwriter and music producer Abel Makkonen Tesfaye appear as a maimed victim of plastic surgery and as a gray-haired elderly person. However, changing faces isn’t the only trick the Wknd has up its sleeve. His sonic versatility and dark lyricism are on full display in his 2022 album, Dawn FM.
The concept album underlines a helpless melancholy as a trapped state of mind. Since its first appearance in 2009, Tesfaye’s music has built bigger and bigger structures to explore an escape from reality and a doomed romance often inspired by personal experience. This exploration is not only on full screen on the album’s accompanying musical film on Amazon Prime, but will be available to fans starting in July in Toronto (with the opening of Doja Cat).
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