Just Announced Portishead announces first North American tour since 1998

Portishead announced its first North American tour since 1998 today, further establishing its habit of doing things in its own damn sweet time (see Third, released in 2008 after an 11-year hiatus). Sure, the British trip-hop pioneers did play a one-off set at Coachella in 2008, but this is a full-blown (albeit fairly short) tour with stops at all of your favorite metro areas in the U.S. and Canada. Things kick off at the I’ll Be Your Mirror portion of All Tomorrow’s Parties in Asbury Park, New Jersey on Oct. 1-2, wend their way through New York, Toronto, Chicago, and other fine destinations (including a stop in Mexico for Corona Festival), and end up in Denver Oct. 27. A limited run of tickets is available for purchase via the Portishead website through July 14. Everyone else can get their hands on tickets starting July 15-16, with the exception of those who want to go to the show in Chicago, who have to wait until July 22 for some reason.

Don’t let the fact that the band hasn’t had much face time stateside since the late ’90s—an innocent time when Bill Clinton was President, 9/11 was but a glimmer in Bin Laden’s eye, and the Internet was still kind of a novelty—concern you, since reviews of Portishead’s 2008 Coachella set were positive to ebullient. And if your city isn’t included on this list, rest easy: There’s always a chance that additional dates will be added to the brief itinerary. That, or maybe the band will stop in your city next time out, which should be sometime around 2025, just after the sure-to-be great fourth album is released in 2024 on the 30th anniversary of the band’s debut, Dummy. 

Full list of tour dates below.

October 1-2 - IBYM, Asbury Park, NJ
October 4 - Hammerstein Ballroom NY
October 5 - Hammerstein Ballroom, NY
October 7 - Jacques Cartier Pier, Montreal
October 9 - Sound Academy, Toronto
October 10 - Sound Academy, Toronto
October 12 - Aragon, Chicago
October 15 - Mexico, Corona Festival
October 18 - Shrine LA
October 21 - Greek, Berkeley, SF
October 23 - WaMu, Seattle
October 24 - PNE Forum, Vancouver
October 27 - 1stBank Center, Denver