Heralded by a teaser video in which he wandered down from the LL. Bean Mountains, loaded like an on-trend pack mule in layers of sherpa-lined denim, leather, and Navajo blankets, Justin Timberlake’s next album is all about returning him to the rural Tennessee roots that have long inspired the “Early Life” section of his Wikipedia page. That record, Man Of The Woods, “feels like mountains, trees, campfires, like the Wild West” according to the trailer—a sensation of wide open air and the invigorating threat of dysentery that runs throughout its tracks made for clubbing or plowing. And that feeling will also spread to Timberlake’s just-announced Man Of The Woods tour, where his rider in every city will demand a cooler filled with blood and soil.
“The outdoors is the inspiration for a lot of these songs. That’s the main idea. The tour will be able to bring the outside in. How can we bring that to life?” a fur-ringed Timberlake says in the just-released trailer, posing his question from atop a snow-covered, presumably to a herd of deer just off camera. “I want people to see the inspiration for how it ended up sounding. I’ve never seen that done before: Bring the outside in.”
The video itself—largely focused on Timberlake’s backstage regimen of massaging his calves with rollers hewed from mighty redwoods—doesn’t tease an answer to that question, so we’re left to speculate how the 27 cities along his North American trek will be introduced to the spectacle of “being outside.” Turning arena seats into kindling for a massive indoor bonfire? Letting coyotes run wild? Putting up some trees and shit? Whatever the approach, it’s likely we will get our first inkling during the Super Bowl halftime show, where Timberlake is expected to perform a medley of his songs only after successfully killing a bear.
But suffice it to say, if you consider yourself the outdoorsy type, you’ll definitely want to point your canoe in the direction of the side of the rocks where the moss grows, which should guide you fair and true to one of these Justin Timberlake concerts.
3/13/2018 Toronto, ON – Air Canada Centre 3/18/2018 Washington, DC – Capital One Arena 3/21/2018 New York, NY – Madison Square Garden 3/25/2018 Newark, NJ – Prudential Center 3/27/2018 Chicago, IL – United Center 3/31/2018 Cleveland, OH – Quicken Loans Arena 4/2/2018 Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena 4/4/2018 Boston, MA – TD Garden 4/8/2018 Montreal, QC – Bell Centre 4/12/2018 Salt Lake City, UT – Vivint Smart Home Arena 4/14/2018 Las Vegas, NV – T-Mobile Arena 4/24/2018 San Jose, CA – SAP Center 4/28/2018 Los Angeles, CA – The Forum 5/2/2018 Phoenix, AZ – Talking Stick Resort Arena 5/5/2018 Tulsa, OK – BOK Center 5/7/2018 Columbus, OH – Nationwide Arena 5/9/2018 Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena 5/11/2018 Atlanta, GA – Infinite Energy Arena 5/14/2018 Orlando, FL – Amway Center 5/15/2018 Tampa, FL – Amalie Arena 5/18/2018 Miami, FL – American Airlines Arena 5/19/2018 Ft. Lauderdale, FL – BB&T Center 5/23/2018 Houston, TX – Toyota Center 5/27/2018 Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center 5/30/2018 Memphis, TN – FedEx Forum
