André 3000 is taking his polarizing instrumental album, New Blue Sun, on tour. The intimate live shows will include multi-instrumentalist Carlos Niño, Nate Mercereau, Surya Botofasina, Deantoni Parks, Diego Gaeta, Matthewdavid, V.C.R, Diego Gaeta, Jesse Peterson and Mia Doi Todd.
The tour kicks off on January 29 in Brooklyn and is followed by a three-night residency at the legendary Blue Note Jazz Club in Manhattan, where André and his collaborators will play two shows per night. They’ll make stops in Detroit, Chicago, Atlanta and San Francisco before finishing with a five-night stint at The Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever, a cemetery in Los Angeles.
The Outkast legend is a busy man. Earlier this month, he teamed up with IMAX to give fans a unique way to experience New Blue Sun, with select movie theaters presenting “an album listening cinematic experience” and live Q&A on January 23.
As for the album, Outkast fans were devastated to learn he wouldn’t be rapping on the album, something he acknowledged with the title of the first song: “I Swear, I Really Wanted To Make A ‘Rap’ Album But This Is Literally The Way The Wind Blew Me This Time.” Other titles include: “The Slang Word P (*)ssy Rolls Off The Tongue With Far Better Ease Than The Proper Word V#####. Do You Agree?” and “Dreams Once Buried Beneath The Dungeon Floor Slowly Sprout Into Undying Gardens.”
As for the intro to the album, André 3000 explained why he opted to release a bar-less album, saying, “There’s this misconception that I just won’t do it. I think people feel like I’m sitting around on rap albums, or sitting around and I’m just not putting them out in that way. And no it’s not like that… In my mind, I really would like to make a rap album. So maybe that happens one day, but I got to find a way to say what I want to say in an interesting way that’s appealing to me at this age.”
Tickets for the upcoming tour go on sale Wednesday (January 24) at 10 a.m. here. Find all dates below.
