The tours we’re most excited to see in 2022
Assuming it's safe when these acts head out on tour, we're most excited to see musicians like Pavement, Tyler, The Creator, Big Thief, and more
Music News Paul Thomas Anderson
It really seemed like things were on the right path, didn’t it? Sure, we were all still wearing masks in the bars, clubs, and theaters. At least, when we weren’t furtively pulling them down to take a quick swig of beer, or glaring at the inconsiderate asshats who kept their masks permanently under their chins while packed in close quarters in front of the stage. But shows were back! We could finally see our favorite musicians once more plying their trade for appreciative crowds.
And then: omicron. One step forward, one giant round Greek letter back. By the time you read these words, the surge from this latest variant may have subsided. But for now, there’s a tough moral calculus at work in deciding to go see a live band or artist. Staying safe should be everyone’s top priority—and logic dictates that means staying home again, for now anyway—but for a lot of musicians, touring is their livelihood. And many are locked into tours they can’t afford not to continue. So you have to balance wanting to support artists with wanting to do your part to keep COVID in check. If you do go, please abide by the strictest of COVID protocols.
But this wave won’t last forever. And there are a bunch of great artists hitting the road in 2022, ready to remind you of the (clichéd but true) power of live music. Here is a partial list of the acts we’re most excited to see in coming months; we’d include every band we want to check out, but a list 200 names long is pretty unwieldy. So consider this our must-see checklist; feel free to add your own unmissable acts in the comments. Hopefully, we’ll all be out soon, safely head-banging the night away.
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13 Comments
I’m in the realm of The Olds. I have tickets to the Newport Folk Festival, Tool, Yola, Glen Hansard / Marketa Irglova, Steve Hackett, Pineapple Thief, Deftones, Garbage/Tears for Fears, and the most postponed concert ever, Joan Jett/Poison/Def Leppard/Motley Crue. Eilish is an overrated pop experiment.
ANY TOUR I CAN SEE!Really I’m most excited for Goose, Parcels and Delfest because I have tickets to all of them and I’m hoping they go on. Plus the Delfest lineup is pretty sick.Got Umphrey’s McGee tickets for the 23rd of this month but I’ll be surprised if that’s not postponed.
Most anticipated concerts: Omicronapalooza, Zetaopolis, and OmegaFest.Seriously, I’m hoping that other areas of the country, those not emotionally invested in propping up a web of lies and conspiracies, are vaxxed, masked, and sane enough to hold concerts with only slightly-higher-than-normal risk. That’s just not going to be anywhere near where I’m living.Also, I find this note hilarious:Note to desktop users: If you’d like to read this in a scrolling format (and why wouldn’t you?), simply narrow your browser window.Edit: No mention of “Weird Al” Yankovic’s The Unfortunate Return of the Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour?
Weird Al’s full production tour from 2016 was crazy entertaining. Maybe a top 5 all-time for me. This spring I’m excited for John Moreland, DBT, and Colin Hay. And Low in Sept, which seems like ten years away.
As soon as I learned he would be playing near me and joined by Emo Philips, I bought a ticket. I passed on a chance to see him backed by a symphony back in pre-plague times, wasn’t making that mistake again.
I went to a Rolling Stones concert back in November. We bought the tickets pre-pandemic, and the show had been rescheduled. We were very nervous to go, but wore N95s and didn’t remove them once the entire time. We ended up having a great time at the concert. We had such a great time, we may have been a little enthusiastic and bought tickets to a Dropkick Murphy’s concert set for February 25th. It’s a Friday, and we were planning on leaving the kids with grandpa, getting a hotel room and making a night of it. Now we are very nervous about this concert. We thought things might even be in a place by then where we would be comfortable ditching the masks and having a few beers during the show. It’s not looking like it at this point.
Weird Al Yankovic’s The Unfortunate Return of the Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour is on my list. @InductWeirdAl #GetWeirdInTheHall
Live music is like sooooooooooooooo 1990’s. Like, hello!
Earl & Bronson would be a good time.
Run the Jewels is opening up for Rage Against the Machine starting in March (COVID permitting). The tour was originally scheduled in 2020 but then the thing happened.
What!!! Motley Crue didn’t make your honored list???
Are you sure you’re allowed to make any music-based list without including Japanese Breakfast?
I saw Pavement on their last reunion. Honestly? Not great. They sounded good, but when your whole schtick is being bored all the time, you put on a boring live show.