Moby has confirmed that Lady Blackbird will be his “special guest” support act for his upcoming UK and European ‘Play’ tour. The electronic music icon is set to embark on his first European tour in a decade this September, celebrating the 25th anniversary of his acclaimed fifth studio album, ‘Play’. The tour includes a major show at The O2 in London.
Lady Blackbird, an acclaimed soul-jazz singer-songwriter, will join Moby as the opening act. The two artists recently collaborated on Moby’s 2024 LP ‘Always Centered At Night’ and 2023’s ‘Resound NYC’. Moby expressed his excitement about the collaboration in a press release, stating, “I feel like the luckiest musician in the world that I’m going to be going on tour with Lady Blackbird. Her voice and her presence and her creativity are incredibly inspiring.”
Lady Blackbird also shared her enthusiasm, saying, “The relationship started with Reginald and Bagel, which evolved into a creative, collaborative relationship with Moby on ‘Walk With Me’ and ‘Dark Days’. I’m so excited to announce that I will be joining him on tour, where we shall all be centered at night.”
Moby recently added a new tour date in Manchester at the O2 Apollo on September 18. The full list of tour dates is as follows:
SEPTEMBER
18 – O2 Apollo, Manchester
19 – The O2, London, England
21 – Sportpaleis, Antwerp, Belgium
22 – Velodrome, Berlin, Germany
23 – Mitsubishi Electric Hall, Düsseldorf, Germany
24 – Le Zenith, Paris, France
Released in 1999, Moby’s fifth studio album ‘Play’ includes classic tracks like ‘Porcelain’, ‘Natural Blues’, and ‘Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?’. The album has sold over 12 million copies worldwide, won various awards, and is the biggest-selling electronic album of all time.
Reflecting on the success of ‘Play’, Moby told NME, “I still don’t 100 percent believe it happened. Growing up, the music I listened to was not popular. In Connecticut in 1982, there weren’t many people listening to Joy Division and Minor Threat. So I assumed I would make music that no one would ever listen to. Then in the ‘90s, I found myself having more of an audience which was surprising to me because the first record I ever released was called ‘Mobility’ [in 1990] which sold just shy of 1,000 copies – but I thought that was a huge success because in high school, my punk rock band Vatican Commandos had released a 7-inch single that sold 300 copies.”
Moby also shared his thoughts on how he looks back at the album’s legacy, saying, “With a degree of wincing shame, I found myself obsessing over and loving the fame aspect of it. Growing up going to Fugazi, I thought you were selling out if you charge more than $5 for a show and suddenly, I’m standing onstage in front of 10,000 people and going to fancy parties and doing tons of drugs. I’m glad it chewed me up and spat me out but didn’t kill me, and that I didn’t end up as one of those musicians who’ve been hugely famous for so long that they don’t have a sense of self outside of fame. I feel like I should Venmo you for the therapy session!”
Moby’s 2024 tour will feature well-known songs from ‘Play’ as well as audience favorites like ‘Extreme Ways’, ‘We Are All Made Of Stars’, ‘When It’s Cold I’d Like to Die’, and some old rave hits like ‘Feeling So Real’ and ‘Go’. Tickets for the tour go on general sale at 10am GMT / 11am CET on Friday, March 22. Moby has announced that 100% of his profits from the tour will go to European animal rights organizations.
In addition to the tour, Moby has announced his new album, ‘Always Centered At Night’, set for release on June 14. The album features a track called ‘Dark Days’, a collaboration with Lady Blackbird that offers a bluesy, gospel aesthetic. The 13-track record will also include contributions from the late Benjamin Zephaniah, Serpentwithfeet, and Sudanese singer Gaidaa, among others.
Moby’s latest album, ‘Resound NYC’, released in 2023, reimagines some of his biggest tracks with an orchestra. The tracklist for ‘Always Centered At Night’ is as follows:
1. on air (feat. serpentwithfeet)
2. dark days (feat. Lady Blackbird)
3. where is your pride? (feat. Benjamin Zephaniah)
4. transit (feat. Gaidaa)
5. wild flame (feat. Danaé Wellington)
6. precious mind (feat. India Carney)
7. should sleep (feat. J.P Bimeni)
8. feelings come undone (feat. Raquel Rodriguez)
9. medusa (feat. Aynzli Jones)
10. we’re going wrong (feat. Brie O’Banion)
11. fall back (feat. Akemi Fox)
12. sweet moon (feat. Choklate)
13. ache for (feat. José James)
Moby’s upcoming tour dates are as follows:
Thu September 19 2024 – LONDON O2 Arena
Sat September 21 2024 – ANTWERP Sportpaleis (Belgium)
Sun September 22 2024 – BERLIN Velodrome (Germany)
Mon September 23 2024 – DUSSELDORF Mitsubishi Electric Hall (Germany)
Tue September 24 2024 – PARIS Zenith (France)
Source: NME, Stereoboard
