Swans Announce 2024 US Tour Dates
Swans have today announced a United States tour for April and May 2024, following European dates. The band SOLD OUT all but two of their 2023 North American tour. The tour details, which are shared on the heels of a triumphant tour across Europe, North America, and the UK, will see the current incarnation of Swans perform– starting from April 12th through to mid-May. Full details below.
Swans 2024 US Tour Dates:
4/12/24: Washington, DC – Howard Theatre
4/13/24: Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer
4/14/24: Richmond, VA – The Broadberry
4/16/24: Nashville, TN – Blue Room at Third Man
4/18/24: Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse
4/20/24: Birmingham, AL – The Saturn
4/21/24: New Orleans, LA – The Civic Theatre
4/23/24: Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall
4/24/24: San Antonio, TX – Paper Tiger
4/25/24: Albuquerque, NM – Sunshine Theater
4/27/24: Las Vegas, NV – Sick New World Festival
4/29/24: Los Angeles, CA – Lodge Room
5/2/24: San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall
5/5/24: Salt Lake City, UT – Soundwell
5/7/24: Denver, CO – Gothic Theatre
5/9/24: Kansas City, MO – Record Bar
5/10/24: St. Louis, MO – Delmar Hall
5/11/24: Chicago, IL – Cabaret Metro
5/14/24: Boston, MA – Paradise Rock Club
5/16/24: New York, NY – Racket
5/17/24: Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg
The tour follows the release of Swans’ sixteenth studio album, The Beggar, out now on Mute/Young God Records on double vinyl in a brown chipboard sleeve (with a download card for accessing an additional 44 minutes of music, also included on the album’s CD version), as a double CD in a brown chipboard digi-pack, and digitally.
The Beggar Tracklisting
1. The Parasite
2. Paradise is Mine
3. Los Angeles: City of Death
4. Michael is Done
5. Unforming
6. The Beggar
7. No More of This
8. Ebbing
9. Why Can’t I Have What I Want Any Time That I Want?
10. The Beggar Lover (Three)
11. The Memorious
Stream the album here
The Beggar was recorded and mixed at Candy Bomber Studio, Berlin, engineered by Ingo Krauss ,and mastered by Doug Henderson at Micro-Moose, Berlin. The album was written and produced by Michael Gira and features contributions from recent and former Swans, members of Angels of Light, as well as Guest Swan Ben Frost.
About The Swans:
Michael Gira founded the groundbreaking NYC band Swans in 1982. Initially notorious for their relentless, brutal, high-volume onslaughts of sound, the extreme, abject imagery of Gira’s lyrics, and his thundering vocals, Swans would undergo a series of startling transformations over the next 15 years. Following the punishing Filth and Cop albums, the ensemble would venture into harshly mechanical proto-industrial rock of their Greed period, then both haunted atmospheric idylls and martial stomps on 1987’s landmark Children of God double album. They’d conjure gentler acoustic-based meditations on The Burning World (1989), then, after relocating to Atlanta, grand, melody-dense sonic whirlwinds of the White Light from the Mouth of Infinity (1991) and Love of Life (1993) era, becoming more dissonant and sharp-edged with The Great Annihilator (1994). Finally, the ultimate statement of that epoch of Swans, Soundtracks For The Blind (1996), incorporated all of these elements across well over two hours of music. At this point, Gira called it quits after 15 years of non-stop recording and touring, disbanding the group. For the next 13 years, he’d make a long series of acclaimed albums and perform live extensively with a revolving roster of musicians under the name Angels Of Light. Gira also discovered, produced, and released albums by other musicians through his label, Young God Records. He cultivated such talents as Devendra Banhart and Akron/Family, among others, the original figures of the late ’00’s Avant-folk movement.
In 2010, he reactivated Swans, releasing the studio album My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky to ecstatic critical response, and touring the world for the better part of a year. The Seer, a triple album studio set, came out in 2012 and was celebrated by another lengthy world tour, eliciting more media praise and album sales that landed Swans’ next release, To Be Kind (another triple vinyl) debuted at #36 on Billboard’s Top 200 Sales Chart and #5 on their Independent Sales Chart. The Glowing Man (2017) (also triple vinyl) was the last studio release by this incarnation of Swans. With 2019’s Leaving Meaning, the 15th studio album, Gira returned to working with a fluid supporting cast of musicians once again.
