Soul Asylum are more than ready to re-start their live shows after their 2020 best- selling tour in 15 years was cut short due to the Pandemic lockdown orders. The band played their last full, live date on March 11, 2020 at the Teragram Ballroom in Los Angeles. Like all tours that month, they got the news of the lockdown while waiting for soundcheck in San Diego and were forced to return to Minneapolis, cutting short their 25-date tour with six shows left hanging in the balance.
The quartet will rev up the tour bus for their new “Back In Your Face” tour beginning August 3 in Reading, PA before hitting 26 other cities, winding up in Maple Grove, MN on September 18. Additional dates to be announced shortly, Local H and Juliana Hatfield support on all dates. The current Soul Asylum line-up features Dave Pirner as lead vocals/guitar, Michael Bland on drums, Ryan Smith on lead guitar, and Wynston Roye on bass.
“Being off the road and at home for this last 15 months has been as hard on all of us, as it has everyone in the world really,” explains Pirner. “We haven’t been in one place, for this long, in the history of the band. We can’t wait to get back to the road and see our fans, get ready because these shows are going to be special!”
Soul Asylum did anything but sit at home idle during this last 15 months. Leader Pirner and guitarist, Ryan Smith spent a good amount of the first six months of the Stay at Home orders doing weekly, Friday night Quarantine Sessions from Pirner’s living room. From those performances, the idea to record a few of the songs in this new acoustic format, sprung forth and the Born Free digital EP was released last October. In other exciting release news, the posthumous album from PRINCE, Welcome 2 America, is set to release on July 30 and features a cover of Soul Asylum’s 2006 single “Stand Up and B Strong” alongside the eleven Prince originals.
Hurry Up and Wait was released on April 17, 2020 to much fan and critical acclaim worldwide landing the band their highest Billboard Chart position since 1995’s Platinum selling Let Your Dim Light Shine. The new album was co-producer John Fields, who also worked on the band’s previous three albums. In addition, the group also decamped to a familiar spot: Nicollet Studios, the same place SOUL ASYLUM recorded one of their seminal early albums released on Twin/Tone Records, the 1986 LP While You Were Out.
Spanning three decades, Soul Asylum’s indie success led to the band entering the major-label mainstream with 1988’s Hang Time and its 1990 follow-up And the Horse They Rode In On, before achieving a platinum-level commercial breakthrough with 1992’s Grave Dancers Union (certified 3x platinum) and 1995’s Let Your Dim Light Shine. Grave Dancers Union featured the international hits “Runaway Train”, which won a 1994 Grammy as Best Rock Song, and “Black Gold,” while Let Your Dim Light Shine (platinum) spawned the hit “Misery”. After 1998’s Candy from a Stranger, Soul Asylum returned to action in 2006 with The Silver Lining, Delayed Reaction six years later and most recently with 2016’s Change of Fortune.
SOUL ASYLUM ON TOUR – All dates supported by Local H and Juliana Hatfield:
August 3 – Reverb – Reading, PA
August 5 – The Vault Music Hall – New Bedford, MA
August 6 – Aura – Portland, ME
August 7 – Orange Motorsports – Middletown, NY
August 8 – Wally’s Pub – Hampton Beach, NH
August 10 – The Ramkat – Winston-Salem, NC
August 11 – Oceanfront Concert Series – Virginia Beach, VA
August 12 – House of Blues – N. Myrtle Beach, SC
August 14 – Saint Louis Music Park – Maryland Heights, MO
August 15 – Grinders KC – Kansas City, MO
August 20 – The Castle Theatre – Bloomington, IL
August 21 – The Piazza – Aurora, IL
August 22 – Garfield Park – Indianapolis, IN
August 26 – The Red Carpet – Charleston, WV
August 27 – Jergels – Warrendale, PA
August 28 – Riverfront Live – Cincinnati, OH
August 30 – ACL Live at The Moody – Austin, TX
September 1 – Lava Cantina The Colony – The Colony, TX
September 3 – VBC Mars Music Hall – Huntsville, AL
September 4 – Hop Springs – Murfreesboro, TN
September 5 – Piere’s Entertainment Center – Fort Wayne, IN
September 9 – Summerfest @ BMO Harris – Milwaukee, WI
September 10 – Greenway Takeover Festival – Grand Forks, ND
September 11 – The ‘O’riginal Bar – Minot, ND
September 16 – Evans Amphitheater at Cain – Cleveland Heights, OH
September 17 – Menominee Nation Arena – Oshkosh, WI
September 18 – Concert on the Lawn – Maple Grove, MN
More dates TBA
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