EMF has officially announced their first U.S. shows since 1992! Slated to play Milwaukee’s Summerfest on June 21st, Detroit’s Magic Bag on June 22nd, and Brooklyn’s The Monarch on June 23rd.
“It’s been very hard keeping this news a secret,” says James Atkin and Ian Dench of British dance-rock quintet EMF excitedly. “We are so happy to finally announce these very special U.S. shows.”
Riding on a significant wave of U.K. attention and acclaim following the release of their fifth full-length album The Beauty and The Chaos in January 2024 and a 11-night sold-out tour, EMF’s return to the States on a career-high, unmatched since their early ‘90s heyday. Revered tome God Is In The Machine was careful not to place their new album in the “nostalgia” spotlight, saying, “Welcome back to a band who are absolutely killing it right now, much to my surprise and delight. Ignore at your own peril.” Retropop agrees that the album “reaffirms EMF’s place in the pop landscape and proves, even three decades later, they’re still capable of delivering material to the standard of their classic recordings.” Midlands Rocks affirms, “The Beauty And The Chaos finds the band doing what they do best: releasing a collection of 10 certified stompers.”
Their live shows, which ups the ante of their already adrenaline-drenched studio recordings, have lost none of the youthful vigor and sweat-soaked exuberance. Of their Jan. 20th show at UK’s Garage, Rockshot Magazine noted the venue “exploded with energy… to complete a brilliant, fun, upbeat set that left everyone smiling.”
EMF U.S. LIVE DATES:
| Jun 21 | Milwaukee, WI | Summerfest (TICKET LINK) | |
| Jun 22 | Detroit, MI | Magic Bag (TICKET LINK) | |
| Jun 23 | Brooklyn, NY | The Monarch (TICKET LINK) |
Exploding on the U.K. scene in November 1990 with their debut album Schubert Dip, EMF made quite an entrance with their inescapable and irresistibly catchy single “Unbelievable,” which conquered the charts on both sides of the Atlantic, hitting #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #3 in the UK. The single was certified gold in May 1991 in the U.S., and it sold over 500k. The song was in such heavy rotation for most of the year in America that it finished as the #6 single overall. Schubert Dip was certified platinum in the U.S. by September of that year, selling over one million.
Their latest album, The Beauty And The Chaos, saw the return of Ralph Jezzard (Chapterhouse, Fatima Mansions, Senseless Things) in the producer’s chair (he produced their first two full-length albums, Schubert Dip and Stigma). Said the band of working with Jezzard again, “We produced another set of classic songs about our lives and the world in 2023 inspired by our favorite past, present, and future sounds. We mixed James Atkin’s techno synths and Ian Dench’s punk guitar, heated it to 200 degrees with Stevey Marsh and Aid Todd’s groovy rock rhythms, iced it with Derry Brownson’s maniacal sampling and popped it in a box of Ralph Jezzard’s sonic excellence. Unwrap and enjoy!” The album’s first single, “Hello People,” reestablished the band’s stronghold on the mainstream, with My Global Mind commenting, “I, for one, am overjoyed. Bouncing around the room like it’s 1991-92 all over again and feeling great for it.”
“From EMF at these shows, you can expect all the old hits with an added couple of bangers from our new album, The Beauty and the Chaos,” concluded the band. The shows are undoubtedly guaranteed to be, well, unbelievable.
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