While the point of this guide is to look ahead at what we’re excited to see on tour this fall, it’s also a nice time to look back at just how fortunate we’ve already been this year. We’ve seen the live return of Radiohead, the launch of Kanye’s innovative new stage, in addition to stadium shows by Beyoncé, Coldplay, Pearl Jam, and The Boss. Reunion runs have also included the likes of GNR, LCD, and The Stone Roses, while we’ve sadly seen our last shows from Prince and The Tragically Hip.
It almost seems greedy to want more from 2016, but we’ve also still got four months to go. Not to mention, there are several festivals to come, where, among other happenings, the Misfits will reconvene at Riot Fest and Kevin Parker will battle Mark Ronson at Corona Capital. But aside from one-offs, the following 25 acts are what we’re most excited for this fall.
25. Rae Sremmurd
Photo by Philip Cosores
If you need to be told about this tour, you might just be older than 21. Rae Sremmurd, rap’s preeminent hook-masters, are taking their show on the road, and taking fellow Millenial Lil Yachty to make sure they’ve got every ounce of swag locked in. The duo can pull out jams like “By Chance” and the Lil Jon-featuring “Set the Roof” without blinking, confident that they’ve got another dozen ready to go. Take one look at the flashy drawings of the three youngsters on the tour poster (Yachty’s red dreads and gold grill really work as a cartoon) and you’ll get a good idea of the kind of boisterous energy they’ll undoubtedly deliver. –Adam Kivel
Rae Sremmurd 2016 Tour Dates:
09/23 – Las Vegas, NV @ Hakkasan
09/24 – Denton, TX @ Oaktopia
10/01 – New Orleans, LA @ Republic New Orleans
10/02 – Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle
10/04 – St. Petersburg, FL @ Jannus Live
10/05 – Orlando, FL @ Hard Rock Live
10/07 – Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
10/09 – Royal Oak, MI @ Royal Oak Music Theatre
10/10 – St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant
10/11 – Kansas City, MO @ Arvest Bank Theatre At The Midland
10/13 – Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theatre
10/14 – Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave
10/15 – Minneapolis, MN @ Zombie Pub Crawl
10/17 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues
10/18 – Toronto, ON @ Sound Academy
10/19 – New York, NY @ Playstation Theater
10/22 – New Haven, CT @ College Street Music Hall
10/23 – Norfolk, VA @ The NorVa
10/24 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE
10/25 – Richmond, VA @ The National
10/26 – Charlotte, NC @ Fillmore
10/31 – Tulsa, OK @ Cain’s Ballroom
11/01 – Houston, TX @ Revention Music Center
11/03 – Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre
11/05 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Rockwell @ The Complex
11/07 – Vancouver, BC @ PNE Forum
11/08 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox Sodo
11/09 – Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
11/10 – San Francisco, CA @ The Warfield
11/12 – Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theatre
11/16 – San Diego, CA @ The Observatory
24. Yusuf Islam
In 1966, an artist named Cat Stevens released his first single, “I Love My Dog”. Now, 50 years later, Yusuf Islam is hitting the road. While Islam has played live sporadically over the past handful of years, his “A Cat’s Attic” tour will find him hosting his first public shows in New York City since 1976. As his press release notes, these dates will feature “stripped-down, introspective performances,” which in all honesty seems a little redundant given the artist in question. Can you strip down “Here Comes My Baby” more than it already is? Only one way to find out! In any event, fans of Stevens/Islam should be overjoyed that the often reclusive artist is finally taking his beloved catalog back on tour. Whatever name he goes by, the songs have lived on, and it will be a true pleasure to hear them come to life on stage once more. –Zack Ruskin
Yusuf Islam 2016 Tour Dates:
09/12 – Toronto, ON @ Sony Centre for the Performing Arts
09/15 – Philadephia, PA @ Verizon Hall
09/17 – Boston, MA @ Wang Theatre
09/19 – New York, NY @ Beacon Theatre
09/20 – New York, NY @ Beacon Theatre
09/22 – Washington, DC @ Kennedy Center
09/24 – New York, NY @ Global Citizen Festival
09/27 – Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium
09/30 – Chicago, IL @ Oriental Theatre
10/03 – San Francisco, CA @ Davies Symphony Hall
10/06 – Los Angeles, CA @ Pantages Theatre
10/07 – Los Angeles, CA @ Pantages Theatre
23. Mitski
Photo by Ben Kaye
Seeing Mitski live is an experience you shouldn’t miss because it requires you to be utterly present. Mitski Miyawaki’s refusal to perform insincere, half-felt emotion lends her performances a simplicity that can be easily mistaken for nonchalance or indifference. But the atypical settings of a Mitski show shouldn’t be surprising. The gravity of her music, especially her recent release, Puberty 2, makes it clear that Mitski asks of her audience engagement, not entitlement. The lack of pretense at a Mitski concert will make it one of the most intimate shows you’ll see this fall, if you let it. –Karen Gwee
Mitski 2016 Tour Dates:
09/20 – Dublin, IE @ The Workman’s Club
09/22 – Berlin, DE @ Berghain Kantine
09/23 – Hamburg, DE @ Reeperbahney
09/24 – Copenhagen, DK @ Loppen
09/26 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
09/27 – Frankfurt, DE @ Brotfabrik
09/28 – Brussels, BE @ Ancienne Belgique
09/30 – Paris, FR @ Le Pop Up Du Label
10/01 – Brighton, UK @ Green Door Store
10/02 – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club
10/04 – Glasgow, UK @ Stereo
10/05 – Manchester, UK @ Deaf Institute
10/06 – London, UK @ Dome Tufnell Park
11/01 – Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
11/03 – Toronto, ON @ Mod Club
11/04 – Detroit, MI @ Magic Bag
11/05 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
11/06 – St. Louis, MO @ Off Broadway
11/10 – Athens, GA @ 40 Watt
11/11 – Orlando, FL @ Back Booth
11/12 – Miami, FL @ Gramps
11/13 – Jacksonville, FL @ Jack Rabbits
11/15 – Asheville, NC @ Grey Eagle
11/16 – Durham, NC @ Motorco
11/17 – Charlottesville, VA @ Southern Cafe
11/18 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat
11/19 – Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church
11/21 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall
22. Morrissey
An upcoming Morrissey tour will always be on both a list of most anticipated tours and least predictable. The former Smiths frontman has notoriously canceled more than his fair share of tour dates, but simultaneously refuses to be slowed down by cancer treatments and reportedly has new material in the hopper. Thirty years after The Queen Is Dead, Moz still commands massive crowds with feisty performances and strong opinions. Morrissey has been touring for decades and likely has hit your town in the last couple of years, but legends like this don’t come along every day, making each successive tour feel that much more important. And while a Smiths reunion may never happen, you’re at least pretty likely to see “Meat Is Murder”, an iconic song from one of the essential artists of a generation. –Lior Phillips
Morrissey 2016 Tour Dates:
09/17 – Chicago, IL @ Riot Fest
09/20 – Louisville, KY @ Palace Theatre
09/22 – Philadelphia, PA @ Tower Theater
09/24 – Brooklyn, NY @ Kings Theatre
09/28 – Tokyo, JP @ Orchard Hall
09/29 – Tokyo, JP @ Orchard Hall
10/01 – Yokohama, JP @ Bay Hall
10/02 – Osaka, JP @ IMP Hall
10/06 – Hong Kong, CN @ MacPherson Stadium
10/12 – Jakarta, IN @ Senayan Golf Driving Range
10/15 – Singapore City, SP @ Marina Barrage
10/18 – Bangkok, TH @ Moonstar Studio
10/22 – Melbourne, AU @ Festival Hall
10/26 – Adelaide, AU @ Thebarton Theatre
10/28 – Canberra, AU @ Royal Theatre
10/29 – Wollongong, AU @ WIN Centre
10/31 – Newcastle, AU @ Civic Theatre
11/04 – Irvine, CA @ Bren Events Center
11/05 – Santa Barbara, CA @ Santa Barbara Bowl
11/09 – Irvine, CA @ Bren Events Center
11/11 – Reno, NV @ Grand Theatre
11/14 – Boulder, CO @ Boulder Theater
11/16 – Dallas, TX @ McFarlin Auditorium
11/17 – San Antonio, TX @ Tobin Center
11/19 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall
11/23 – El Paso, TX @ Abraham Chavez Theatre
21. Danny Brown
Photo by Philip Cosores
Danny Brown’s long-awaited follow-up to the excellent Old is shaping up to be fodder for a real rager of a tour. Early samples of Atrocity Exhibition “When It Rain” and “Pneumonia” bite hard. The opener is called “Downward Spiral”, and System of a Down’s Toxicity is a touchstone, so snarling, bouncing energy should be a given. The record is also inspired by post-punks Joy Division and Talking Heads, leaving room for plenty of chilly, claustrophobic feels. And then you’ve got Brown’s voice, a unique instrument that bounces from razor-sharp to radioactive burn. Add in fellow Detroiter ZelooperZ and up-and-coming Houston spitter Maxo Kream, and crowds should be in for a long night of intense moshing. –Adam Kivel
Danny Brown 2016 Tour Dates:
09/02 – Denver, CO @ National Western Complex
09/03 – Denver, CO @ National Western Complex
09/14 – Philadelphia, PA @ TLA
09/15 – Providence, RI @ Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel
09/16 – New Haven, CT @ Toad’s Place
09/17 – Clifton Park, NY @ Upstate Concert Hall
09/18 – Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
09/19 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall
09/21 – Columbus, OH @ Park Street Saloon
09/22 – Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
09/23 – Grand Rapids, MI @ The Intersection
09/24 – Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave II
09/25 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
09/27 – Des Moines, IA @ Wooly’s
09/28 – Lincoln, NE@ The Bourbon Theatre
10/01 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Complex
10/02 – Boise, ID @ Knitting Factory
10/04 – Seattle, WA @ Neptune Theatre
10/05 – Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater
10/06 – Vancouver, Canada @ Vogue Theatre
10/07 – Spokane, WA @ Knitting Factory
10/08 – Eugene, OR @ WOW Hall
10/11 – San Francisco, CA @ Regency
10/12 – Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst
10/14 – San Diego, CA @ The Observatory North Park
10/15 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Fonda Theatre
10/16 – Santa Ana, CA @ The Observatory
10/17 – Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom
10/18 – Albuquerque, NM @ SINSHINE THEATRE
10/20 – Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live
10/21 – Dallas, TX @ South Side Music Hall
10/22 – Tucson, AZ @ Dusk Music Festival
10/23 – Austin, TX @ Emo’s Austin
10/25 – New Orleans, LA @ Republic New Orleans
10/26 – Nashville, TN @ Exit/In
10/27 – Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade
10/28 – Charlotte, NC @ The Underground
10/29 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
10/30 – Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel
11/01 – Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore Silver Springs
11/02 – Millvale, PA @ Mr. Smalls Theatre
11/03 – Buffalo, NY @ Town Ballroom
11/04 – Toronto, Canada @ Phoenix Concert Theatre
11/05 – Cleveland, OH @ The Grog Shop
