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There’s no use denying it. Fall is in the air. For some, that means swimming pool closings and semester classes beginning. For others, it signifies horror movie season creeping nearer and a new wardrobe for the crisper days ahead. As music fans, we say goodbye to festival grounds and the amphitheater lawns of summer and hello to theaters with bright marquees and more intimate concert settings.
And that swap doesn’t have to be a negative thing, especially when fall also brings venues with purer sound, extended sets, and, as our luck would have it, many of our favorite artists touring new albums. Yes, whether you’re a metal head, a king or queen of pop, or a fan of all things indie, one of your go-to artists is about to hit the road with a killer new record of songs to spice up their sets and take their shows to the next level.
Below are 10 artists touring behind new material that we wouldn’t dare miss. For good measure, we also included our favorite songs off new albums in hopes that they find their way onto setlists all fall long.
As always, whether we want a front-row center seat at the ballroom or general admission to dance a chilly night away at the club, we turn to StubHub for all the best deals as we build our own personal concert experiences.
We’ll catch you on the road this fall!
–Regan Bexler
Contributing Writer
Thom Yorke
Thom Yorke, Photo by Philip Cosores
Thom Yorke released his third solo record, ANIMA, this past summer, the follow-up to 2014’s Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes. In very Yorke fashion, the new record is plagued with dystopian views and doused with, as the frontman describes in an interview with Crack Magazine, “incredible bouts of anxiety.” However unpleasant these themes seem, you can count on Yorke (and longtime collaborator Nigel Godrich) to transform them into sprawling, sharp tracks with fluttering beats and stuttering melodies that turn those anxieties into some of the most beautiful songs fans will hear this year as Yorke swings through North America on tour. –Samantha Lopez
Please Play: “Traffic”, “Dawn Chorus”, and “Not the News”
(Buy: Tickets to Upcoming Thom Yorke Shows)
Lana Del Rey
Lana Del Rey, Photo by David Brendan Hall
Lana Del Rey forever and always captures a particular mood that we are all familiar with. It’s been the Hot Girl Summer, but for those of us who are ready for our more morose and melancholy side to shine through, the release of the sultry pop singer’s sixth album, Norman Fucking Rockwell!, perfectly encapsulates that liminal time after Labor Day. The new record is filled with Rey’s most ineffaceable lyrics and combines them with hazy melodies that blend into an almost romantic look into contemporary America. The record’s meandering ballads capture that transition from summer to fall, where the weather is still warm and sticky and the sky is an array of hazy pink hues and turns the sensation into atmospheric, luscious pop songs. The singer kicks off the first leg of her tour this fall with dates up and down the west coast and a few in Europe. Don’t worry if you live elsewhere; this tour is promptly named “the first leg,” which hopefully means more dates and cities are to be announced! –Samantha Lopez
Please Play: “Norman Fucking Rockwell!”, “Mariners Apartment Complex”, and “The greatest”
(Buy: Tickets to Upcoming Lana Del Rey Shows)
Chance the Rapper
Chance the Rapper, Photo by David Brendan Hall
Chance the Rapper may not have had a scheduled set at Lollapalooza last month, but Chicagoans couldn’t have been too shocked to see their favorite local hip-hop artist pop up and steal the show — even at a Death Cab for Cutie set. Chance just has a knack for soaking up the spotlight but almost always in a positive way that leaves his fans and neighbors a bit better for it. Chicagoans already know that and the rest of the country will soon find out as the hip-hop star maneuvers across America with a fresh debut album in hand. An ambitious mix of hip-hop and gospel, according to our own Lucy Shanker, The Big Day should have fans expecting a little bit of rap and a little bit of revival when Chance comes to town. –Regan Bexler
Please Play: “Eternal”, “All Day Long”, and “Do You Remember”
(Buy: Tickets to Upcoming Chance the Rapper Shows)
Post Malone
Post Malone, photo by Lior Phillips
Face tattoos and a bob ponytail are an unusual way to get to the top of the charts, but that look, coupled with a laconic delivery, has been the winning combination for 24-year-old New York native Post Malone. With four singles off of last week’s new album, Hollywood’s Bleeding, already having garnered hundreds of millions of clicks and streams, the singer can expect throngs of fans to not only be calling out at shows to hear his most recent hits, but be able to sing along with every last word as well. Sounds like a tour that needs no help from us to hype it up. –Regan Bexler
Please Play: “A Thousand Bad Times”, “Staring at the Sun”, and “Allergic”
(Buy: Tickets to Upcoming Post Malone Shows)
Sleater-Kinney
Sleater-Kinney, Photo by Heather Kaplan
As suddenly as they disappeared, feral PNW riot grrl leaders Sleater-Kinney re-emerged. And they’ve been wasting no time. First, in 2014 with their eighth studio album, No Cities to Love — a stunning return surpassing what any fan could have hoped for — and again last month with the band’s ninth album, The Center Won’t Hold. The trio have mastered the ability to keep shaking things up, this time around with the guidance of art-rock queen Annie Clark (AKA St. Vincent) as producer. The new record is “as polished as it is distorted” and probably the band’s most accessible album to date. From a stylistic approach, the record is filled with a bunch of new left turns, and a lot of them feel underscored by drummer Janet Weiss’ departure from the band, which was announced just a few short weeks before the album’s release. Nevertheless, Center Won’t Hold is a shimmering, danceable, energy-filled success that would be a tragedy to miss live. It hasn’t been announced who will be replacing Weiss on drums this tour, but you can catch them on a 31-date North American Tour starting next month in Spokane and running through the end of November in Seattle, WA. –Samantha Lopez
Please Play: “The Center Won’t Hold”, “Reach Out”, and “Bad Dance”
(Read: Tickets to Upcoming Sleater-Kinney Shows)
Billie Eilish
Billie Eilish, photo by Ben Kaye
When we spoke to Billie Eilish after making her our 2018 Rookie of the Year, the then-16-year-old breakout star had yet to release her debut album; however, she did already have a deep understanding of her fanbase. Eilish explained to us that the secret behind her appeal — other than invading our heads for weeks at a time with every new single — is that she is just a teenager and no different than her fans. If that’s the case, then Eilish is hosting some of the best hangouts of the fall on her slate of festival and solo dates. Only instead of pillow fights and makeovers, expect a dark night of fun and sarcasm as only Eilish can deliver. Duh! –Regan Bexler
Please Play: “you should see me in a crown”, “all the good girls go to hell”, and “when the party’s over”
(Buy: Tickets to Upcoming Billie Eilish Shows)
Bon Iver
Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, Photo by Ben Kaye
It’s hard to believe that Bon Iver’s breakthrough masterpiece, For Emma, Forever Ago, came out more than 12 years ago — or what feels like quite literally “forever ago” in a world where everything happens at breakneck speed. But while other aughts favorites have fallen by the wayside or ended up on the pop-culture scrapheap, Justin Vernon has managed to evolve and keep relevant without ever compromising the artistic path he set out for himself. When i,i dropped ahead of schedule in early August, fans had to be stoked at the thought of Vernon playing these songs live this fall; as our own Grant Sharples explains, this latest collection sounds like the culmination of everything the band have been working towards across the past decade. It’s poignant to think that Vernon finished one journey so that he could take to the road and share his findings with all of us. –Regan Bexler
Please Play: “Hey, Ma”, “U (Man Like)”, and “Faith”
(Buy: Tickets to Upcoming Bon Iver Shows)
Charli XCX
Charli XCX, Photo by Philip Cosores
Pop mogul Charli XCX announced her first record in five years this past summer. Now, the self-titled Charli arrives in just a few days through Atlantic Records and will feature a slew of prominent guests: Lizzo, Troye Sivan, HAIM, Big Freedia, Christine and the Queens, and Sky Ferreira just to name a few. The release is being supported by the expansive “Charli LIVE Tour,” which began in July and will continue into the new year. The singles released promise that the record is sure to be filled to the brim with sleek, eruptive beats and, according to a statement from Charli herself, is aiming “to dismantle classic beauty ideals.” –Samantha Lopez
Please Play: “Warm” (feat. HAIM), “Blame It on Your Love” (feat. Lizzo), and “1999”
(Buy: Tickets to Upcoming Charli XCX’s Shows)
Wilco
Wilco, Photo by Phil Cosores
Chicago alt-rock legends Wilco announced a new album, Ode to Joy, to be released next month. The forthcoming record is described as “everything the title suggests,” and in a press release, frontman Jeff Tweedy describes it as “a record full of really big, big folk songs, these monolithic, brutal structures that these delicate feelings are hung on.” Along with a new record, the band will embark on a heavy-duty tour, the first time they’ve hit the road in two years. If first single “Love Is Everywhere (Beware)” offers any indication, fans should beware of a one-of-a-kind experience they won’t soon forget. –Samantha Lopez
Please Play: “Love Is Everywhere (Beware)”
(Buy: Tickets to Upcoming Wilco Shows)
Lizzo
Lizzo, photo by Debi Del Grande
Billie Eilish became a breakout star by the time she was old enough to drive. It’s taken singer, rapper, and flutist Lizzo double the age to become the name on the tip of everyone’s tongue. It only goes to show that you never know when your number might be called. And Lizzo has taken full advantage of a year that belongs to her as much as any other artist: putting out a lauded album of empowering bangers in Cuz I Love You, co-starring alongside Jennifer Lopez in Hustlers, and taking her dynamic stage show to as many as possible. With some of the hottest songs of the year now peppered throughout her set, Lizzo fans should expect nothing less than a veritable party at her upcoming shows. –Regan Bexler
Please Play: “Soulmate”, “Jerome”, and “Like a Girl”
