Oct 18, 2022
By Mark Redfern
Photography by Anna Isola Crolla
Scotland’s Belle and Sebastian have announced some new North American tour dates for 2023. They go down next April and May and include shows on the East Coast, in the Midwest, in Mexico, and in Canada. Check out all their upcoming tour dates below.
Frontman Stuart Murdoch was recently a guest on the BBC politics show Question Time, where he took the current Conservative British government to task for their policies. You can check out a clip here.
Back in May the band released their latest album, A Bit of Previous, via Matador. In June they shared a new song, also titled “A Bit of Previous,” but not featured on the album.
Stream A Bit of Previous here and read our review of it here.
In July, Belle and Sebastian performed their first ever Tiny Desk Concert for NPR Music.
Previously Belle and Sebastian shared A Bit of Previous’ first single, “Unnecessary Drama,” via a video for it. “Unnecessary Drama” was one of our Songs of the Week. Then they shared its second single, “If They’re Shooting At You,” which they have dedicated to the people of Ukraine and are donating all proceeds from the song to the Red Cross. It was accompanied by a video featuring images from photographers covering the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “If They’re Shooting At You” was also one of our Songs of the Week. Then they shared its third single, “Young and Stupid,” via a lyric video featuring photos of the band as children, teenagers, and in their 20s. “Young and Stupid” was accompanied by a statement from actor Jon Hamm (Mad Men, Baby Driver) and also made our Songs of the Week list. Then they shared a video for the album’s “Talk to Me, Talk to Me,” which was directed by 15-year-old South London siblings Freya and Rosalie Salkeld.
A Bit of Previous was recorded in the band’s hometown of Glasgow after plans to record in Los Angeles in the spring of 2020 were scrapped due to the pandemic. The band self-produced the album, recording it themselves. The album features contributions from Brian McNeill, Matt Wiggins, Kevin Burleigh, and Shawn Everett. There are four different album covers for A Bit of Previous.
“We did it together, us and the city,” said Murdoch in a previous press release. “This record was the first ‘full’ LP recording for B&S in Glasgow since Fold Your Hands Child, 1999. We clocked in every morning, we played our songs, we wrote together, we tried new things, we took the proverbial lump of clay, and we threw it every day.”
A Bit of Previous is the band’s first proper full-length album in seven years. But in that time they have released EPs (plus an album that collected all the EPs), a soundtrack, and a live album. Their last regular album was 2015’s Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance. In late 2017 and early 2018 Belle and Sebastian released three interconnected EPs via Matador, all titled How to Solve Your Human Problems. How to Solve Your Human Problems Part 1 came out in December 2017, Part 2 came out in January 2018, and Part 3 came out in February 2018. Then all three EPs were collected in a vinyl box set and CD compilation that also came out in February 2018. In 2019 they released the soundtrack for the indie film Days of the Bagnold Summer. In 2020 they released the live album, What to Look for in Summer.
Read our interview with Belle and Sebastian’s Stuart Murdoch on How to Solve Your Human Problems.
Read our review of How to Solve Your Human Problems.
Read our interview with Belle and Sebastian’s Stuart Murdoch on Days of the Bagnold Summer.
Belle and Sebastian Tour Dates:
2022 Tour Dates:
Nov 9 – Dublin, IE @ Olympia
Nov 10 – Belfast, UK @ The Telegraph Building
Nov 13 – Cardiff, UK @ Great Hall – Student’s Union
Nov 14 – London, UK @ The Roundhouse
Nov 15 – London, UK @ The Roundhouse
Nov 17 – Sheffield, UK @ O2 Academy Sheffield
Nov 18 – Liverpool, UK @ Olympia
Nov 19 – Hull UK @ Asylum, Hull University Union
Nov 21 – Aberdeen, UK @ Beach Ballroom
Nov 23 – Edinburgh, UK @ Usher Hall
Nov 24 – Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK @ O2 City Hall
Nov 25 – Manchester, UK @ Manchester Academy
Nov 27 – Cambridge, UK @ Corn Exchange
Nov 28 – Birmingham, UK @ O2 Academy Birmingham
Nov 29 – Southampton, UK @ O2 Guildhall Southampton
Nov 30 – Brighton, UK @ Brighton Dome
Dec 5 – Buenos Aires, AR @ Complejo Art Media
Dec 7 – Santiago, CL @ Fauna Primavera
Dec 9 – Sao Paulo, BR @ Audio
Dec 10 – Rio De Janiero, BR @ Circo Voador
Dec 12 – Montevideo, UY @ La Trastienda
2023 Tour Dates:
Jan 8 – Rennes, FR @ Le Mem
Jan 10 – Paris, FR @ Casino de Paris
Jan 11 – Utrech, NL @ Tivoli Grote Zaal
Jan 13 – Luxembourg City, LU @ Den Atelier
Jan 14 – Hamburg, DE @ Laeiszhalle
Jan 16 – Gothenburg, SE @ Tradgarn
Jan 17 – Stockholm, SE @ Filadelfia
Jan 18 – Oslo, NO @ Sentrum Scene
Jan 19 – Copenhagen, DK @ Copenhagen Vega
Jan 21 – Berlin, DE @ Tempodrom
Jan 22 – Munich, DE @ Muffathalle
Jan 23 – Zurich, CH @ X-tra Limmathaus
Jan 25 –Clermont-Ferrand, FR @ Co-op de Mai
Jan 26 – Milan, IT @ Fabrique
Apr 24 – Guadalajara, MX @ Theatre Diana
Apr 25 – Mexico City, MX @ Metropolitan Theatre
Apr 28 – Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall
Apr 29 – Detroit, MI @ Majestic Theatre
Apr 30 – Columbus, OH @ Athenaeum Theatre
May 2 – Toronto, ON @ History
May 3 – Ottawa, ON @ Bronson Centre
May 4 – Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground
May 5 – Ithaca, NY @ State Theatre
May 6 – New Haven, CT @ College Street Music Hall
May 8 – Hudson, NY @ Basilica Hudson
May 9 – Jersey City, NY @ White Eagle Hall
May 10 – Richmond, VA @ The National
May 12 – Atlanta, GA @ The Eastern
May 13 – St. Augustine, FL @ Backyard at St. Augustine Amphitheatre
May 14 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Culture Room
May 15 – St. Petersburg, FL @ Jannus Landing
May 17 – Birmingham, AL @ Saturn
May 18 – St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant
May 19 – Kalamazoo, MI @ Bell’s Brewery (Outdoor)
