When Is Radiohead Touring?
Uncertainty Still Prevails on Radiohead Touring Plans
Radiohead Tickets, an iconic alternative rock band, has become infamous for their unpredictability regarding their touring and albums in the last few decades. The last album from the band was A Moon Shaped Pool, which came out in 2016, and the fans have been waiting for news about the next album and tour. But there is still very little information on what is planned for Thom Yorke and company in the next few months and years.
The last major tour performed by the band was in 2018 as part of the promotion of their 2016 album. They performed in many of the big cities in North America and Europe during that stretch, which was for most of the year. As for live performance, they have not been very active since that time. The band is characterized by long gaps between albums and tours in order to work on other projects or maybe just to rest. It is not uncommon for these bands to take a break, having not released an album since 2018, yet each month fans become more impatient.
Yorke and guitarist Jonny Greenwood did reveal in late 2022 that they have been working on the next Radiohead album in the studio. Nevertheless, no time-line to its release was given. The band has not been very consistent in terms of yearly album releases, as there has been a gap of as long as three to five years between albums. Radiohead also does not disclose much information to the public as long as a band is not ready to announce the full release of an album or tour. This love for mystery means fans may not get a big heads-up that a new album is coming along or a tour announcement.
The members of the band have said in different interviews that recording of new Radiohead songs is underway, which is a good sign for sure. Although Yorke and Greenwood promised that the band would record much of the new material in the studio by the end of 2022, they are not eager to elaborate on how this affects the timeline of completing the record. And with no album release in the next few months, the band is most certainly not going to be touring extensively.
Radiohead has opted for shorter regional tours in recent decades as opposed to the large, massive world tours that other bands embark upon. So when they are willing to get back on the road, it may not be a full-on, year-long tour where they play hundreds of shows, but perhaps in some cities, they are willing to perform a few shows for a few months.
Their 2016 tour was heavily focused on the European market, with little to no stops on the American continent save for a couple of festival shows in the US. When the next album is released, one can expect more dates in North America and South America because the band rarely goes there compared to Europe and Japan.
Concerning health problems, they may also influence how broad the future touring plans of Radiohead will be. Yorke has spoken of the dystonia that he has had in his left eye, where muscles contract involuntarily, thereby making it impossible for him to focus on stage. The severity of his symptoms may vary from no effect on his abilities to moderate to severe interference with his abilities during any particular tour span. A painful rash in the middle of the tour could move the dates around. Yet, one can hardly expect the band to return to certain countries and venues, so the most important thing about watching Radiohead on stage is their ability to be versatile.
Fortunately, the COVID years offered the band members a natural excuse to temporarily step away from recording and performing as a group. Nevertheless, they still listened to music and engaged in musical activities to some extent during their seclusion. Yorke and Greenwood released The Smile in 2021 with Skinner and toured for those songs in Europe and North America. They have stated that they intend to make more material together, which suggests the side endeavor did not end with the conclusion of that particular touring phase.
Phil Selway, the drummer, also has his own music career to tend; apart from Radiohead, he has released four albums in the four albums in the singer-songwriter style in the last over a decade.. Thus, the time that Radiohead takes off for the members enables them to use the same sounds to explore other projects as well. What they discover from those similar projects may well be returned to the following Radiohead album when the timing is right.
In their three decades of togetherness, Radiohead has constantly experimented with their music and come up with new innovations that have not been used before. It is virtually impossible to guess what their next strategy will be. But that element of inconsistency and oddball creativity is something that fans greatly adore in them. And even when they are out of the spotlight recording or touring, their impact on the rock scene remains the same.
Their previous tours suggest that they are inclined to play in smaller venues and for a shorter time. Thus, when Radiohead is ready for another round of touring, one should prepare for area tours of splendid unexpectedness rather than for global spectaculars. Audiences are aware at this point that they cannot expect a routine pattern of behavior from this band. However, their inherent commitment to artistic independence keeps them from feeling like the relic of an older age, though they sometimes falter with their audience’s timeline in mind. If anything, their lack of public presence may help with their mystique as they plot their next aural creations out of the public eye in the studio.
