Jon Batiste announces Big Money Tour with promise of fresh sounds, improvisation and connection
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jon Batiste is hitting the road again. The Grammy and Oscar winner is launching his second headlining tour, promising fresh sounds for his forthcoming album and material from his latest project, 'Beethoven Blues (Batiste Piano Series, Vol. 1).'
Batiste announced Thursday that his Big Money Tour: Jon Batiste Plays America will begin Aug. 27 in Kansas City. He'll groove through more than 30 venues across the U.S. in cities like Detroit, Austin, Texas, Nashville, a co-bill with Diana Ross in St. Louis and Philadelphia, before closing in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 31.
For the first time, Batiste will grace the stages of the Encore Theater in Las Vegas and the iconic Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado. He hopes the tour will offer attendees a deeper connection to him as an artist for the tour, a nod to his ninth studio album.
'Every show is both an origin story and a manifesto,' said Batiste, a seven-time Grammy winner who won an Oscar for his work on 'Soul' in 2020. The tour comes on the heels of performing the national anthem at this year's Super Bowl and 'Beethoven Blues,' which reimagined the famed German pianist's work and debuted No. 1 on Billboard's classical albums chart.
Batiste, a Louisiana native, is known for his signature rich blend of R&B, hip-hop, swing, jazz and pop. He's also the former bandleader for the 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.'
The multitalented musician will wrap up his intimate Maestro Tour shows on Monday in Los Angeles.
He expects to be joined on the road by his wife, Suleika Jaouad, who is currently facing cancer for the third time and recently released a new book, 'The Book of Alchemy.'
Batiste believes his unreleased music can still forge a connection, even with those hearing it for the first time.
'I try to tell the most up-to-date origin story through the set,' he said. 'If you come to the show and you don't know any of the music, or you don't know anybody on stage and it's your first time seeing me perform or seen me on television, you'll leave and feel like you know the songs. You'll connect with the artist, the human being and the movement. It's almost like you're going to see a play.'
Batiste said the tour will mark the beginning of his 'next era' of music. He views the live performances as an opportunity to introduce new material to audiences, allowing the songs to evolve through connection before ultimately recording them for his forthcoming album.
Tickets will be available through artist presales beginning Friday.
'It's about getting the music to a point where you and your community and everybody is acquainted with the sound and feeling of it,' he said. 'You've explored every aspect of it. You've arranged and rearranged, then go record and share it, versus the opposite, which is most often the case. It's fresh and brand new. Then you go on tour, and you start discovering things in the music on stage you didn't even know were there in the studio.'
Along with introducing fresh sounds, Batiste said he'll incorporate some improvisation.
'I'm always going to find a space in the show where there's improv,' he said. 'That's at the heart of what I'm all about in trying to represent the cultural music that I come from. I really take a responsibility to push forward. This is about bringing people together, channeling the moment and communal expression.'
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