Earlier this year, pioneering English prog-rockers King Crimson announced a full slate of highly-anticipated summer tour dates, dubbed the “Radical Action Tour,” their first North American run in three years. The band’s touring lineup will include founding guitarist Robert Fripp, as well as longtime collaborators Tony Levin (bass, Chapman Stick) and Mel Collins (saxophone), in addition to singer/guitarist Jakko Jakszyk and four different drummers: Bill Rieflin, Gavin Harrison, Pat Mastelotto and Jeremy Stacey. Stacey and Rieflin will also double as keyboardists, an arrangement Fripp referred to as the “Double Quartet Formation,” adding that the band is “likely to be making a lot more noise than before.”
To coincide with the tour, King Crimson is putting out an EP featuring their performance of David Bowie’s “Heroes” recorded in Berlin during the band’s 2016 European tour. The tribute is particularly meaningful considering that Fripp played guitar on Bowie’s original recording of the song. Explains Fripp, “King Crimson performed ‘Heroes’ at the Admiralspalast in Berlin as a celebration, a remembrancing and an homage. The concert was thirty-nine years and one month after the original sessions at the Hansa Tonstudio overlooking the Berlin Wall. This is released in the Fortieth Anniversary year.”
Watch King Crimson perform “Heroes” in Berlin:
The EP is slated for release on June 2nd, and will include performances of “Heroes” (recorded live at the Admiralspalast Berlin 12 Sep 2016), “Easy Money” (recorded live at Salle Pleyel Paris 3 Dec 2016), “Starless” (recorded live at Museumsquartier Vienna 1 Dec 2016), “The Hell Hounds of Krim” (recorded live at Museumsquartier Vienna 1 Dec 2016), and a radio edit version of “Heroes.”
Rolling Stone just shared a full interview with Bill Rieflin that details the upcoming tour, their reasoning to tribute Bowie, and plans for the future of King Crimson. Read the interview here.
For tickets to any of the upcoming King Crimson shows, or for more information on the tour or the new EP, head here.
King Crimson 2017 Tour Dates:
06/11 – Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre
06/12 – Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre
06/13 – Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre
06/15 – Saratoga, CA @ Mountain Winery
06/16 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theatre
06/17 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theatre
06/19 – San Diego, CA @ Humphrey’s
06/21 – Los Angeles, CA @ Greek Theatre
06/24 – Denver, CO @ Bellco Theatre
06/26 – Minneapolis, MN @ State Theatre
06/28 – Chicago, IL @ Chicago Theatre
06/30 – Rochester, NY @ Kodak Hall
07/03 – Montreal QC @ Montreal Jazz Festival
07/05 – Toronto, ON @ Massey Hall
07/07 – Quebec, QC @ Centre Videotron
07/09 – Red Bank, NJ @ Count Basie Theatre
07/10 – Red Bank, NJ @ Count Basie Theatre
07/14 – Mexico City, MX @ Teatro Metropolitan
07/15 – Mexico City, MX @ Teatro Metropolitan
07/16 – Mexico City, MX @ Teatro Metropolitan
07/18 – Mexico City, MX @ Teatro Metropolitan
07/19 – Mexico City, MX @ Teatro Metropolitan