Music News
Tennis Says Goodbye With “12 Blown Tires”
Acclaimed indie-pop duo Tennis has shared “12 Blown Tires,” the latest single from their highly anticipated new album, Face Down In The Garden, arriving via their own Mutually Detrimental label on Friday, April 25. Pre-orders and pre-saves are available now. Produced and recorded by the husband and wife duo of Patrick Riley and Alaina Moore in their Denver, CO home studio, the album and new single will mark the final recordings from this incarnation of Tennis.
“On a cross-country drive at the end of tour, our van and trailer blew four tires in quick succession,” says Alaina Moore. “That particular stretch of highway was a tire graveyard. I counted the shredded remains of twelve tires from where we sat on the side of the road, swapping out our last spare. Our bad luck was heavily contrasted by the good night we’d just had in Houston. The highs and lows of touring are unnatural, disorienting. On the shoulder of I-40, I began writing the lyrics to ’12 Blown Tires.’ It is a constellation of memories from the road, and of our marriage, two endeavors that are completely, hopelessly entangled.
When we recorded ’12 Blown Tires’ a few months later, I had the sense of distilling the past 15 years into four minutes of music. It felt like the end of something, though I wasn’t sure what. Patrick and I spent most of our 20s and all of our 30s focused on Tennis. It has been the most joyous, bewildering, challenging, and humbling experience. After finishing Face Down In The Garden, it became clear that we had said everything we wanted to say and achieved everything we wanted to achieve with our band. This will be our last studio album, at least in this configuration as Tennis. We are ready to pursue other creative projects and to make space in our lives for new things. In that light, the upcoming tour feels more poignant, like a concluding thought. These two kids from Denver who only ever dreamed of playing a few house shows are very fulfilled. Perhaps we’ll see you on the road. As always, thank you.”
Listen to “12 Blown Tires”
As noted, Tennis will both celebrate the arrival of Face Down In The Garden and say farewell to fans with a wide-ranging North American headline tour beginning May 16 at Las Vegas, NV’s Swan Dive and then traveling into early September. Highlights include such iconic venues as Minneapolis, MN’s First Avenue (May 21), Chicago, IL’s The Salt Shed (May 23), New York City’s The Rooftop at Pier 17 (June 1), Austin, TX’s Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater (June 11), and Los Angeles, CA’s famed Greek Theatre (August 20). Special guests include Husbands (May 16-17) and Billie Marten (May 21-June 11). Tickets for all announced dates go on sale this Friday, February 14 at 10:00 am (local). For complete details and ticket availability, please visit tennis-music.com.
Tennis will bookend this milestone moment by sharing Neutral Poetry: First Recordings, Unreleased Demos 2009-2010, a new EP of previously unheard tracks from the very beginning of their artistic career, available on Friday, May 16. The eight-song collection includes early versions of such fan favorites as “Cape Dory,” “Marathon,” “South Carolina,” “Baltimore,” and “Pigeon,” along with exclusive demo recordings of the never-before-available songs, “Key Largo,” “April and It’s Still Snowing,” and “One Day This Will Be a Good Songgg.”
Face Down In The Garden marks the seventh studio album from Tennis as well as the eagerly awaited follow-up to 2023’s critically acclaimed Pollen, which earned praise from Pitchfork as “reliably vibey and genuinely inspiring.” Offsetting intuitive melodies with unusual arrangements, the new album sees the duo returning with music that both feels familiar but also resists convention. Songs like the recently released “At The Wedding,” and “Weight of Desire” – both available everywhere now with the latter joined by an official music video directed by frequent visual collaborators Blossom Liu and Danny Gray streaming now at YouTube – highlight Tennis’ ever-expanding range as writers and producers, evolving beyond their girl-group roots into what is unquestionably their most fully realized effort to date.
“Face Down In The Garden is our seventh studio album,” says Moore. “The inspiration for new work came while we were still on the road touring Pollen. We felt a clear pull to write new music, but ran up against a series of bizarre setbacks. We blew tires and lost an engine. I developed a chronic illness. We took a doomed voyage that culminated in an attempted robbery at sea. Fragments of songs that first arrived like gifts from the universe later refused to be completed. Our days were awash in major and minor crises that dragged the album out endlessly.
“Patrick and I felt out of sync with the world, as though we had been ejected from the flow of life. My response was to bury myself in my own memories. Those years weren’t easier or better, but I could make sense of them. In Face Down In The Garden, I trace the arc of my life through a series of vignettes: a first moment of connection, a conversation at a wedding, a night offshore, a tour diary.
Over the years our sound has evolved into three distinct categories: Brill Building, synth-pop, and rock. Face Down In The Garden occupies all of that space. Except for the help of some outside drumming, we worked and recorded alone as we have done for the last few albums. We wanted to write ourselves off the map by doing the unexpected thing, offsetting intuitive melodies with unusual arrangements, to make music that feels familiar but resists convention. Despite being rattled by a strange year, it is our most confident album. We are very excited for you to listen, preferably loud and on headphones.”
TENNIS – FACE DOWN IN THE GARDEN TOUR 2025
MAY
16 – Las Vegas, NV – Swan Dive *
17 – Salt Lake City, UT – Metro Music Hall *
18 – Salt Lake City, UT – Kilby Block Party #
21 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue †
23 – Chicago, IL – The Salt Shed †
24 – Indianapolis, IN – HI-FI Annex †
25 – Cleveland, OH – Globe Iron †
27 – Toronto, ON – The Concert Hall †
30 – Boston, MA – Roadrunner †
31 – Philadelphia, PA – Franklin Music Hall †
JUNE
1 – New York, NY – The Rooftop at Pier 17 †
3 – Washington, DC – The Anthem †
5 – Raleigh, NC – The Ritz †
6 – Atlanta, GA – The Eastern †
7 – Nashville, TN – Brooklyn Bowl Nashville †
9 – Dallas, TX – The Factory in Deep Ellum †
10 – Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall (Downstairs) †
11 – Austin, TX – Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater †
AUGUST
18 – San Diego, CA – Humphreys Concerts by the Bay
20 – Los Angeles, CA – Greek Theatre
22 – Pioneertown, CA – Pappy + Harriet’s
23 – Phoenix, AZ – The Van Buren
24 – Santa Fe, NM – The Bridge at Santa Fe Brewing Co.
26 – Denver, CO – The Mission Ballroom
28 – Boise, ID – Treefort Music Hall
29 – Portland, OR – McMenamins Grand Lodge
30 – Vancouver, BC – Malkin Bowl
SEPTEMBER
2 – Sacramento, CA – Channel 24 ^
4 – Saratoga, CA – The Mountain Winery ^
* w/ Special Guests Husbands
† w/ Special Guest Billie Marten
# Festival Appearance
Music News
The Smashing Pumpkins Announce Massive ‘The Rats In A Cage Tour’ Celebrating Mellon Collie Anniversary
The Smashing Pumpkins are heading back on the road this fall with a tour built around one of the defining rock albums of the 1990s. The band officially announced “The Rats In A Cage Tour,” a North American arena run celebrating the 30th anniversary of Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness.
The tour kicks off Sept. 30 in Columbus, Ohio and runs through November, with stops across the United States and Canada, including a Vancouver date in November. The tour’s name comes from the famous lyric in “Bullet With Butterfly Wings,” one of the biggest singles from the landmark double album.
Frontman Billy Corgan said the band has talked about doing a Mellon Collie-focused production for years, but wanted to wait until the timing and concept felt right. This time around, fans are getting something much bigger than a standard anniversary tour.
Each show will feature two separate sets. The first is dedicated entirely to Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness in what the band describes as a theatrical presentation of the album’s music and themes. The second set will pull from nearly four decades of material, mixing major hits, fan favorites, and deeper cuts from albums spanning Gish through 2024’s Aghori Mhori Mei.
The 1995 album remains one of the biggest alternative rock releases of its era. Songs like “1979,” “Tonight, Tonight,” and “Bullet With Butterfly Wings” helped turn the band into arena headliners and defined alternative radio for a generation of fans who suddenly realized that album is now 30 years old. Time is rude sometimes.
The announcement follows a busy stretch for the band and for Corgan himself. Over the past two years, the Pumpkins have revisited Mellon Collie through deluxe reissues, orchestral reinterpretations with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and special live performances. Corgan has even been taking the material overseas with orchestral theater shows backed by a 60-piece orchestra.
Before the arena tour begins, the Pumpkins will return to Lollapalooza this summer for the first time since the festival’s touring era in 1994, marking a major hometown moment for the Chicago band.
Tickets for “The Rats In A Cage Tour” go on sale May 21 at 10 a.m. local time through the band’s official website. Citi and Verizon presales begin May 19, while members of the band’s VIZ CLUB fan community will get access to a special presale on May 20. More information here.
The band will offer VIP packages featuring a pre-show acoustic performance, Q&A session, exclusive merchandise, memorabilia, lounge access, and early merch shopping.
With no opening acts announced so far and two full sets planned each night, the tour is shaping up to be one of the most ambitious live productions the band has attempted in years.
THE SMASHING PUMPKINS “The Rats In A Cage Tour”:
Sep. 30 – Columbus, OH @ The Schottenstein Center
Oct. 02 – Boston, MA @ TD Garden
Oct. 03 – Baltimore, MD @ CFG Bank Arena
Oct. 04 – Brooklyn, NY @ Barclays Center
Oct. 06 – Pittsburgh, PA @ PPG Paints Arena
Oct. 07 – Hamilton, ON @ TD Coliseum
Oct. 09 – Montréal, QC @ Centre Bell
Oct. 11 – Madison, WI @ Kohl Center
Oct. 13 – Saint Paul, MN @ Grand Casino Arena
Oct. 14 – Chicago, IL @ United Center
Oct. 16 – Charlotte, NC @ Spectrum Center
Oct. 17 – Jacksonville, FL @ VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena
Oct. 18 – Tampa, FL @ Benchmark International Arena
Oct. 20 – Indianapolis, IN @ Gainbridge Fieldhouse
Oct. 22 – Nashville, TN @ The Truth
Oct. 24 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Paycom Center
Oct. 25 – Austin, TX @ Moody Center
Oct. 27 – Denver, CO @ Ball Arena
Oct. 29 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Delta Center
Oct. 30 – Las Vegas, NV @ MGM Grand Garden Arena
Nov. 01 – Portland, OR @ Moda Center
Nov. 03 – Calgary, AB @ Scotiabank Saddledome
Nov. 05 – Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena
Nov. 06 – Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena
Nov. 08 – San Jose, CA @ SAP Center
Nov. 11 – Phoenix, AZ @ Mortgage Matchup Center
Nov. 12 – Inglewood, CA @ Kia Forum
Music News
Chance the Rapper Announces the ‘Coloring Book 10 Year Anniversary Tour’
Independent GRAMMY Award-winning artist, Chance The Rapper has announced The Coloring Book 10 Year Anniversary Tour, a North American run celebrating the 10th anniversary of his groundbreaking mixtape Coloring Book.
Promoted by Live Nation, The Coloring Book 10 Year Anniversary Tour kicks off Tuesday, Aug. 11 in Cleveland, Ohio at House of Blues, making stops across North America in Montreal, Toronto, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Nashville, Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, San Francisco, Seattle, Denver and more before wrapping up Sunday, Oct. 11 in Pittsburgh, Pa. at Citizens Live at The Wylie.
Released in May 2016, Coloring Book marked a defining moment in Chance the Rapper’s career and a breakthrough for independent music at large. With Coloring Book, Chance The Rapper was the first independent artist to win a GRAMMY® Award, the critically acclaimed mixtape reshaped perceptions around streaming, artist independence and the evolving music landscape. Blending gospel, hip-hop and soulful live instrumentation, Coloring Bookdelivered an uplifting, community-driven sound that resonated across audiences and featured standout collaborations with Kanye West, Justin Bieber, Kirk Franklin, Lil Wayne, 2 Chainz, T-Pain and Saba. Created alongside longtime collaborators Nico Segal, Peter Cottontale and The Social Experiment, with additional production from Kaytranada, Brasstracks and Francis and the Lights. The project received widespread acclaim from critics and fans alike, with Rolling Stone hailing it a “gospel-rap masterpiece,” and The New York Times recognizing Chance as “a crusader and a pop savant.” Complex solidified its historical significance, calling it “a defining moment for independent artists” cementing its place as one of the most influential releases of its era.
TICKETS: Tickets will be available starting with an artist presale (details below) beginning on Tuesday, May 19 at 10am local time. Additional presales will run throughout that week leading up to the general on-sale on Thursday, May 21 at 10am local time at ChanceStuff.com.
ARTIST PRESALE: To participate in the Chance The Rapper Artist Presale on Tuesday, May 19 at 10am local time you must sign up at livemu.sc/chancetherapper by Sunday, May 17 at 11:59pm PT. For shows using Ticketmaster, no codes are needed – access is tied to your account, and anyone who signs up can join the sale. For the few shows that are not Ticketmaster venues, a code will be provided before the pre-sale begins.
VIP: The tour will also offer a variety of different VIP packages and experiences for fans to take their concert experience to the next level. Packages vary but include premium tickets, Meet & Greet and individual photo with Chance the Rapper, pre-signed autographed poster, specially designed gift item & more. VIP package contents vary based on the offer selected. For more information, visit vipnation.com!
THE COLORING BOOK 10 TOUR DATES:
Tue, Aug. 11 – Cleveland, OH – House of Blues
Fri, Aug. 14 – Waterloo, NY – The Vine Showroom at del Lago Resort & Casino
Sat, Aug. 15 – Montreal, QC – MTELUS
Sun, Aug. 16 – Toronto, ON – HISTORY
Tue, Aug. 18 – New York, NY – SummerStage Central Park
Thu, Aug. 20 – Boston, MA – MGM Music Hall at Fenway
Fri, Aug. 21 – Huntington, NY – The Paramount
Sat, Aug. 22 – Philadelphia, PA – The Fillmore Philadelphia
Sun, Aug. 23 – Asbury Park, NJ – Stone Pony Summer Stage
Tue, Aug. 25 – Baltimore, MD – Nevermore Hall
Sat, Aug. 29 – Raleigh, NC – Red Hat Amphitheater
Sun, Aug. 30 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium
Tue, Sept. 1 – Birmingham, AL – Avondale Brewing Company
Wed, Sept. 2 – Cincinnati, OH – The Andrew J Brady Music Center
Thu, Sept. 3 – Atlanta, GA – Coca-Cola Roxy
Sat, Sept. 5 – Tampa, FL – The Ritz Ybor
Sun, Sept. 6 – Hollywood, FL – Hard Rock Live
Tue, Sept. 8 – Memphis, TN – Satellite Music Hall
Wed, Sept. 9 – New Orleans, LA – The Fillmore New Orleans
Thu, Sept. 10 – Dallas, TX – South Side Ballroom
Sat, Sept. 12 – Houston, TX – 713 Music Hall
Sun, Sept. 13 – Austin, TX – Moody Amphitheater at Waterloo Park
Wed, Sept. 16 – Phoenix, AZ – Arizona Financial Theatre
Fri, Sep 18 – Reno, NV – Grand Theatre at The Grand Sierra Resort
Mon, Sept. 21 – Wheatland, CA – Hard Rock Live
Tue, Sept. 22 – San Francisco, CA – The Masonic
Fri, Sept. 25 – Vancouver, BC – Freedom Mobile Arch
Sat, Sept. 26 – Seattle, WA – Paramount Theatre
Sun, Sept. 27 – Portland, OR – Theater of the Clouds
Tue, Sept. 29 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Union Event Center
Thu, Oct. 1 – Denver, CO – Fillmore Auditorium
Fri, Oct. 2 – Council Bluffs, IA – Harrah’s Stir Cove
Sun, Oct. 4 – Milwaukee, WI – Landmark Credit Union Live
Tue, Oct. 6 – Minneapolis, MN – The Armory
Wed, Oct. 7 – St. Louis, MO – The Pageant
Sat, Oct. 10 – Louisville, KY – Old Forester’s Paristown Hall
Sun, Oct. 11 – Pittsburgh, PA – Citizens Live at The Wylie