Ed O’Brien explains why Radiohead can’t play more than 20 shows per year: “You can’t do any more”
Ed O’Brien has lifted the lid on Radiohead‘s future touring plans and explained why there’s little chance of them playing more than 20 shows per year.
Last year, Radiohead returned to Europe after a seven-year live hiatus, performing a limited run of 20 dates, consisting of four shows in London, Bologna, Madrid, Berlin and Copenhagen.
Then, in March, O’Brien suggested that they could follow up on it in 2027 with another 20-date tour on another continent outside of Europe.
He shared, “What we’re going to do is, every year we’re going to do a different continent, and we’re going to do 20 shows each year. No more, no less.”
At the time, O’Brien stated this method of touring was to preserve their energy, insisting, “We want to give absolutely everything each night.”
Now, in a recent conversation with the Los Angeles Times, O’Brien has elaborated on what he meant, and seemingly rode back, to a degree, on his pledge that Radiohead will play 20 shows per year.
In regards to his past remarks, he shared, “Take that with a pinch of salt. I don’t think we’ll do any more than 20 shows.”
O’Brien elaborated, “Because you can’t do any more — these songs, they’re too powerful. The shows last year were really emotional. By the end of it, you were drained.”
The guitarist also touched upon their young audiences which demands an energetic performance, noting that their “biggest demographic, which you can see from streaming, is 16 to 24”, before adding, “There’s an outpouring of emotion from them and from us, so in order to do more shows, you’d have to somehow limit the amount you gave to each performance.”
He admitted, “And I think we’re unwilling to do that.”
For now, Radiohead have no dates announced, but O’Brien, who released his second album Blue Morpho in May, will be keeping busy on the road later this year.
In October, he’s set for a European tour, which will see him visit the Netherlands, Italy, France, Germany, and the UK.
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