Solo side-step: Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien announces first UK and European tour
Radiohead‘s Ed O’Brien is stepping out of his own accord for a seven-date UK and European tour this October, ending with a performance at the iconic London venue, the Barbican.
Last month, O’Brien announced the upcoming release of Blue Morpho, a project set for release on May 22nd through Transgressive Records.
Though Blue Morpho is O’Brien’s second solo album, this will be his first solo tour. His first solo project, 2020’s Earth, was released just weeks after the world shut down due to Covid-19, preventing him from touring the album.
O’Brien will be kicking off the tour on October 4th in Amsterdam, and from there he will shower fans in his hypnotic splendour in Milan, Paris, Berlin, Hamburg and Groningen, before eventually ending up at the sight of London’s brutalist-inspired architectural haven, the Barbican, on October 16th.
The live experience of the forthcoming album will bring together a collective of musicians who collaborated on the album’s recording sessions, such as musical director Dave Okumu and ESKA.
The tour will not seek to recreate the record in studio form. Rather, O’Brien and friends hope to bring to the stage a “fluid and immersive experience”.
In this way, O’Brien is paying homage to key inspirations who paved the way for the star, such as Sly and the Family Stone, Miles Davis and Phish.
Following this run of personal dates, elsewhere O’Brien confirmed that Radiohead would be returning to the road in 2027. 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.”
Alongside the album and the tour, the short film Blue Morpho: The Three Act Play, which premiered at SXSW in Texas on March 16th, is set to accompany the release.
Ed O’Brien – ‘Blue Morpho’ UK and European tour dates:
October 2026:
- 4 – Netherlands, Amsterdam, Royal Theatre Carre
- 6 – Italy, Milan, Teatro Lirico
- 8 – France, Paris, Salle Pleyel
- 10 – Germany, Berlin, Admiralspalast
- 12 – Germany, Hamburg, Laeiszhalle
- 14 – Netherlands, Groningen, Oosterpoort Main Hall
- 16 – UK, London, Barbican
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