Brian Eno announces his first-ever solo tour

Brian Eno has announced a European tour for this autumn, marking his first solo tour in his five-decade career.

• READ MORE: Fred again.. and Brian Eno – ‘Secret Life’ review: ambient soundscapes from master and apprentice

The ‘Ships’ tour will commence on October 21 in Venice, Italy. Built around his 2016 album, ‘The Ship’, the live shows will feature both new and old compositions from his catalog. The Baltic Sea Philharmonic with conductor Kristjan Järvi, actor Peter Serafinowicz, and Eno’s longtime collaborators Leo Abrahams and Peter Chilvers will all back the musician on the tour.

“The album ‘The Ship’ is an unusual piece in that it uses voice but doesn’t particularly rely on the song form. It’s an atmosphere with occasional characters drifting through it, characters lost in the vague space made by the music,” shared Eno in a press release. “There’s a sense of wartime in the background, and a sense of inevitability. There is also a sense of scale which suits an orchestra, and a sense of many people working together.”

Brian Eno’s first ever solo live concert tour, ‘Ships’ has just been announced. He will be performing with Baltic Sea Philharmonic, orchestrated and conducted by Kristjan Järvi and commissioned by La Biennale di Venezia. Tickets available from June 8th 11.00 CET, link on bio. pic.twitter.com/7D3ydRVRf3

— Brian Eno (@brianeno) June 5, 2023

He added: “I wanted an orchestra which played music the way I would like to play music: from the heart rather than just from the score. I wanted the players to be young and fresh and enthusiastic. When I first saw the Baltic Sea Philharmonic I found all that… and then noticed they were named after a sea. That sealed it!”

Though he toured with Roxy Music in the 1970s and has sporadically toured with other artists, Eno has only played the occasional one-off solo shows, usually as part of festival programs. In 2021, he and his brother, Roger Eno, performed live at the Acropolis.

Tickets for the ‘Ships’ tour will go on sale on June 8 at 11am. Visit here for tickets and check out the full tour dates below.

Brian Eno 2023 The Ship tour dates are:
OCTOBER
21 – Venice, IT, Venice Biennale Musica, Teatro la Fenice (Early show)
21 – Venice, IT, Venice Biennale Musica, Teatro la Fenice (Late show)
24 – Berlin, DE, Philharmonie Berlin
26 – Paris, FR, La Seine Musicale
28 – Utrecht, NL, TivoliVredenburg
30 – London, UK, Royal Festival Hall, Southbank (Early show)
30 – London, UK, Royal Festival Hall, Southbank (Late show)

Eno’s most recent solo album was 2022’s ‘FOREVERANDEVERNOMORE’. Last month, he teamed up with British producer Fred again.. to create their collaborative album ‘Secret Life’. In an three-star review, NME shares: “This surprise album – despite its frequent beauty – works best as a puzzle piece rather than a standout record in its own right.”

He’s also contributed to Peter Gabriel’s long-awaited, upcoming solo effort ‘i/o’, including the singles ‘The Court’ and “Four Kinds of Horses.” The album is set for release later this year.

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