Arcade Fire announce second ‘Funeral’ 20th anniversary show at London’s Brixton Academy

Arcade Fire’s gig at Brixton Academy comes after the venue’s reopening since closing its doors in December 2022 after a fatal crowd crush that left two people dead.

Back in February, the band shared two separate invitation posts that read: “Save the date. Arcade Fire invite you to attend a celebration of the twentieth anniversary of their debut album ‘Funeral’”. The caption of the posts read: “We will be playing a limited number of special concerts, and we would be honoured if you would join us. Black tie optional; should be real fun.”

The first two dates to be revealed were July 2 at the Fiera Milano in Rho, Italy and July 7 at the Malahide Castle in Dublin, Ireland. Echo And The Bunnymen were also announced as special guests for the Ireland date with more to been shared soon.

Arcade Fire released ‘Funeral’ on September 14, 2004 via Merge Records. In 2005, the LP earned a Grammy nomination in the category for  Best Alternative Music Album. Since its release, ‘Funeral’ has received widespread critical acclaim and has been considered one of the greatest albums of all time.

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The band previously played the album in full back in 2018 at their show in Los Angeles on September 20. They treated fans to all 10 tracks – back-to-front – before diving into the rest of their 23 song setlist.

‘Funeral’ is one of many classic 2004 albums which are turning 20 this year. Journalist Rhian Daly wrote: “[the album] was so called after many of the band’s members had suffered losses in their families, but out of grief came a new beginning. The record – a sprawling, epic, theatrical beauty – immediately won the group widespread acclaim, striking a chord with its cathartic and artful compositions.”

The band have been met with controversy in recent years. In August 22, frontman Win Butler was accused of sexual misconduct and “inappropriate” behaviour by four people. Those actions ranged from sexual assault to sending unwanted explicit text messages and pursuing relationships with fans of the band much younger than him. The following November, a fifth person came forward to accuse Butler of “emotionally abusive, manipulative, toxic” behaviour towards them.

Butler has denied allegations of misconduct, saying he was “very sorry to anyone who I have hurt with my behaviour” but that all contact with his accusers was “consensual”.

In other news, Arcade Fire have announced a run of festival dates for summer 2024 and are set to play this year’s edition of Bilbao BBK Live. Other acts set to perform at he festival include  Massive Attack, The Prodigy, Jungle, Overmono, Ezra Collective, Floating Points, Underworld, Noname, Khruangbin, JPEGMAFIA, Death From Above 1979, Alvvays, Los Bitchos, Parcels and more.