Elvis Costello and the Imposters have announced a 22-date North American summer tour that will begin June 1 in Woodinville, Washington, and wrap up on July 25 in Providence, Rhode Island. Costello is billing it as the “Imperial Bedroom & Other Chambers” tour and says the band will play material from the popular 1982 Imperial Bedroom album as well as other tunes from his vast catalog: “the songs that led in and out of that velvet-trimmed playhouse,” Costello said in a statement.
Dates include a New York City show at Central Park SummerStage on June 15. Tickets are available here and here.
The Imposters, Costello’s longtime band, are keyboardist Steve Nieve, singer-bassist Davey Faragher and drummer Pete Thomas, and they will be augmented by guest vocalists Kitten Kuroi and YahZarah.
In a statement regarding his decision to perform the music from the 35-year-old album, Costello said, “We never intended to recite this book from cover to cover. Listen to our new arrangement of ‘Tears Before Bedtime’—it gets straight to the real meaning of that song, the way we hear and feel it today. Back in 1982, I might have been a step or two ahead of our crowd in the tragic, romantic stakes, but I sense that they’ve all caught up with me now.”
Related: Costello is inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame
Imperial Bedroom, produced by former Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick, features Costello classics like “Beyond Belief” and “Almost Blue.” Rolling Stone ranked it #38 on its list of greatest albums of the ’80s and #166 of all time. The album reached #30 on the Billboard albums chart.
Elvis Costello & the Imposters Imperial Bedroom & Other Chambers Tour Dates
June 1 – Woodinville, WA @ Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery
June 3 – Berkeley, CA @ Greek Theatre
June 4 – Los Angeles, CA @ Greek Theatre
June 5 – San Diego, CA @ Copley Symphony Hall
June 7 – Albuquerque, NM @ Popejoy Hall
June 9 – Kansas City, MO @ Crossroads
June 10 – Indianapolis, IN @ The Murat Theatre
June 12 – Chicago, IL @ Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island
June 13 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Heinz Hall
June 15 – New York, NY @ Central Park Summer Stage
June 16 – Upper Darby, PA @ Tower Theatre
June 17 – Canandaigua, NY @ Constellation Brands-Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center (CMAC)
June 20 – Richmond, VA @ Richmond Raceway Complex
June 21 – Charlotte, NC @ Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre
June 22 – Vienna, VA @ Filene Centre at Wolf Trap
July 16 – Milwaukee, WI @ Riverside Theatre
July 17 – Grand Rapids, MI @ Meijer Gardens
July 18 – Kettering, OH @ Fraze Pavilion
July 20 – Toronto, ON @ Sony Centre for the Performing Arts
July 21 – Cooperstown, NY @ Brewery Ommegang
July 23 – Shelburne, VT @ The Green at Shelburne Museum
July 24 – Portland, ME @ Thompson’s Point
July 25 – Providence, RI @ Providence PAC
Watch Elvis Costello perform “Beyond Belief” from Imperial Bedroom in 2003
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