With Boston Calling right around the corner, it’s hard to not think of The National.
Guitarist Aaron Dessner is a longtime co-curator of the festival, and the Brooklyn band are one of very few to ever play it twice (headlining its inaugural edition in May 2013 and then again in September of the following year). Sadly, The National aren’t playing the expanded and relocated Boston Calling later this month, but we are getting a whole lotta action from A. Dessner and the gents, including a new album, Sleep Well Beast, out September 8 via 4AD; a lively new single, “The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness” (hear it below), and a North American tour that hits Boston’s Wang Theatre October 5.
The Boston date is the first of 17 dates stretched out towards the later end of 2017, and tickets go on sale Monday (May 15). More info can be found here.
As BrooklynVegan notes, Sleep Well Beast was produced by A. Dessner, with co-production credits given to his brother and fellow guitarist Bryce and frontman Matt Berninger. The video for “The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness” was directed by Casey Reas, and you can watch it below. The song has a nice throwback National vibe, and it certainly bodes well for the new LP, the follow-up to 2013’s solemn Trouble Will Find Me.
The National: 2017 North American Tour Dates
October 05 – Wang Theatre – Boston, MA
October 06 – Forest Hills Stadium – New York, NY
October 11 – Hollywood Bowl – Los Angeles, CA
October 12 – CalCoast Credit Union Open Air Theatre – San Diego, CA
October 14 – Greek Theatre – Berkeley, CA
November 27 – Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall – Portland, OR
November 28 – Paramount Theatre – Seattle, WA
November 29 – Paramount Theatre – Seattle, WA
December 01 – Queen Elizabeth Theatre – Vancouver BC
December 02 – Queen Elizabeth Theatre – Vancouver BC
December 04 – Verizon Hall – Philadelphia, PA
December 07 – Metropolis – Montreal QC
December 08 – Metropolis – Montreal QC
December 09 – Sony Centre – Toronto ON
December 10 – Hamilton Place Theatre – Hamilton ON
December 12 – Civic Opera House – Chicago, IL
December 13 – Civic Opera House – Chicago, IL