Mitski’s new album, Be the Cowboy, is out August 17th. Since announcing the album, she has shared videos for the “dizzying and exhilarating” (NPR Music) “Geyser” and lead radio single, “Nobody,” both of which have been heralded as some of her best music to date. Today, she follows it up with “Two Slow Dancers,” the album’s powerful, understated closer – a projection of two old lovers reunited and reflecting in the adolescent setting of a school gymnasium. As described by Mitski, “They used to have something together that is no longer there and they’re trying to relive it in a dance, knowing that they’ll have to go home and go back to their lives.”
Mitski’s carefully crafted songs have often been portrayed as emotionally raw, overflowing confessionals from a fevered chosen girl, but in Be the Cowboy, Mitski introduces a persona who has been teased but never so fully present until now—a woman in control. She reveals she had in mind “a very controlled icy repressed woman who is starting to unravel. Because women have so little power and showing emotion is seen as weakness, this ‘character’ clings to any amount of control she can get. Still, there is something very primordial in her that is trying to find a way to get out.”
Mitski plays a week of shows in August leading into her sold-out-in-five-minutes record release show at Elsewhere in Brooklyn on August 18th. She’ll tour Europe and the UK before coming back to the states for an extensive North American tour. The Atlanta and Toronto shows have both been moved to larger venues due to demand. All dates are below.
Mitski Tour Dates:
Sun. Aug. 12 – Providence, RI @ Columbus Theatre % – SOLD OUT
Mon. Aug. 13 – Portsmouth, NH @ 3S Artspace % — SOLD OUT
Tue. Aug. 14 – Portland, ME @ Space Gallery % – SOLD OUT
Wed. Aug. 15 – Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground Showcase Lounge %
Thu. Aug. 16 – Holyoke, MA @ Gateway City Arts %
Sat. Aug. 18 – Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere – Record Release Show – SOLD OUT %
Wed. Sep. 19 – Manchester, UK @ Manchester Gorilla *
Thu. Sep. 20 – Glasgow, UK @ Saint Luke’s *
Sat. Sep. 22 – Dublin, IE @ Tivoli Theatre *
Mon. Sep. 24 – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club *
Thu. Sep. 25 – Bristol, UK @ Trinity Arts Centre *
Wed. Sep. 26 – London, UK @ O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire *
Fri. Sep. 28 – Paris, FR @ La Maroquinerie *
Sat. Sep. 29 – Antwerp, BE @ TRIX *
Mon. Oct. 1 – Cologne, DE @ Gebäude 9 *
Tue. Oct. 2 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso Noord (Tolhuistuin) *
Thu. Oct. 4 – Berlin, DE @ Musik & Frieden *
Fri. Oct. 5 – Vesterbro, DK @ Vega *
Sat. Oct. 6 – Hamburg, DE @ Uebel & Gefährlich *
Fri. Oct. 19 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer &
Sat. Oct. 20 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues &
Sun. Oct. 21 – Montreal, QC @ L’Astral &
Mon. Oct. 22 – Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall &
Tue. Oct. 23 – Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick &
Thu. Oct. 25 – Chicago, IL @ Vic Theatre &
Fri. Oct. 26 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue &
Tue. Oct. 30 – Vancouver, BC @ Imperial &
Wed. Oct. 31 – Seattle, WA @ The Showbox &
Thu. Nov. 1 – Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom &
Sat. Nov. 3 – San Francisco, CA @ Warfield Theatre &
Wed. Nov. 7 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern &
Thu. Nov. 8 – Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom &
Sat. Nov. 10 – Austin, TX @ Emo’s Austin &
Sun. Nov. 11 – Dallas, TX @ Trees &
Tue. Nov. 13 – Nashville, TN @ The Basement East &
Wed. Nov. 14 – Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade &
Fri. Nov. 16 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club &
Fri. Nov. 30 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel ^
Sat. Dec. 1 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel ^
% = w/ Sidney Gish
* = w/ EERA
& = w/ Overcoats
^ = w/ Downtown Boys and SASAMI