Kevin Abstract announces tour

NEW ALBUM BLANKET OUT NOW VIA VIDEO STORE / RCA RECORDS

Kevin Abstract announces a West Coast tour, Heights, Spiders, and the Dark Tour, following the release of his third studio album, Blanket. The announcement comes on the heels of his standout performance at Camp Flog Gnaw this past weekend, where he officially debuted his new album and performed new live renditions of his older material with a full band. In December, the tour will see him performing in Vancouver, Portland, Seattle, and San Francisco. Tickets are available here.

Recorded over three months in early 2023, Blanket is Abstract’s first solo work since 2019 and the break-up of his self-proclaimed boy band BROCKHAMPTON last year. The 13-song album offers an intimate window into Kevin Abstract’s journey of navigating the uncertainty of new beginnings by embracing the comfort of his earliest memories. The album charts new sonic terrain, which he has cited as being influenced by the likes of Sunny Day Real Estate, Nirvana, and Modest Mouse while maintaining the honest and vulnerable songwriting that Kevin established across his first two solo full-lengths.

Production was handled by his long-time collaborator Romil Hemnani, multi-instrumentalist Jonah Abraham (Playboi Carti’s Whole Lotta Red), Tyler Johnson (Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran), and Kid Harpoon (Harry Styles, Miley Cyrus), John Carroll Kirby, and emerging talent Julian Ali. The album includes additional contributions from Kara Jackson, MJ Lenderman, Pilot, and American Boyfriendcollaborator Roy Blair. The recording sessions took place in Sam i’s Los Angeles studio and at Rick Rubin’s Malibu studio Shangri-La, at which, during this creative process, Kevin delved into his earliest memories, revisiting a time when the future was a mere concept and limitless possibilities abounded. He reminisces, “Everything is more magical back then. Going to Disney and sleepovers, the imagination, hearing certain songs for the first time—all that stuff just feels epic.”

Surrounded mostly by rich white kids in the South, he felt alienated but took to the wave of indie rock in vogue alongside the music of rappers like Kid Cudi and Kanye West. He transformed his melting pot of influences into his first songs, performing at small local underground shows before finding a rabid online audience for his acclaimed 2014 debut MTV1987. His 2016 follow-up, American Boyfriend, is one of the quintessential records about young, queer love seen from the perspective of a Black kid in the South. His most recent release was 2019’s ARIZONA BABY,which discusses former friendships and insecurity and included breakout single “Peach” featuring Dominic Fike on background vocals. Although his sound has evolved considerably throughout his decade of boundary-pushing output, Kevin has remained focused on his pursuit of finding truth through love.

Get tickets to his West Coast tour and listen to Blanket above now, and see tour and album details below.