Beirut’s Zach Condon was forced to stop performing live in 2019 due to issues with his throat. With a new record, Hadsel, set to arrive on November 10, Beirut has now announced their first performances since those ill-fated tour dates.
Condon will return to the live stage for Beirut’s first concerts since 2019 with shows on February 16 and 17, 2024 at Tempodrom in Condon’s current home city of Berlin, Germany. Joining Condon in the Beirut lineup will be pianist Aaron Arntz, violinist Yuki Numata, cellist Clarice Jensen, bassist Griffin Rodriguez, drummer Nick Petree, trumpeter Kyle Resnick and trombonist/sousaphonist/pianist Ben Lanz.
According to press materials, “As the only concerts he plans to perform in support of the entirely self-written, self-recorded and self-produced Hadsel, Condon and the band will expand the music from its solitary roots and combinations of modular synths, baritone uke and horns, into a sweeping, collective experience of beauty and wonder.”
Tickets to Beirut’s Tempodrom shows go on-sale at 10 a.m. CEST on Friday, October 13. Purchase Beirut tickets via Ticketmaster.
Beirut also released the single, “The Tern,” which is one of 12 songs on Hadsel. Condon shared the below statement regarding “The Tern”:
“The base of this song comes from an old Roland synthesizer and drum machine part which I had lying around from a previous Berlin session. The lyrics I improvised on the spot and finished the song off by adding layers of church organs and hand percussion. I stacked the parts high despite always being afraid of overdoing it. In the end I was confused how I had written such a seemingly positive and even hopeful song, but once I took a closer look at the lyrics, I saw the real nature of the hidden defeat and triumph of caution rather than of hope.”
Stream “The Tern”:
