We last heard from the Colin Meloy-led Decemberists back in 2018 when they released their latest full-length album I'll Be Your Girl and subsequent EP, Traveling On. Now, they're back with their first new recording since then, as well as plans for a North American tour.
Their first release in six years comes in the form of "Burial Ground," a Beatles-indebted folky pop song — featuring the Shins’ James Mercer on backing vocals — that Meloy calls a "dream song." You can listen to it below.
“‘Burial Ground’ is in that time-honoured pop song tradition, a paean to hanging out in graveyards,” he explained. “The melody hook came to me in a dream and I hummed it into my phone on waking. Most dream-songs are bad; this was the exception.”
So far, the track does not signal the release of a new album, but time will tell! What it does portend is their massive summer tour with Ratboys, which actually begins in spring; A Peaceable Kingdom tour kicks off in Kingston, NY, on April 30, before shortly winding to Toronto's Queen Elizabeth Theatre on May 6. It's one of two Canadian stops on the trek, with Vancouver's performance coming on the penultimate tour date, July 29, also at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre.
A VIP ticket pre-sale begins February 7 at 10 a.m. PT. General on-sale begins February 9 at 10 a.m. local time. Find the full itinerary below.
Decemberists 2024 Tour Dates:
04/30 Kingston, NY - Ulster Performing Arts Center
05/02 Boston, MA - Roadrunner
05/03 Brooklyn, NY - Brooklyn Paramount Theatre
05/06 Toronto, ON - Exhibition Place - Queen Elizabeth Theatre
05/07 Pittsburgh, PA - Stage AE
05/08 Philadelphia, PA - The Fillmore Philadelphia
05/10 Washington DC - The Anthem
05/11 Durham, NC - Durham Performing Arts Center
05/12 Atlanta, GA - The Eastern
05/14 Dallas, TX - Majestic Theater
05/15 Austin, TX - Bass Concert Hall
05/17 St Louis, MO - The Pageant
05/18 Milwaukee, WI - Riverside Theater
05/19 St Paul, MN - Palace Theatre
05/21 Chicago, IL - Salt Shed
05/22 Detroit, MI - Royal Oak Music Theater
05/24 Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium
07/12 Bend, OR - Hayden Homes Amphitheater^
07/13 Oakland, CA - Fox Theater
07/15 Los Angeles, CA - The Bellwether
07/18 San Diego, CA - Humphreys
07/19 Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theater
07/20 Phoenix, AZ - The Van Buren
07/22 Santa Fe, NM - The Bridge at Santa Fe Brewing
07/23 Denver, CO - The Mission Ballroom
07/24 Sandy, UT - Sandy Amphitheater
07/26 Missoula, MT - Kettlehouse Amphitheater
07/27 Spokane, WA - Spokane Pavilion
07/29 Vancouver, BC - Queen Elizabeth Theatre
08/03 Troutdale, OR - McMenamins Edgefield*
^ with the Head and the Heart
* no Ratboys