Mercury Prize winner Michael Kiwanuka today announced the postponement of his 2021 tour. The North Londoner’s 12-gig tour will now take place in May 2022, with existing ticket purchases remaining valid for the new dates.
In a handwritten note posted to his followers on social media, Kiwanuka said: “I want you all to know that it truly is an understatement when I say how much I’ve missed seeing you out on the road at shows. I was so excited to give you Kiwanuka live. Myself and the band had been working hard to put together a live show that reflects how much your love and support means to me. However, even though we’ve been receiving some very good news through the vaccine, and we can now see the light at the end of the tunnel, I will sadly still have to postpone the planned UK tour. I want to make sure that we are all 100% safe when these shows go ahead.”
The singer-songwriter added “I say this with a heavy heart and there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about how grateful I will be when we can finally experience the joy of live music again. I cannot wait to see you. Until then thank you so much for your patience and for your continued love and support.”
An update about the UK tour… sending love and thank you for your patience folks pic.twitter.com/PU1sCRQ9pW
— Michael Kiwanuka (@michaelkiwanuka) March 3, 2021
The rearranged tour will provide the Muswell Hill product with a belated first opportunity to take his acclaimed third studio album Kiwanuka on the road. The record received glowing reviews on top of bagging the coveted 2020 Mercury Prize, with the LP described as “an early-career opus” by Rolling Stone, and a “bold, expansive, heartfelt, sublime album” by the Guardian.
Kiwanuka proved to be the man with the Midas touch again with an appearance on Untitled (Black Is), the first of two politically-charged double-albums released last year by enigmatic rhythm and blues collective Sault. The record topped Rough Trade’s 2020 Albums of the Year List, and was described glowingly by the label as a “stirring“, “staggering” and “powerful” artistic statement, and an LP “that delivers equal parts grace and charge, manoeuvring through disparate sub-genres to create a magnificent medley of exaltation.”
Last month the soul-rock singer continued his drive to crack the lucrative American market with an appearance on James Corden’s The Late Late Show – the site of his first ever live performance in the US. His rendition of Solid Ground for Corden’s audience followed a stint on rival Jimmy Fallon’s The Tonight Show in January, where he played 2019 single You Ain’t the Problem.
The full schedule of dates for Michael Kiwanuka’s 2022 UK Tour is as follows:
06/05/2022 – O2 Academy – Glasgow
08/05 – O2 Academy – Leeds
09/05 – De Montford Hall – Leicester
11/05 – Corn Exchange – Cambridge
13/05 – Empress Ballroom – Blackpool
14/05 – Bonus Arena – Hull
17/05 – 02 Apollo – Manchester
18/05 – 02 City Hall – Newcastle
20/05 – Brighton Centre – Brighton
21/05 – Pavilions – Plymouth
23/05 – O2 Academy Brixton – London
25/05 – Alexandra Palace – London
