As they gear up for their 64-date world tour, ‘A Tribute To Kings,’ paying homage to prog-rock legends, Rush, Primus has announced a new 3-song EP, ‘Conspiranoid,’ out April 22nd via ATO Records. The band announced the EP with the release of its epic, 11-minute opening track, “Conspiranoia. “I'd been itching to record an opus--basically a long, winding, bastard of a song, reminiscent of some of the compositions I cut my teeth (or ears) on, in my music-hungry adolescence,” bassist Les Claypool told Consequence. “"Conspiranoia" was sprouted from a seed I had planted in my notebook a year or so ago--a few lines commenting on the mental state of the contemporary world.”
The release of ‘Conspiranoid’ will coincide with the second leg of Primus’ wildly popular ‘A Tribute To Kings’ Tour, which finds Bay area trio performing Rush’s 1977 album ‘A Farewell To Kings’ in its entirety, following a set of their own music. Kicking off in Oklahoma City before winding its way throughout the US, and then ultimately to Europe this fall, the second leg will also include the tour’s first stops in Canada, beginning with two dates in Toronto on May 13-14. Rush was formed in Toronto in 1968. The US performances will also feature special guests Battles, Black Mountain, and The Black Angels.
Two additional ‘A Tribute To Kings’ tour dates have just been announced at Gerald R. Ford Amphitheatre in Vail, CO on August 12th and 13th. A special pre-sale, including VIP upgrade options, is current open. A local pre-sale will open on Thursday, April 7th at 10am local time. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday, April 8th at 10am local time. For ticketing and show info, please visit www.primusville.com/tour
As Claypool told Rolling Stone, the ‘A Tribute To Kings’ Tour is about paying tribute to a band that has given him so much inspiration over the years.
“Hemispheres was my first concert,” Claypool said, referring to Rush’s 1978 album and tour. “Originally we’d always kind of joked around about doing Hemispheres…but we settled on Kings, because A) it was the first Rush record I ever heard and B) it contains ‘Cygnus X-1,’ which has always been my favorite Rush tune. It seems to be a good one for us to tackle; 2112 seemed a little obvious.”
The announcement follows the massive success of the first leg of ‘A Tribute To Kings,’ which was long-delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. It’s just the latest in a long series of Rush-related milestones for Primus, who first opened for their musical heroes in 1992.
“Geddy, Alex and Neil had been superheroes to Larry, Herb and I in our teens,” Claypool recalled, “so when we all became pals while touring together in the early '90s, we were pretty delighted; partially because of the musical geek-out factor but mostly because the three guys whom we had admired so much from afar, turned out to be truly great, down-to-earth humans, and like us, a tad eccentric.”
Primus will once again partner with On Location & CID Entertainment for the ‘A Tribute to Kings’ tour to offer ticket packages that include one premium ticket, invitation to a Q&A experience with Primus, exclusive VIP merch, and more. For full details, visit https://www.cidentertainment.com/events/primus-tour/
Comedy Central also recently announced that Primus will be featured in the “South Park: 25th Anniversary Concert” this summer. The concert, with Trey Parker and Matt Stone, Primus and Ween, takes place on Wednesday, August 10th at Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre. For more information and to purchase tickets please visit www.SouthParkatRedRocks.com
‘Conspiranoid’ EP – Out April 22nd
1. Conspiranoia
2. Follow The Fool
3. Erin On The Side Of Caution
PRIMUS ‘A TRIBUTE TO KINGS’ TOUR DATES
NORTH AMERICAN TOUR
Friday, April 15 – Oklahoma City, OK – The Criterion *
Saturday, April 16 – San Antonio, TX – Majestic Theatre *
Tuesday, April 19 – Springfield, MO – Gillioz Theatre *
Wednesday, April 20 – Kansas City, MO – Grinders KC *^
Friday, April 22 – Cedar Rapids, IA – McGrath Amphitheatre *^
Saturday, April 23 – Madison, WI – The Sylvee *
Monday, April 25 – Knoxville, TN – Tennessee Theatre*
Wednesday, April 27 – New Orleans, LA – Saenger Theatre *^
Saturday, April 30 – Huntsville, AL – Mars Music Hall, Von Braun Center *
Tuesday, May 3 – Miami Beach, FL – The Fillmore *
Wed, May 4 – St. Petersburg, FL – Mahaffey Theater, Duke Energy Center for the Arts *
Friday, May 6 – North Charleston, SC – North Charleston Performing Arts Center *
Saturday, May 7 – Saint Augustine, FL – The Saint Augustine Amphitheatre *
Monday, May 9 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium *
Tuesday, May 10 – Fort Wayne, IN – The Clyde Theatre *
Friday, May 13 – Toronto, ON – Massey Hall +
Saturday, May 14 – Toronto, ON – Massey Hall +
Monday, May 16 – Montreal, QC – L'Olympia +
Tuesday, May 17 – Quebec, QC – Videotron Centre +
Wednesday, May 18 – Albany, NY – Palace Theatre *
Friday, May 20 – Port Chester, NY – The Capitol Theatre *
Saturday, May 21 – Montclair, NJ – Wellmont Theater *
Sunday, May 22 – Huntington, NY – The Paramount *
Tuesday, May 24 – Washington, D.C. – Warner Theatre *
Wednesday, May 25 – Bethlehem, PA – The Wind Creek Event Center *
Friday, May 27 – Atlantic City, NJ – Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa *
Saturday, May 28 – LaFayette, NY – Beak & Skiff Apple Orchards *
Monday, May 30 – Louisville, KY – Old Forester’s Paristown Hall *
Tuesday, May 31 – Grand Rapids, MI – GLC Live at 20 Monroe *
Thursday, June 2 – Milwaukee, WI – BMO Harris Pavilion *^
Friday, June 3 – Saint Paul, MN – Palace Theatre *
Saturday, June 4 – Winnipeg, MB – Burton Cummings Theatre for the Performing Arts +
Monday, June 6 – Regina, SK – Conexus Arts Centre – Capital Auto Theatre +
Tuesday, June 7 – Saskatoon, SK – TCU Place – Sid Buckwold Theatre +
Thursday, June 9 – Calgary, AB – Grey Eagle Event Centre, Grey Eagle Resort & Casino +
Friday, June 10 – Edmonton, AB – Edmonton Expo Centre +
Sunday, June 12 – Vancouver, BC – The Orpheum +
Tuesday, June 14 – Troutdale, OR – Edgefield ~
Wednesday, June 15 – Redding, CA – Redding Civic Auditorium ~
Friday, June 17 – Sacramento, CA – Sacramento Memorial Auditorium ~
Saturday, June 18 – Reno, NV – Grand Theatre, Grand Sierra Resort and Casino ~
Sunday, June 19 – San Jose, CA – San Jose Civic ~
Tuesday, June 21 – Santa Barbara, CA – Arlington Theatre ~
Thursday, June 23 – Riverside, CA – Riverside Municipal Auditorium ~
Fri, June 24 – Long Beach, CA – Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center ~
Saturday, June 25 – Las Vegas, NV – The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas ~^
Friday, August 12 – Vail, CO – Gerald R. Ford Amphitheatre
Saturday, August 13 – Vail, CO – Gerald R. Ford Amphitheatre
EUROPE TOUR
Friday, September 9 – Stockholm, Sweden – Fryshuset Arenan
Saturday, September 10 – Oslo, Norway – Oslo Spektrum
Monday, September 12 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Vega
Wednesday, September 14 – Berlin, Germany – Huxley’s Neue Welt
Friday, September 16 – Warsaw, Poland – Klub Stodola
Saturday, September 17 – Prague, Czechia – Forum Karlin
Sunday, September 18 – Munich, Germany – TonHalle München
Tuesday, September 20 – Zürich, Switzerland – Kaufleuten
Wednesday, September 21 – Padova, Italy – Gran Teatro Geox
Friday, September 23 – Bogerhout, Belgium – De Roma
Saturday, September 24 – Paris, France – L’Olympia
Sunday, September 25 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – AFAS Live
Tuesday, September 27 – Glasgow, United Kingdom – 02 Academy Glasgow
Thursday, September 29 – London, United Kingdom – Eventim Apollo
Friday, September 30 – Manchester, United Kingdom – Manchester Academy
Saturday, October 1 – Dublin, Ireland – Olympia Theatre
* with Battles
+ with Black Mountain
~ with The Black Angels
^ Tickets are currently on sale for these performances
