Paramore announce autumn North American tour

By Paul Brannigan
published

Hayley Williams' band have lined up a series of headline shows either side of their appearances at emo mega-fest When We Were Young

Paramore
(Image credit: Gary Miller/Getty Images)

Paramore are set to return to action this coming autumn, having newly announced a string of North American headline dates.

The Franklin, Tennessee band have been off the road for almost four years, with their last live show taking place in Nashville on September 7, 2018 at the end of a summer run for their fifth album, After Laughter. In the intervening years, vocalist Hayley Williams launched a solo career, releasing the albums Petals For Armor (2020) and Flowers for Vases / Descansos in 2021.

The first inklings that Paramore were gearing up for a return to action came last year when, asked about further solo releases during a Twitter Q&A with fans, Williams declared, "I'm ready for the next Paramore album. let's go."

Paramore are one of the headline acts, alongside My Chemical Romance, for the upcoming When We Were Young emo/pop punk/post-hardcore festival, which is taking place across successive weekends in October in Las Vegas. Now they've announced headline shows either side of the festival.

Paramore will play:

Oct 02: Bakersfield Mechanics Bank Theater, CA
Oct 04: Magna The Great SaltAir, UT
Oct 06: Omaha Orpheum Theater Omaha, NE
Oct 08: Oklahoma City The Criterion, OK
Oct 09: Austin City Limits, TX
Oct 11: Chesterfield The Factory, MO 
Oct 14: Bonner Springs Azura Amphitheater, KS
Oct 16: Austin City Limits, TX
Oct 22: Las Vegas When We Were Young Festival, NV
Oct 23: Las Vegas When We Were Young Festival, NV
Oct 29: Las Vegas When We Were Young Festival, NV
Nov 07: Toronto HISTORY, CAN
Nov 09: Chicago The Chicago Theatre, IL
Nov 11: Cincinnati The Andrew J Brady Music Center, OH
Nov 15: Atlanta Tabernacle, GA
Nov 16: St. Augustine The St. Augustine Amphitheatre, FL
Nov 19: Mexico City Corona Capital Festival, MEX

As for the forthcoming album's sound, Williams told Rolling Stone, "The music we were first excited by wasn’t exactly the kind of music we went on to make. Our output has always been all over the place and with this project, it’s not that different.

"We’re still in the thick of it but some things have remained consistent from the start. 1) More emphasis back on the guitar, and 2) Zac should go as 'Animal' as he wants with drum takes.”

Paul Brannigan
Paul Brannigan
Contributing Editor, Louder

A music writer since 1993, formerly Editor of Kerrang! and Planet Rock magazine (RIP), Paul Brannigan is a Contributing Editor to Louder. Having previously written books on Lemmy, Dave Grohl (the Sunday Times best-seller This Is A Call) and Metallica (Birth School Metallica Death, co-authored with Ian Winwood), his Eddie Van Halen biography (Eruption in the UK, Unchained in the US) emerged in 2021. He has written for Rolling Stone, Mojo and Q, hung out with Fugazi at Dischord House, flown on Ozzy Osbourne's private jet, played Angus Young's Gibson SG, and interviewed everyone from Aerosmith and Beastie Boys to Young Gods and ZZ Top. Born in the North of Ireland, Brannigan lives in North London and supports The Arsenal.