Johnny Marr sets new North American Tour dates this spring

Johnny Marr delivered an amazing concert at the Theatre at Ace Hotel in Los Angeles in October 2018. Read my review here. If you have not caught him in concert (or have), you know you need to get to one of his upcoming tour dates...

Johnny Marr announces North American Tour



Dates set for April and May of 2019

Smiths’ guitar legend Johnny Marr, winner of British GQ's 2018 "Man Of The Year" Lifetime Achievement Award and NME’s “God-Like Genius” award has announced he is returning to North America in the spring. The extensive coast-to-coast run includes Los Angeles, Atlanta, Detroit, Denver and more. Tickets are on-sale at JohnnyMarr.com and a full list of dates is below. Last year, Marr released the critically acclaimed album Call The Comet. Recorded with his band in Manchester at Marr’s Crazy Face Factory, Call The Comet follows his previous UK Top 10 albums The Messenger (2013) and Playland (2014). Says Marr: "Call The Comet is my own magic realism. It’s set in the not-too-distant future and is mostly concerned with the idea of an alternative society. The characters in the songs are searching for a new idealism, although there are some personal songs in there too. It’s something that people like me can relate to.”

Praise for Johnny Marr’s live show: “His gruffer, but by no means unrefined, vocals lend fresh flavour to the Smiths tracks he drops intermittently into the set; his fired-up “Bigmouth”, stabbed through with trademark arpeggios, seems designed to remind us that the Smiths were as much gobby post-punk rabble as they were foppish ego cult, while “The Headmaster Ritual” could be Daytripper-era Beatles with switchblades up their blazer sleeves.” (4 Stars) - The Guardian “Marr (was) showcasing his great new album which somehow manages to combine those perfect Marr-lodies with a whiff of early eighties post-punk melancholy but also nods to that patented chiming guitar sound that he trademarked in the Smiths. The new album is his finest solo offering yet and the gig was a celebration of this and his own back pages...a perfect example of how seamlessly it all fits together into a continuous career whole in a sweatshod celebration of a decades long quest of guitar pop brilliance.” - Louder Than War “...the songs themselves sounded urgent and engaged. Guitar solos emerged with power and clarity within songs.” - The Financial Times

TOUR 04/27 - Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse 04/28 - Charlotte, NC @ Neighborhood Theatre 04/29 - Raleigh, NC @ Lincoln Theatre 05/01 - Montclair, NJ @ Wellmont Theater 05/03 - Providence, RI @ Fete Music Hall 05/04 - New Haven, CT @ College Street Music Hall 05/06 - Huntington, NY @ The Paramount 05/07 - South Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground Ballroom 05/08 - Portland, ME @ Aura 05/10 - London, ON @ London Music Hall 05/11 - Detroit, MI @ Saint Andrews Hall 05/13 - Chicago, IL @ The Vic Theatre 05/14 - Milwaukee, WI @ The . Pabst Theater 05/15 - Kansas City, MO @ Voodoo Lounge at Harrah's 05/16 - Denver, CO @ Gothic Theatre 05/18 - Las Vegas @ Brooklyn Bowl 05/19 - Anaheim, CA @ House of Blues 05/20 - San Diego, CA @ House of Blues 05/21 - Los Angeles, CA @ John Anson Ford Ampitheatre

Watch the video for “The Tracers” HERE. Watch the video for “Hi Hello” HERE. Watch the video for "Sprial Cities" HERE. Johnny spoke with Rolling Stone about Call The Comet HERE. Order Call The Comet HERE.

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Johnny Marr unleashes stunning songcraft and guitar work in Los Angeles

Johnny Marr, the Belle Game
Where: The Theatre at Ace Hotel in Los Angeles
When: Thursday, Oct. 4, 2018
Next: Johnny Marr performs at the Paper Tiger in San Antonio, Texas on Oct. 8
Information: JohnnyMarr.com


It's not often that I'm moved to tears at a rock show. I can recall over the years at select concert dates featuring Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, U2, Dead Can Dance and Peter Gabriel being deeply moved by a poignant performance. That happened again on Thursday night (Oct. 4, 2018) in the midst of Johnny Marr's sensational show at the Theatre at Ace Hotel in Los Angeles. The uptempo synth pop-styled Electronic song "Getting Away With It" doesn't lend itself emotional currents, but Marr's shimmering and textured guitar solo was so beautiful I suddenly found myself crying (excuse the cliche) like a baby.

Johnny Marr creating magic with
his electric guitar. 

I was fully impressed when I caught Marr perform at Coachella back in April 2013, but fast forward five years to last night's masterful headlining turn from the Manchester, England native and I am ready to count the singer-songwriter/guitar great one of modern rock's top live acts. 

For close to 100 magical minutes in front of a capacity crowd, Marr and his skilled three-man band performed a mix of material reflecting his seminal role as guitarist of The Smiths, work with the aforementioned Electronic and his trio of wonderful solo efforts dating back to 2013's The Messenger.

While it's clear many ventured to the venue in hopes of hearing Marr cover Smiths classics (he did that, via spectacular takes on five of the band's best-known classics including a bewitching "How Soon Is Now" and night-ending one-two punch of "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out" and "You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby"), discerning listeners were treated to a 19-song set that featured some of the most alluring rock of this decade. Take "Walk Into The Sea," one of the standouts from Marr's 2018 album Call The Comet; the stage was bathed in green light as a deep drum pattern beat out before Marr's otherworldly guitar came in. The song grew in power as Marr's strong voice came in with the band's dynamics ever-building.

As I sit writing this review a flood of special moments from last night's concert come to mind. A crowd-pleasing run through The Smiths' "Bigmouth Strikes Again" was played early in the set. The infectious drive of "Hi Hello" and "Hey Angel" (both outstanding cuts from his latest album), the undeniable groove of "Easy Money" and a wonderfully wistful and melodramatic rendering of The Smiths' "Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me" were among the many standout performances in an outstanding night.

Now my only question is, when do I get to see Johnny Marr perform live again?

Opening the show was the emerging Vancouver, Canada-spawned quartet The Belle Game, a group whose lush keyboards textures, driving rhythms and soaring vocals from Andrea Lo were a good fit for the night.  The group's 30-minute set left this writer wanting to hear more.


Review by Robert Kinsler