Having just launched their 64-date ‘A Tribute To Kings’ world tour, paying homage to prog-rock legends, Rush, Primus has released their first new music in more than 5 years, the 3-song EP ‘Conspiranoid,’ out today via ATO Records. The EP features the epic, 11-minute opening track, “Conspiranoia,” which Claypool described as “a long, winding, bastard of a song.” He adds: “”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.” A vinyl edition of the EP will be released on August 12th.
The ‘Conspiranoid’ EP follows the release of “Zelensky: The Man With the Iron Balls,” a collaboration with Eugene Hütz of Gogol Bordello, written to rally support for the Ukrainian people. Released this week via Rolling Stone, the track also features Stewart Copeland, Sean Lennon, Billy Strings, and Sergey Ryabtsev, with proceeds supporting Nova Ukraine, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing humanitarian aid to the people of Ukraine. The artists are inviting listeners to show their support by submitting clips of themselves, their friends, colleagues, children, pets, or anyone else they deem appropriate clapping along to the song. Video clips can be sent to ironballs@primusville.com and additional details can be found in the video notes here.
Primus’ wildly popular ‘A Tribute To Kings’ Tour finds the Bay area trio performing Rush’s 1977 album ‘A Farewell To Kings’ in its entirety, following a set of their own music. Winding its way throughout the North American and ultimately to Europe this fall, the second leg also included 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 are also featuring special guests Battles, Black Mountain, and The Black Angels.
As Claypool told Rolling Stone, ‘A Tribute To Kings’ 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.”
‘A Tribute To Kings” is 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 is 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/
‘Conspiranoid’ EP – Out Today
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 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 *
Wednesday, 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 ~
Friday, June 24 – Long Beach, CA – Terrace Theater, 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