TOUR ANNOUNCEMENT
GRAMMY Award-winning rapper Drake appeared to be asking his fans the most obvious question imaginable when he tweeted the following to his 11 million-plus followers:
Would You Like A Tour?
— Drizzy (@Drake) June 16, 2013
In reality, he was announcing the name of his upcoming 40-plus city North American tour that will hit the road in late September. Would You Like a Tour is set to promote his forthcoming album, “Nothing Was the Same,” which does not yet have an official release date but is expected to drop sometime this summer. The album will be Drake’s third, and his first since releasing “Take Care” in 2011, which went on to receive a GRAMMY for Best Rap Album in 2013. The Canadian-born artist promoted that album on his most recent venture, the Club Paradise Tour, which played over 60 shows across North America and Europe beginning back in Feb. 2012 and featured several guests along the way, including J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar, and 2 Chainz.
While his most recent tour included several appearances from complementary artists along the way, Would You Like a Tour will have one very big A-list star at each and every show. Booked to perform at all of the Drake tour dates is R&B sensation Miguel, who is coming off a GRAMMY win of his own, taking home the award for his hit song “Adorn,”—off his critically acclaimed 2012 album, “Kaleidoscope Dream,” which he performed at both the GRAMMYs and Billboard Music Awards. Also slated to join the award winners is Atlanta-based rapper Future, who released his debut album “Pluto” in 2012 and is expected to release his new album, “Future Hendrix,” later this year.
While the American leg of Drake’s 2012 Club Paradise Tour was comprised of mostly college venues, the 2013 trek is a full-blown arena tour, and will hit several of the biggest arenas in the U.S. and Canada, beginning with the Rose Garden in Portland on Sept. 25 and concluding two months later with a show at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Anticipation for Drake’s “Nothing Was the Same” has grown considerably with his recent release of three singles from the album, including “Started from the Bottom,” “Girls Love Beyoncé,” and “5 AM in Toronto.”
Speaking of Toronto, fans in Canada’s largest city will get the first chance to hear their hometown hero’s newest material, as the city will host Drake’s fourth annual OVO Fest this summer, which is set to take place Aug. 4-5 at the Molson Amphitheatre. The two-day affair will feature R&B star Frank Ocean and singer James Blake on the first day, with headliner Drake performing with yet-to-be-named special guests for the event’s finale on Aug. 5.