Flight of the Conchords' Bret McKenzie has announced a pivot into serious song writing with a new album and an expansive number of UK dates as part of a world tour. Tickets for the shows go on sale at 10am on Friday 20 May. Find a detailed list of McKenzie’s tour dates at the bottom of this article. 

Wittily titled Songs Without Jokes, the 11-track album will drop on Friday 26 August via Sub Pop records, with McKenzie citing influences like Harry Nilsson, Steely Dan, Randy Newman, and Dire Straits.

Kicking off in Birmingham on Thursday 22 September, McKenzie will hit Leeds, London, Nottingham, Portsmouth, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Newcastle throughout autumn, before a final date at Manchester’s O2 Apollo on Friday 7 October. 

Speaking in a press release McKenzie stated, ‘Post-Conchords, I’d been working on songs for the Muppets films, and during a session I had the thought that it would be fun someday to work on some songs that weren’t for someone else, that don’t have to tell a story or be funny or continue the narrative plot, checking all the boxes for the character in the movie. I thought it’d be fun to do a record like that, something different.’

While it may be lacking in punchlines, his lead single ‘A Little Tune’ is a playful, theatrical number that could go toe-to-toe with Nilsson’s best work. Give it a listen below. 

Bret McKenzie’s 2022 UK tour dates: 
Thursday 22 September – Town Hall, Birmingham
Friday 23 September – O2 Academy, Leeds
Monday 26 September – Eventim Apollo, London
Thursday 29 September – Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham
Saturday 1 October – Guildhall, Portsmouth
Monday 3 October – St Davids Hall, Cardiff
Tuesday 4 October – O2 Academy, Edinburgh
Wednesday 5 October – O2 City Hall, Newcastle
Friday 7 October – O2 Apollo, Manchester

Tickets for Bret McKenzie’s UK tour dates go on sale at 10am on Friday 20 May.