GENESIS OWUSU RETURNS WITH NEW ALBUM ‘STRUGGLER’ & SHARES LEAD SINGLE “LEAVING THE LIGHT”
GENESIS OWUSU 2023 TOUR DATES
5/20 Coffs Harbour, AUS - Storyland @ Park Beach Reserve
5/23 Charlotte, NC - Spectrum Center**
5/25 Atlanta, GA - State Farm Arena**
5/28 Boston, MA - Boston Calling
5/30 New York, NY - Madison Square Garden**
5/31 New York, NY - Madison Square Garden**
6/02 Washington, DC - Capitol One Arena**
6/04 Cleveland, OH - Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse**
6/05 Indianapolis, IN - Gainbridge Fieldhouse**
6/07 Detroit, MI - Little Caesars Arena**
6/08 Toronto, ON - Scotiabank Arena**
6/10 Columbus, OH - Schottenstein Center**
6/11 Pittsburgh, PA - PPG Paints Arena**
6/13 Orlando, FL - Amway Center**
6/14 Hollywood, FL - Hard Rock Live**
10/12 Minneapolis, MN - Fine Line
10/13 Chicago, IL - Thalia Hall
10/14 Ferndale, MI - The Loving Touch
10/15 Pittsburgh, PA - Thunderbird Music Hall
10/17 Toronto, ON - The Velvet Underground
10/18 Montreal, QC - Le Studio TD
10/19 Boston, MA - The Sinclair
10/20 Brooklyn, NY - Elsewhere
10/21 Philadelphia, PA - Underground Arts
10/25 Washington, DC - Union Stage
10/27 Charlotte, NC - Visulite Theatre
10/28 Atlanta, GA - Terminal West
10/29 Nashville, TN - The Basement East
10/31 Austin, TX - Empire Control Room & Garage
11/01 Dallas, TX - The Studio at The Factory
11/03 Denver, CO - Globe Hall
11/06 Los Angeles, CA - The Fonda Theatre
11/07 San Francisco, CA - The Independent
11/09 Seattle, WA - Neumos
11/10 Portland, OR - Star Theatre
11/11 Vancouver, BC - Rickshaw Theatre
11/15 London, UK - Heaven
11/16 Paris, FR - Café de la Danse
11/17 Berlin, DE - Hole44
12/01 Perth, AUS - Ice Cream Factory
12/08 Melbourne, AUS - Festival Hall
12/09 Canberra, AUS - UC Refectory
12/14 Brisbane, AUS - Fortitude Music Hall
12/15 Sydney, AUS - Hordern Pavilion
12/16 Adelaide, AUS - Hindley St Music Hall
**notes tour dates with Paramore, Bloc Party
Today, the dawn of a new era for Genesis Owusu begins. The ARIA award-winning Ghanaian-Australian artist, born Kofi Owusu-Ansah, announces his highly anticipated sophomore album, STRUGGLER, out on August 18 via OURNESS / AWAL. Additionally, he has announced his global headline world tour including dates in North America, Australia, the UK, Germany and more, and shares the album’s lead single, “Leaving the Light,” along with its video directed by globally-celebrated Aotearoa New Zealand visual artist Lisa Reihana.
After launching onto the global map with his critically acclaimed debut album, 2021’s Smiling with No Teeth, Owusu takes his next steps forward with STRUGGLER; an imminent exploration of the chaos and absurdity of life, and our ability to endure. Where Smiling With No Teeth uncovered the battle against depression and racism, STRUGGLER is about how to get through it. The album takes inspiration from a close friend hitting the brink and coming through the other side, in conjunction with prompted questions of life and beauty that Owusu found himself contemplating during readings of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot and Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis. Recorded between the US and Australia, the album’s producers traverse musical genres; from Jason Evigan (RUFUS DU SOL, SZA), to Mikey Freedom Hart (Jon Batiste’s 2021 Grammy of the Year Album, We Are), Sol Was (Beyoncé’s Renaissance), and original producers, Andrew Klippel and Dave Hammer.
Additionally, Owusu has collaborated with Lisa Reihana on STRUGGLER’s complete visual identity. Having been showcased in elite institutions throughout the US and EU including the Venice Biennale for her critically-acclaimed video installation, In Pursuit of Venus [Infected], Reihana’s work spans a diverse range of mediums. From film, to costume and body adornment, plus video installation, Reihana has rightfully earned a reputation as a world-renowned artist and producer, engaging in thought-provoking dialogues around the concept of culture.
Today, Owusu's latest chapter unfolds with the album’s lead single “Leaving the Light,” a fervent anthem about survival and perseverance. Opening to a spine-crawling run of bass notes, “Leaving the Light” sets an urgent tone for the new album. The immediacy hits through Owusu’s feverish verses and echoed shouts, including a jolting mix of poetic punk and melodic catharsis, and exploring form and rhythm across the track.
Owusu’s live show is never one to disappoint and, today, he also announces his STRUGGLER World Tour heading to countries across the globe including the United States, Canada, the UK and, of course, Australia where he will have Atlanta’s Earthgang supporting him. The North American shows will be his first headline dates here since his sold out run of shows in early 2022 supporting Smiling With No Teeth, including sold out gigs at Los Angeles’ The Roxy Theatre and New York’s Bowery Ballroom. His World Tour follows upcoming shows with Paramore where he will support the group across North America including two nights at Madison Square Garden, and he is also set to perform at the Boston Calling festival on Sunday, May 28.
In addition to his sold out 2022 headline shows, Owusu previously gave notable performances at North American festivals including Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits, Osheaga Festival and This Ain’t No Picnic, Barcelona’s Primavera Sound and Australia’s Splendour in the Grass. He also played support dates with Glass Animals, Khruangbin and Thundercat in the US and Tame Impala in Australia. Earlier this year, the musician played a two-city performance series, Red Bull Symphonic, which saw him perform to a sold out Sydney Opera House along with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra (watch here).
One of Australia's most-celebrated recent albums, Smiling With No Teeth demonstrated the beginning of Owusu’s profound artistic revolution and soul-bearing expression. The album secured triple j’s Album of the Year and 4x ARIA award titles, including Album of the Year alongside radio support from NPR stations across the US (KCRW, KEXP, WXPN and more), triple j and BBC Radio. Global acclaim also came from tastemakers and critics alike, including Los Angeles Times, AV Club, KCRW, Paste, The Needle Drop, BET, American Songwriter, OkayPlayer, and many more. Owusu additionally saw his album track, "Gold Chains," included in President Obama's Favorite Music of 2021, and he made his late night debut performing the song on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. He followed the album with his Missing Molars EP and acclaimed standalone singles in 2022 – “GTFO” and “Get Inspired.”
Get ready for what’s next from the unstoppable GENESIS OWUSU!
