Dessa, the rapper, singer, monologist, and author, will embark on a run of US and European tour dates on February 23rd, which coincides with the "hotly anticipated" (All Things Considered) release of her latest album 'Chime' (Feb. 23 on Doomtree Records). Dessa, who has built a career out of "breaking the rules of rap" (NPR), will take the 'Chime' World Tour around the Midwest before flying to Europe to play Amsterdam, Berlin, London, etc.
In concert, Dessa has a take-no-prisoner intensity, fierce honesty, and earned confidence (she's performed everywhere from Lollapalooza to a bombed-out hospital in Warsaw, played with the Grammy-winning Minnesota Orchestra and in rock clubs around the country). Touring 'Chime,' Dessa will headline some of her largest venues yet (incl. her biggest-ever Seattle show at The Neptune Theatre on April 27th), reaffirming that she "sounds like no one else" (LA Times).
Today, Dessa also released the video for her moving pop anthem "Good Grief" via Billboard. As much an art-house narrative piece as it is a straight-forward music video, the haunting short film follows Dessa and a disengaged partner through snow and fog on their way to a place far removed from their daily lives, where they can confront whatever troubles have been smoldering between them.
In her own words, Dessa says: "It's easy to sentimentalize old pain, to imagine our former selves as line drawings in some parable, learning a life-lesson that has fortified our current selves. But it's a lot harder to feel that way about grief in the present-tense, to welcome pain as a force of character improvement. Grief is best when it's over."
Watch "Good Grief," the first video from 'Chime'.
On the Midwestern leg of her tour, Dessa will be supported by MONAKR, the slick R&B outfit composed of former members of indie pop band Hey Champ and Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Matthew Santos. Full itinerary below.
Listeners can pre-order 'Chime' in both digital and physical formats
TOUR DATES
USA
February 23 - Duluth, MN - SOUND*
March 29 - La Crosse, WI - Cavalier Theater*
March 30 - Madison, WI- Majestic Theatre*
March 31 - Chicago, IL- Subterranean*
April 1 - Detroit, MI - El Club*
April 3 - Iowa City, IA - Mission Creek Festival*
April 4 - Rochester, MN - Rochester Arts Center *
April 6 - Minneapolis, MN - First Ave*
April 27 -Seattle, WA - Neptune Theatre*
*With MONAKR
EUROPE
April 9 - Amsterdam NL - Paradiso
April 10 - Hamburg DE - Nochtwache
April 11 - Berlin DE - Musik & Frieden
April 12 - Brno CZ - Kabinet Muz
April 13 - Bratislava SK - Hopkirk Club
April 14 - Prague CZ - Futurum
April 16 - München DE - Hansa 39
April 19 - London UK - Birthdays
April 20 - Manchester UK - Soup Kitchen
Dessa online:
For more information please contact Rebecca Shapiro, Josh Page, or Hannah Schwartz at Shore Fire Media, (718) 522-7171