Papa Emeritus IV is coming to an amphitheater near you. Ghost, the Swedish hard-rock band led by the man of a thousand faces, Tobias Forge, has announced a U.S. summer tour.
Titled the Re-Imperatour U.S.A. 2023, the trek begins August 2nd in Concord, California, and plays 27 dates, wrapping up September 11th in Los Angeles. Along the way, the tour hits cities like Chicago, Milwaukee, Tampa, Austin, and Phoenix. Fellow Swedish metalheads Amon Amarth open all dates except the L.A. closer.
Ghost released their latest album, Impera, last year, a record that rails against bloated nations, empty leaders, and the glorification of stupidity. “We now have mechanisms within our own Western empire who are actively trying to, and to some degree have, created this time machine where we’re regressing,” Forge told Rolling Stone. “We’re flattening the earth. We’re submitting to stupidity, which is fucking unbelievable.”
Ghost concerts are remarkable experiences, with Forge — as Papa Emeritus IV — singing through various costume changes while the band, whose faces are all hidden beneath masks, play behind him. Pyro, strobes, and confetti cannons are the norm. It’s a black mass, but a celebratory one.
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Earlier this month, Ghost staged a pop-up exhibit at the Whisky a Go Go on the Sunset Strip in L.A. that featured memorabilia, from stage costumes to a “corpse,” from their supposed Sixties incarnation. They also released a new version of the Impera track “Spillways” featuring Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott.
Ghost Summer Tour Dates:
Aug. 2 – Concord, CA @ Concord Pavilion
Aug. 4 – Auburn, WA @ White River Amphitheatre
Aug. 5 – Airway Heights, WA @ BECU Live at Northern Quest
Aug. 7 – West Valley City, UT @ USANA Amphitheatre
Aug. 8 – Denver, CO @ Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre *
Aug 11 – St. Louis, MO @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
Aug. 12 – Milwaukee, WI @ American Family Insurance Amphitheater
Aug. 14 Clarkston, MI @ Pine Knob Music Theatre
Aug. 15 – Chicago, IL @ Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island
Aug. 16 – Cincinnati, OH @ PNC Pavilion at Riverbend Music Center
Aug. 18 – Syracuse, NY @ St. Joseph’s Health Amphitheater at Lakeview
Aug. 19 – Mansfield, MA @ Xfinity Center
Aug. 20 – Bridgeport, CT @ Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater
Aug. 22 – Indianapolis, IN @ TCU Amphitheater at White River State Park
Aug. 23 – Burgettstown, PA @ The Pavilion at Star Lake
Aug. 24 – Bristow, VA @ Jiffy Lube Live
Aug. 25 – Camden, NJ @ Freedom Mortgage Pavilion
Aug. 27 – Nashville, TN @ Ascend Amphitheater
Aug. 29 – Simpsonville, SC @ CCNB Amphitheatre at Heritage Park
Aug. 30 – Jacksonville, FL @ Daily’s Place
Aug. 31 – Tampa, FL @ MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
Sept. 2 – The Woodlands, TX @ The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion presented by Huntsman
Sept. 3 – Austin, TX @ Germania Insurance Amphitheater
Sept. 5 – Irving, TX @ The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
Sept. 7 – Albuquerque, NM @ Isleta Amphitheater
Sept. 8 – Phoenix, AZ @ Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre
Sept. 11 – Los Angeles, CA @ Kia Forum
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