It takes a pretty big show for us to venture outside the Milwaukee concert scene. When two 88Nine core artists announce a co-headlining tour, that qualifies.
The pair in question are The National and The War on Drugs, who on Monday announced a joint effort dubbed the “Zen Diagram Tour” that’ll take them from New Hampshire to Mexico this fall. Right around the middle of that trek, they’ll take over Breese Stevens Field in Madison for a Sept. 26 concert that also includes Lucius as openers.
The National were just in Madison last August touring behind First Two Pages of Frankenstein — the first of what turned out to be two album releases in 2023, along with September surprise drop Laugh Track. Their last Milwaukee visit was a September 2022 show at the Riverside Theater.
The War on Drugs have been to Brew City each of the last couple years, including a two-night stint at the Riverside in February 2022 and a Summerfest appearance last July. The band’s most recent studio album is 2021’s I Don’t Live Here Anymore, although they also released a couple new songs as part of the LP’s deluxe edition that came out in September of 2022.
Following a series of presales, tickets for the Sept. 26 concert at Breese Stevens Field will be available to the general public beginning at 10 a.m. this Friday, March 1. You can find more information on the Ticketmaster website.
