Ed O'Brien confirms Radiohead have plans to tour again from 2027
The band will play 20 shows per year across different continents
Ed O'Brien has revealed that Radiohead intend to take their live comeback to new continents starting next year, with a strategy of performing 20 shows annually in a different region each time.
In conversation with Rolling Stone, the guitarist outlined the band's approach to getting back on the road after their successful return to the stage across Europe and the UK last year. North America, South America, and Asia/Oceania are all on the agenda, though nothing will happen in 2025.
"It's definitely happening," O'Brien said when asked if Radiohead were planning more shows. "What we're going to do is, every year we're going to do a different continent, and we're going to do 20 shows a year. No more, no less."
The decision to cap their schedule at 20 dates per year stems from a desire to maintain quality over quantity. "We want to give absolutely everything each night," O'Brien explained, confirming the band "won't do anything this year, but we'll do something next year." He added, "We do not ever want it to be like we're going through the motions or we're having to run on empty. We've got to be able to do it. And you know what? We're not spring chickens anymore."
O'Brien was candid about his relationship with touring, revealing he was "done with Radiohead" after they finished promoting 'A Moon Shaped Pool' on the road in 2018. "The others said they wanted to tour," he shared. "I didn't really want to tour, and they knew that. But I did it, and I'm glad I did. I saw it through to the end." The subsequent seven-year break from live duties, combined with releasing solo material including his upcoming record 'Blue Morpho' — the follow-up to 2020's 'Earth' — ultimately reignited his enthusiasm for performing with the band.
When Radiohead first announced their return to live shows, drummer Philip Selway offered some context: "Last year [in 2024], we got together to rehearse, just for the hell of it. After a seven-year pause, it felt really good to play the songs again and reconnect with a musical identity that has become lodged deep inside all five of us. It also made us want to play some shows together, so we hope you can make it to one of the upcoming dates. For now, it will just be these ones, but who knows where this will all lead."
Australia remains firmly in the picture, with Asia/Oceania named among the planned touring destinations. Radiohead haven't performed in the country since 2012, when they were touring behind 'The King of Limbs'.