On August 26th, 2022, Bret McKenzie will release Songs Without Jokes, his full-length, solo debut, worldwide through Sub Pop. The album, which features lead single “A Little Tune,” and additional highlights “Dave’s Place,” “If You Wanna Go,” and “America Goodbye,” was produced by Mickey Petralia and McKenzie, mixed by Darrell Thorpe, with songs recorded at East West Studios and United Recordings, and mastered by Dave Ives at 101 Mastering in Los Angeles.
Watch the charming, official (and officially charming…) video for a “A Little Tune,” which stars McKenzie, directed by Ezra Simons, and shot at Royal Whanganui Opera House, the last Victorian theatre remaining in New Zealand.
As you can probably glean from that gleaming album title above, McKenzie—whom you know from such modern musical treasures as comedy duo Flight of the Conchords, The Muppets movie reboots and other ace family-film soundtracks, Lord of the Rings fan blogs, guest songs for The Simpsons, cycling around the streets in his native New Zealand, and more— has a new solo record coming out filled with songs that ARE NOT COMEDY SONGS! For members of the press, we thoughtfully provide some irresistible story headlines below, for Bret’s sake and your convenience.
-Kiwi Flies, and Solo! -Songs From One Bloke -Three (Con)chords (Minus Two Conchords) and the Truth -Uh-Oh! Rhymenoceros on the Loose! -Bretty or Not, Here He Comes
There. Now doesn’t that feel better? Sometimes it helps just to get it out in the open.
So, yeah, Bret’s a ridiculously funny dude, and you might even call him one of the best comedy songwriters in the biz. He’s had smash hits, he’s won major awards, he’s the better-dressed part of his duo…he’s got a good thing going! So, what gives with this whole “songs without jokes” solo stuff, man?
“Post-Conchords, I’d been working on songs for the Muppets films, and during a session I had the thought that it would be fun someday to work on some songs that weren’t for someone else, that don’t have to tell a story or be funny or continue the narrative plot, checking all the boxes for the character in the movie,” McKenzie says. “I thought it’d be fun to do a record like that, something different.”
Adding to his successful track record writing and performing across most genres of pop music, McKenzie is a fan of wry, literate artists like Harry Nilsson, Steely Dan, Randy Newman and Dire Straits. He’s a talented player of multiple instruments and a veteran of several non-comedy bands in New Zealand back in the day, most notably the reggae-based fusion group The Black Seeds. Yet, while songs without jokes are just as much in his blood as those with, he recognizes that most people who know his work will arrive expecting a laugh. Hence, the album’s title (read full bio at Sub Pop).
McKenzie, along with his seven-piece band, has scheduled international headlining shows for the fall of 2022 in support of Songs Without Jokes, beginning September 2nd in Nelson, New Zealand at Trafalgar Center and currently ending Sunday, November 20th in Atlanta, Georgia at the Eastern.
Seated registration for these shows begins today, and runs through Tuesday, May 17th at 10pm (local). Fan presales begin Wednesday, May 18th at 10am (local; PW: SONGSWITHOUTJOKES), with tickets on sale to the general public on Friday, May 20th at 10am (local). For more information on tickets please visit https://bretmckenzie.co.nz/tour/.
Fri. Sep. 02 - Nelson, NZ - Trafalgar Centre Sat. Sep. 03 - Christchurch, NZ - Town Hall Sun. Sep. 04 - Dunedin, NZ - Town Hall Mon. Sep. 05 - Invercargill, NZ - Civic Theatre Thu. Sep. 08 - Wellington, NZ - Opera House Mon. Sep. 12 - Whanganui, NZ - Royal Whanganui Opera House Tue. Sep. 13 - Hastings, NZ - Opera House Wed. Sep. 14 - Auckland, NZ - Town Hall Thu. Sep. 22 - Birmingham, UK - Town Hall Fri. Sep. 23 - Leeds, UK - O2 Academy Mon. Sep. 26 - London, UK - Eventim Apollo Thu. Sep. 29 - Nottingham, UK - Royal Concert Hall Sat. Oct. 01 - Portsmouth - Guildhall Mon. Oct. 03 - Cardiff, UK - St Davids Hall Tue. Oct. 04 - Edinburgh, UK - Academy Wed. Oct. 05 - Newcastle, UK - O2 City Hall Fri. Oct. 07 - Manchester, UK - O2 Apollo Sun. Oct. 09 - Dublin, IE - The National Stadium Fri. Oct. 14 - Burlington, VT - Higher Ground Sat. Oct. 15 - Boston, MA - Berklee Performance Center Mon. Oct. 17 - Philadelphia, PA - Fillmore (seated) Wed. Oct. 19 - Williamsburg, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg Thu. Oct. 20 - Port Chester, NY - Capitol Theatre Fri. Oct. 21 - Washington DC - Lincoln Theatre Sat. Oct. 22 - New York, NY - Webster Hall Mon. Oct. 24 - Montreal, QC - Corona Theatre Tue. Oct. 25 - Toronto, ON - Queen Elizabeth Theatre Wed. Oct. 26. - Detroit, MI - Royal Oak Fri. Oct. 28 - Chicago, IL - The Vic Theatre Sat. Oct. 29 - Milwaukee, WI - Pabst Theater Sun. Oct. 30 - Minneapolis, MN - Fitzgerald Theater Wed. Nov. 02 Denver, CO - Ogden Theater Thu. Nov. 03 - Salt Lake City, UT - Eccles Theater Sun. Nov. 06 - Seattle, WA - The Moore Mon. Nov. 07 - Vancouver, BC - The Vogue Theatre Wed. Nov. 09 - San Francisco, CA - Fillmore Fri. Nov. 11 - Los Angeles, CA - Theatre at the Ace Hotel Sat. Nov. 12 - El Cajon, CA (San Diego) - Magnolia Sun. Nov. 13 - Phoenix, AZ - Orpheum Theater Tue. Nov. 15 - Dallas, TX - Factory Studio (Canton Hall) Wed. Nov. 16 - Austin, TX - Paramount Theater Thur. Nov. 17 - Houston, TX - Warehouse Live Sat. Nov. 19 - Nashville, TN - James K. Polk Theater Sun. Nov. 20 - Atlanta, GA - The Eastern
Songs Without Jokes is available to preorder now from Sub Pop. LP preorders through megamart.subpop.com, select independent retailers in North America, UK and Europe will received the limited Loser Edition on blue vinyl (while supplies last).
Bret McKenzie Songs Without Jokes
Tracklisting: 1. This World 2. If You Wanna Go 3. Dave’s Place 4. Here for You 5. That’s L.A. 6. Up in Smoke 7. Carry On 8. A Little Tune 9. America Goodbye 10. Tomorrow Today 11. Crazy Times
This past October and ten years after the launch of their hit HBO series, musical comedians Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement returned to the network for an all-new comedy special. Live in London was taped before a live audience at the Eventim Apollo and features the Conchords performing new songs from the sold-out UK and Ireland edition of “Flight of the Conchords Sing Flight of the Conchords Tour.”
The Live in London album features 7 new songs including the “Iain and Deanna,” “Father and Son,” “Summer of 1353,” “Stana,” “Seagull,” “Back on the Road,” and “Bus Driver.” The album also features performances of fan favorites “Carol Brown,” “Inner City Pressure,” “Bowie,” “Foux du Fafa,” “Mutha’uckas - Hurt Feelings,” “Robots,” and “The Most Beautiful Girl (In The Room)’ (the latter two bonus tracks edited out of the broadcast due to time constraints).
Pictured: Live in London Loser Edition LP (U.S. Version) on “Dragon Tears*” vinyl.
LP purchases of Live in London in North America through megamart.subpop.com and select independent retailers will receive the limited Loser edition on clear w/blue and yellow high melt vinyl (while supplies last). Additionally, LP purchases of Live in London in Europe and the UK from select independent retailers will receive the limited Loser edition on clear vinyl (also while supplies last).
[Photo Credit: Colin Hutton/HBO]
NPR Music says of Live in London, “Deeply fun and endearing, Live in London provides a showcase for Flight of the Conchords at its members’ most irreverent — a couple of guys content to crack jokes, jam out and share the results with the masses.” Exclaim, in its 8/10 review, offered this, “With hits old and new, and plenty of the charming banter that have endeared Clement and McKenzie to audiences across the world for decades, Live in London is the definitive audio version of the Flight of the Conchords experience.”
*Not dragons were harmed in the procurement of aforementioned dragon tears.
Live in London was taped before a live audience at the Eventim Apollo. The album features the Conchords performing new songs from the sold-out UK and Ireland edition of “Flight of the Conchords Sing Flight of the Conchords Tour.”
You can now hear Flight of the Conchords’ live version of fan favorite “Carol Brown” from Live in London, their forthcoming album. The song first appeared in the “Unnatural Love” episode of their hit HBO series and is also available in its original form on I Told You I Was Freaky, the duo’s second studio album on Sub Pop.
[Album Art Photo credit: Colin Hutton/HBO]
Live in London will be available on 2xCD/3xLP/DL/CS worldwide via Sub Pop on March 8th, 2019. This past October and ten years after the launch of their hit HBO series, musical comedians Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement returned to the network for an all-new comedy special.
Live in London is now available for preorder from Sub Pop. LP preorders in North America through megamart.subpop.com and select independent retailers will receive the limited Loser edition on clear w/blue and yellow high melt vinyl (while supplies last).
This Loser right here:
Additionally, LP preorders of Live in London in Europe and the UK from select independent retailers will receive the limited Loser edition on clear vinyl (while supplies last).
The Live in London album features 7 new songs including the “Iain and Deanna,”“Father and Son,”“Summer of 1353,” “Stana,” “Seagull,” “Back on the Road,” and “Bus Driver.” The album also features performances of fan favorites “Inner City Pressure,” “Bowie,” “Foux du Fafa,” “Mutha’uckas - Hurt Feelings,” “Robots,” and “The Most Beautiful Girl (In The Room)’ (the latter two bonus tracks edited out of the broadcast due to time constraints).
Live in London will be available on 2xCD/3xLP/DL/CS and was taped before a live audience at the Eventim Apollo. The album features the Conchords performing new songs from the sold-out UK and Ireland edition of “Flight of the Conchords Sing Flight of the Conchords Tour.”
You heard right, ladies and gents: Flight of the Conchords will release Live in Londonon 2xCD/3xLP/DL/CS worldwide via Sub Pop on March 8th, 2019. This past October and ten years after the launch of their hit HBO series, musical comedians Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement returned to the network for an all-new comedy special. Live in London was taped before a live audience at the Eventim Apollo and features the Conchords performing new songs from the sold-out UK and Ireland edition of “Flight of the Conchords Sing Flight of the Conchords Tour.”
The Live in London album features 7 new songs including “Iain and Deanna,”“Father and Son,”“Summer of 1353,” “Stana,” “Seagull,” “Back on the Road,” and “Bus Driver.” The album also features performances of fan favorites “Inner City Pressure,” “Bowie,” “Foux du Fafa,” “Mutha’uckas - Hurt Feelings,” “Robots,” “Carol Brown” and “The Most Beautiful Girl (In The Room)’ (the latter two bonus tracks edited out of the broadcast due to time constraints).
Live in London is now available for preorder from Sub Pop.
LP preorders in North America through megamart.subpop.com and select independent retailers will receive the limited Loser edition on clear w/blue and yellow high melt vinyl (while supplies last). Additionally, LP preorders of Live in London in Europe and the UK from select independent retailers will receive the limited Loser edition on clear vinyl (while supplies last).
Flight of the Conchords Live in London Tracklisting: 1. Father and Son * 2. Band Reunion 3. Iain and Deanna * 4. Inner City Pressure 5. New Zealand Symphony Orchestra 6. Summer of 1353 * 7. Complimentary Muffin 8. Stana * 9. Stuck in a Lift 10. Foux du Fafa 11. Seagull * 12. Mutha’uckas - Hurt Feelings 13. One More Anecdote 14. Back on the Road * 15. Thank You London 16. Bowie 17. Bus Driver * 18. Tuning 19. Robots 20. Shady Rachel 21. Carol Brown ** 22. The Most Beautiful Girl (In The Room) ** * = new song ** = bonus track not included in the TV special
[Photo credit: Colin Hutton/HBO]
New Zealanders McKenzie and Clement debuted on HBO in 2005 in an edition of the comedy series “One-Night Stand,” returning to the network in 2007 for the debut season of their acclaimed, Emmy-nominated series “Flight of the Conchords,” which followed fictionalized versions of their lives in New York City. The duo also signed a worldwide deal with Sub Pop Records for their recorded music, going on to release the Grammy-winning EP, The Distant Future in 2007, followed by two full-length albums - their self-titled debut in 2008, and I Told You I Was Freaky in 2009.
The Conchords have also enjoyed individual success. Clement’s film credits include the “Rio” movies, “Men in Black 3,” “What We Do in the Shadows” and “The BFG,” and he’s also been seen in his role in FX’s “Legion.” McKenzie was the music supervisor for “The Muppets,” which won him an Academy Award® for Best Original Song for “Man or Muppet,” and “Muppets Most Wanted.”
You can now hear Flight of the Conchords “Father and Son” a new song from their HBO special Live in London, and available now at all DSPs via Sub Pop.
This past October and ten years after the launch of their hit HBO series, musical comedians Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement returned to HBO for the all-new comedy special. Live in London was taped before a live audience at the Eventim Apollo and featured the Conchords performing songs from the sold-out UK and Ireland edition of “Flight of the Conchords Sing Flight of the Conchords Tour.”
New Zealanders McKenzie and Clement debuted on HBO in 2005 in an edition of the comedy series “One-Night Stand,” returning to the network in 2007 for the debut season of their acclaimed, Emmy-nominated series “Flight of the Conchords,” which followed fictionalized versions of their lives in New York City. The duo also signed a worldwide deal with Sub Pop Records for their recorded music, going on to release the Grammy-winning EP, The Distant Future in 2007, followed by two full-length albums - their self-titled debut in 2008, and I Told You I Was Freaky in 2009.
[Photo credit: Colin Hutton/HBO]
The Conchords have also enjoyed individual success. Clement’s film credits include the “Rio” movies, “Men in Black 3,” “What We Do in the Shadows” and “The BFG,” and he’s also been seen in his role in FX’s “Legion.” McKenzie was the music supervisor for “The Muppets,” which won him an Academy Award® for Best Original Song for “Man or Muppet,” and “Muppets Most Wanted.”
First headlining U.K. & Irish tour in over seven years
[Photo Credit: Matt Grace]
UPDATED INFORMATION REGARDING ENTRY TO NEWLY ANNOUNCED SHOWS:
Flight of the Conchords and their representatives have addressed the issues with secondary ticketing sites and resellers that followed the October 23, 2017announcement. In an effort to thwart reselling at higher prices, tickets for the newly announced shows are not transferrable and the purchaser must show photo ID matching the lead booker’s name to gain admission to the show.
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Let us start the week off with this exciting news: Grammy Award-winning folk comedy duo Flight of the Conchords (aka Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie) will return to the U.K. & Ireland in March of 2018.
The “Flight of the Conchords sing Flight of the Conchords Tour,” is their first U.K. & Irish headlining tour in over 7 years. Jemaine and Bret will showcase new material at these shows. The arena and theatre tour will make stops in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Dublin, Glasgow, Leeds, and Liverpool.
The UK & Irish edition of “Flight of the Conchords sing Flight of the Conchords Tour” will begin with a two-night stand March 19th & 20th, 2018 in London at Eventim Apollo and ends April 1st, 2018 in Liverpool at Echo Arena Liverpool. Tickets will be on sale Friday, October 27th at 10am GMT.
UPDATE: Tickets for newly announced shows will be on sale Friday, November 3rd at 10am GMT.
Mar. 05 - Portsmouth, UK - Guildhall Mar. 06 - Portsmouth, UK - Guildhall Mar. 07 - Portsmouth, UK - Guildhall Mar. 09 - York, UK - Barbican Mar. 10 - York, UK - Barbican Mar. 11- York, UK - Barbican Mar. 13 - Milton Keynes, UK- Milton Keynes Theatre Mar. 14 - Milton Keynes, UK - Milton Keynes Theatre Mar. 15 - Milton Keynes, UK - Milton Keynes Theatre Mar. 18 - London, UK - Eventim Apollo [Sold Out] Mar. 19 - London, UK - Eventim Apollo [Sold Out] Mar. 20 - London, UK - Eventim Apollo [Sold Out] Mar. 22 - Birmingham, UK - Birmingham Genting Arena [Sold Out] Mar. 23 - Manchester, UK - Manchester Arena [Sold Out] Mar. 25 - Dublin, IE - 3Arena [Sold Out] Mar. 26 - Glasgow, UK - The SSE Hydro [Sold Out] Mar. 27 - Leeds, UK - Leeds First Direct Arena [Sold Out] Mar. 29 - London, UK - The O2 [Sold Out] Mar. 30 - London, UK - The O2 [Sold Out] Apr. 01 - Liverpool, UK - Echo Arena Liverpool [Sold Out] Apr. 02 - Dublin, IE - 3Arena Apr. 03 - London, UK - The O2
About Flight of the Conchords: In 2005, Bret and Jemaine received an invitation to perform at the Aspen Comedy Festival, in Colorado, USA. Against tradition they left New Zealand’s summer to go to the northern hemisphere’s winter and were shocked by the snow when they stepped off the plane in t-shirts and jandles. The HBO executives liked their act and asked them to film a half hour performance for a stand-up comedy show called One Night Stand.
Over the next four years they made a TV pilot, a sitcom, released an EP (The Distant Future) and a full length album (self-titled LP), toured North America, made a sandwich, filmed a second season of the sitcom, toured North America again, released a second album (I Told You I Was Freaky), and went back to New Zealand.
The HBO sitcom became a hit. This, along with the praise for the subsequent album releases (on Sub Pop Records) and the duo’s live show, was the comedic hat trick that catapulted Flight of the Conchords to international sensations.
The Conchords would also see major success individually. Jemaine lent his voice to the character Nigel the cockatoo in the Rio films (2011 and 2014).
He was cast as “Boris The Animal” in Men in Black 3 (2012). Jemaine also wrote, produced and starred in a variety of projects including the acclaimed Vampire comedy film, What We Do In the Shadows and People Places Things. More recently, he joined the cast of The BFG, the new Steven Spielberg adaptation of the Roald Dahl book, as the giant named Fleshlumpeater.
Bret has also been hard at work writing and acting for various television and film projects. Most notably The Muppets (2011) and Muppets Most Wanted (2014), the former of which won him an Academy Award for “Best Original Song” for the power ballad “Man or Muppet”. In 2012 he starred in the New Zealand black comedy Two Little Boys and then in 2013 he was cast in Jerusha Hess’s romantic comedy Austenland. He is currently writing the screenplay and songs for a film adaption of Neil Gaiman’s book Fortunately the Milk as well as penning tunes for the upcoming Disney film Bob the Musical.
And somehow, between all of the film and TV work, the Conchords managed to co-headline the “Oddball Comedy & Curiosity Festival” alongside Dave Chappelle in 2013.
In 2016, Jemaine and Bret announced the wildly successful “The Flight of the Conchords sing Flight of the Conchords Tour.” The duo premiered new material alongside fan favorites, and quickly sold out amphitheatres and concert halls across the U.S. Also that year, the duo headlined Tenacious D’s Festival Supreme in Los Angeles (read more at Sub Pop).
