Lady Gaga is going on a dive-bar tour.
It’s not because her fortunes are failing; rather, it’s part of a promotion with Bud Light to spotlight her new album Joanne, coming out later this month.
The singer’s first show will take place this Wednesday at an undisclosed location and be streamed via Facebook Live, starting at 10 p.m. Her other performances are October 20th and 27th at TBD locations. The shows will be open to contest winners — or perhaps friends of the bars (good time to be a regular).
Your correspondent actually first learned of the American Horror Story star from her dive-bar days. She used to perform on the Lower East Side in my hometown of New York — in fact, my old (and now defunct) company once booked her to do a tiny Valentine’s Day show in the West Village just after she signed to Interscope but before she released any singles.
Post-success, a friend of mine had a rather lame experience with her entourage at the now-closed NYC dive Motor City Bar, where she was slumming it for the night. Couple words to the wise if you get into one of the upcoming shows: A) She doesn’t want you to buy her a shot, and B) her entourage might demand you erase any and all photos of her.
Speaking about the Dive Bar Tour in, Gaga noted: “My first performances were in dive bars in New York City and around the country, so working with Bud Light to go back to my roots to perform songs from my new album, Joanne, is such an exciting way to connect with my fans and share this music with them for the first time.”
The raw vibe of the dive bars should suit her. The new album features a more indie rock-inflected vibe, and hosts collaborations with Beck, Tame Impala, Josh Homme of the Queens of the Stone Age, Florence Welch and Father John Misty. Watch the video for the first single, the very ’80s-influenced “Perfect Illusion,” below.
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