Joe Jackson Announces New Rock Record and Tour
(BHM) "Hello cruel world / I'm not going away / So I might as well have my say," sings Joe Jackson on his new album, and there's no doubt that at a point when many of his contemporaries have lost their passion, their talent, their voices, or even their lives, Jackson goes from strength to strength. Hope and Fury might, in fact, just be his best album yet.
The new album will be released digitally, on CD, and 180g vinyl with a gatefold sleeve worldwide on April 10, 2026, and is available for preorder starting today. To accompany the release, Joe Jackson and his band will embark on a major North American tour from May to July 2026, followed by an extensive European run from September to December. In total, the Grammy-winning artist will perform more than 80 shows across 14 countries.
Though often depicted as a chameleonic artist who constantly "changes his style," Jackson insists that most of his albums are in "his own mainstream" - collections of sophisticated pop songs, using different kinds of rhythms and combinations of instruments. At the same time, Jackson reserves the right to step away from that mainstream. As he said in a rare, recent interview for the UK's Chap magazine, "I always knew I was in this music thing for life. So every now and again I'm going to do something different, to keep it interesting." Jackson's most recent "sidestep," Mr. Joe Jackson presents Max Champion in 'What A Racket!' saw him hilariously channeling a forgotten Music Hall entertainer from Edwardian England.
About the Album, Hope and Fury: Hope and Fury returns to the present, and the "JJ mainstream," with nine strong new songs. After laying the groundwork for the album in Michael Tibes' Fuzz Songs Full of Contrast, Humour and Heart Factory studio in Berlin, Jackson returned to New York's Reservoir Studios with co-producer Patrick Dillett and assembled his on-and-off band since 2016 - "bassist for life" Graham Maby, guitarist Teddy Kumpel, and drummer Doug Yowell - augmented by the Latin percussion of Peruvian native Paulo Stagnaro. The result might strike a fan as a cross between 2019's Fool, 1991's Laughter and Lust, and 1982's Night and Day.
Like those albums, Hope and Fury overflows with great tunes, clever and original lyrics, and funky grooves, with Jackson's vocals and keyboard playing as strong as, if not stronger than, they've ever been. In keeping with the title (an ironic twist on Land of Hope and Glory), this is a more English Joe Jackson than we've seen for quite a while (the Max Champion influence, perhaps?), with some songs suggesting a love/hate relationship with his homeland.
The opening track, "Welcome to Burning-By-Sea," describes a fictional seaside town inspired by Brighton and Jackson's hometown of Portsmouth, but turns out to be a microcosm of the whole country, while ingeniously contrasts a slice of British working-class life in 1922 with a post-pandemic version in 2022.
For that matter, this is an album full of contrasts, but it's mostly upbeat, with the trademark JJ humour much in evidence: from biting sarcasm in "I'm Not Sorry" and playful mockery in "Fabulous People" to pure silliness in "Do Do Do." In the song "The Face," an Everyman character finds himself lost in an angry and polarized political climate: "Not one of the Great Unwashed" but "One of the Great Overwhelmed." Two other songs are in Jackson's oft-cited "bittersweet" melodic mode: "Made God Laugh" expresses a kind of happy, grown-up fatalism about life in general, while "After All This Time" is a similar take on a long-term relationship. The album also follows a Joe Jackson tradition by ending with a slow ballad - this time one of his most beautiful, "See You In September."
Joe Jackson is definitely not going away. Dividing his time between New York City and Portsmouth, UK, Jackson describes himself as "bicoastal" both geographically and musically - and Hope and Fury as "Bicoastal LatinJazzFunkRock."
HOPE AND FURY TOUR DATES 2026
NORTH AMERICA
MAY
11 - Poughkeepsie, NY - Bardavon 1869 Opera House
13 - Montreal, QC - Place Des Arts - Theatre Maisonneuve
14 - Toronto, ON - Danforth Music Hall
16- Rochester, NY - Kodak Theatre
17 - Detroit, MI - Masonic Cathedral
19-20 - Chicago, IL - Park West
22 - Madison, WI - Orpheum Theatre
23- Minneapolis, MN - Pantages Theatre
27 - Vancouver, BC - Vogue
28 - Seattle, WA - Moore Theatre
30 - San Francisco, CA - Curran Theatre
31 - San Diego, CA - Balboa Theatre
JUNE
2 - Los Angeles, CA - Orpheum Theatre
3 - Tucson, AZ - Fox Theatre
5 - Albuquerque, NM - Kimo Theatre
6 - Boulder, CO - Chautauqua Auditorium
9 - Kansas City, MO - Uptown Theater
10 - St. Louis, MO - The Pageant
12 - Omaha, NE - Admiral
14 - Austin, TX - The Paramount Theatre
16 - Houston, TX - Heights Theatre
17 - Dallas, TX - Majestic Theatre
19 - San Antonio, TX - Empire Theatre
21 - New Orleans, LA - The Joy Theatre
24 - Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium
26 - Atlanta, GA - Center Stage
27 - Charlotte, NC - Knight Theatre
29 - Orlando, FL - Steinmetz Hall @ Dr. Phillips Center
JULY
1 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL - The Parker
2 - Clearwater, FL - Capitol Theatre
7 - Washington, DC - Lincoln Theatre
8 - New Brunswick, NJ - State Theatre
10 - Providence, RI - Uptown Theater
11 - Portland, ME - State Theatre
14 - Medford, MA - Chevalier Theatre
15 - Stamford, CT - Palace Theatre
17 - Philadelphia, PA - The Lansdowne Theater
18 - New York, NY - Beacon Theatre
EUROPE
SEPTEMBER
24 - Cork, IRELAND - Cork City Hall
27 - Dublin, IRELAND - 3Olympia Theatre
29 - Bristol, UK - Beacon
OCTOBER
1 - Cambridge, UK - Corn Exchange
2 - Bournemouth, UK - Pavilion Theatre
4 - London, UK - Palladium
5 - Liverpool, UK - Philharmonic Hall
7 - York, UK - Barbican
9 - Glasgow, UK - Saint Luke's
12 - Paris, FRANCE - L'Olympia
13 - Lyon, FRANCE - Le Radiant-Bellevue
14 - Toulouse, FRANCE - Theâtre du Casino Barriere
17 - Porto, PORTUGAL - Casa da Musica
18 - Lisbon, PORTUGAL - Aula Magna
20 - Madrid, SPAIN - Teatro La Latina
21 - Valencia, SPAIN - Teatro La Rambleta
23 - Barcelona, SPAIN - Paral·lel 62
25 - Bordeaux, FRANCE - Theâtre Femina
27 - Lille, FRANCE - Theâtre Sebastopol
28 - Stuttgart, GERMANY - Liederhalle/Hegelsaal
31 - Bremen, GERMANY - Metropol Theater
NOVEMBER
1 - Munich, GERMANY - Circus Krone
2 - Berlin, GERMANY - Admiralspalast
4 - Essen, GERMANY - Lichtburg
5 - Hamburg, GERMANY - Fabrik
7 - Darmstadt, GERMANY - Staatstheater
9 - Zurich, SWITZERLAND - Kaufleuten
11 - Bologna, ITALY - Teatro Duse
12 - Rome, ITALY - Auditorium Parco Della Musica (Sala Sinopoli)
14 - Milan, ITALY - Teatro Lirico
16 - Vienna, AUSTRIA - Globe
17 - Cologne, GERMANY - Gloria
18 - Luxembourg - den Atelier
20 - Antwerp, BELGIUM - De Roma
21 - Brussels, BELGIUM - Ancienne Belgique
24 - Ghent, BELGIUM - Vooruit
26 - Rotterdam, NETHERLANDS - Nieuwe Luxor
28 - Eindhoven, NETHERLANDS - Muziekgebouw
29 - Groningen, NETHERLANDS - De Oosterport
DECEMBER
1 - Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS - Royal Theatre Carre
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