Men at Work frontman and singer-songwriter Colin Hay returns next week with Next Year People, his 12th solo album and first in nearly four years, a 12-song collection “full of quizzical, curious and cynical, yet open-hearted, songs” that we’re thrilled to premiere today at Slicing Up Eyeballs. Stream the full record below.
The self-produced Next Year People will be released Tuesday on Compass Records. The album finds Hay backed by San Miguel Perez and Yosmel Montejo, both of whom recently emigrated from Cuba, as well as Larry Goldings on piano, Jeff Babko on B3, and Hay’s wife, vocalist Cecilia Noel.
According to the label, some of the songs are autobiographical, including “Waiting in the Rain,” written about Hay’s parents and the “almost mystical experience he had growing up in a music shop in Scotland, surrounded by instruments and a constant stream of ’50s and ’60s radio hits.”
The title track is an homage to the strength of will of Depression-era farmers, of which Hay says:
“They kept doing the same thing and expecting a different result. I can relate, although their situation was so much more bleak.”
Hay begins a run of solo dates this week that will stretch into March, then, this summer, he’s embarking on a just-announced, 36-date amphitheater tour with Barenaked Ladies and Violent Femmes.
Check out the full album and tour dates below:
Colin Hay tour dates:
Feb. 12: City Winery, Nashville, TN
Feb. 13: City Winery, Nashville, TN
Feb. 16: City Winery, New York, NY
Feb. 17: City Winery, New York, NY
Feb. 18: City Winery, New York, NY
Feb. 20: City Winery, Chicago, IL
Feb. 21: City Winery, Chicago, IL
Feb. 22: City Winery, Chicago, IL
March 9: The Rialto Theatre, Tucson, AZ
March 10: Musical Instrument Museum, Phoenix, AZ
March 11: Musical Instrument Museum, Phoenix, AZ
March 13: Poway Center for the Performing Arts, Poway, CA
March 15: Tower Theatre, Fresno, CA
March 17: Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, Chino, CA
March 19: Rio Theatre, Santa Cruz, CA
March 20: City Winery, Napa, CA
March 21: Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco, CA
March 22: Crest Theatre, Sacramento, CA
March 25: Aladdin Theater, Portland, OR
March 26: Benaroya Hall, Seattle, WA
March 27: Benaroya Hall, Seattle, WA
March 28: Seasons Performance Hall, Yakima, WA
March 29: Main Street Studios, Walla Walla, WA
March 31: Sun Valley Opera House, Sun Valley, ID
April 1: O.P. Rockwell, Park City, UT
April 4: Gothic Theatre, Englewood, CO
April 9: Largo at the Coronet, Los Angeles, CA
April 10: Largo at the Coronet, Los Angeles, CA
Last Summer on Earth Tour: Barenaked Ladies, Violent Femmes and Colin Hay
June 5: The LC Pavilion, Columbus, OH
June 6: Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica, Cleveland, OH
June 7: Toledo Zoo Amphitheatre, Toledo, OH
June 8: McGrath Amphitheatre, Cedar Rapids, IA
June 10: Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Denver, CO
June 12: Treasure Island Resort & Casino Island Events Center, Red Wing, MN
June 13: BMO Harris Pavilion, Milwaukee, WI
June 14: Stir Cove at Harrah’s Council Bluffs, Council Bluffs, IA
June 16: FirstMeritt Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island, Chicago, IL
June 17: Farm Bureau Insurance Lawn at White River State Park, Indianapolis, IN
June 19: PNC Pavilion, Cincinnati, OH
June 20: DTE Energy Music Theatre, Detroit, MI
June 21: Seneca Allegany Casino & Hotel. Salamanca, NY
June 23: Stage AE, Pittsburgh, PA
June 26: Maine State Pier, Portland, ME
June 27: Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, CT
June 28: The Mann Center for the Performing Arts, Philadelphia, PA
June 29: Blue Hills Bank Pavilion, Boston, MA
July 1: JBL Live at Pier 97, New York, NY
July 2: Mercer County Fairgrounds, West Windsor, NJ
July 3: PNC Waterside Pavilion, Solomons, MD
July 4: The Red Hat Amphitheatre, Raleigh, NC
July 8: Uptown Amphitheatre at the Music Factory, Charlotte, NC
July 10: Sunset Cove Amphitheatre, Boca Raton, FL
July 11: St Augustine Amphitheatre, St. Augustine, FL
July 12: Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park, Atlanta, GA
July 13: Woods at Fontanel, Nashville, TN
July 15: Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie, Dallas, TX
July 17: Venue TBD, Albuquerque, NM
July 18: Boulevard Pool at The Cosmopolitan, Las Vegas, NV
July 19: Cal Coast Credit Union OAT, San Diego, CA
July 21: Greek Theatre, Los Angeles, CA
July 22: Mountain Winery, Saratoga, CA
July 24: Idaho Botanical Garden, Boise, ID
July 25: Edgefield, Portland, OR
July 26: Marymoor Amphitheatre, Seattle, WA
Wonder when BNL is due to play? That Indianapolis show holds promise, but I just don’t care to hear them. Colin and the Femmes? YES!
I’m up for all three! Hope to catch them in Boston. Wish Montreal was on the list
I’m glad you still enjoy BNL, Willard. Local radio wore me out on them in the latter half of the 1990s.