Radiohead, new tour on the way: “From 2027, twenty shows on a different continent every year”

Radiohead are getting ready for a new tour. Ed O'Brien laid out the plan in an interview with the US edition of Rolling Stone, pointing to 2027 as the starting point for a new cycle of shows, built on a yearly basis with a precise format: a different continent every year and a maximum of twenty dates. "What we're going to do is, every year, go to a different continent, and we'll do 20 shows a year. No more, no less," the guitarist explained, making clear his intention to keep things on a modest scale. The choice reflects a logic of artistic sustainability as much as organizational sense: "We want to give absolutely everything every night. We never want it to feel like we're coasting, or that we're forcing ourselves through it with no energy left." It's a stance that also reflects an awareness of age: "We're not kids anymore."

The Oxford band is coming off a recent tour that marked their return to the stage after years away, with dates across the UK and Europe and a run of Italian shows in Bologna. 2026, however, will be a year without live activity for the band. Its members will be busy with side projects: O'Brien will release his new solo album, "Blue Morpho", while Jonny Greenwood has announced "Ranjha", a work made with Shye Ben Tzur and the Rajasthan Express.

During the interview, O'Brien also looked back on a critical moment in the band's recent history, admitting that he had considered his time with Radiohead over after the 2018 tour tied to "A Moon Shaped Pool". "I actually didn't want to do it, and they knew that. But I did it, and I'm glad I did. I saw it through to the end." The break that followed, along with the 2024 rehearsal sessions that laid the groundwork for their live return, helped reignite his involvement.

Meanwhile, no word yet on new music from the band led by Thom Yorke. O'Brien offered no details on any songs currently in the works, although a few recent signs have fueled speculation. In February, a new company, Futile Endeavours Limited, was registered in the UK — a move that has often preceded the band's recording activity in the past.

Jonny Greenwood was more cautious, telling the Times that the recent tour was focused on rediscovering the back catalogue: "It was really lovely to play again and to listen to Thom, but I found it odd not to do anything new during the tour." The guitarist added that the members are working on new music individually and that he has no indication of when a collective return might happen. On the live front too, he noted that planning requires plenty of lead time: organizing a new tour would mean committing at least eighteen months in advance.

In another interview, with the Telegraph, Greenwood also spoke of the pleasure of rediscovering songs the band had always felt were "right", and of sensing that they are now finally being recognized by audiences too. But above all, he points to a human element: "It was really lovely to play and listen to Thom Yorke again."

However, when it comes to a possible new Radiohead album, Greenwood won't commit either way: "I have no idea," he admitted, noting that the spaces for making new music are often the very same ones where each member is already channeling their creative energy into side projects. The guitarist pointed to the creative paradox of years spent on projects like The Smile (the side project of Thom Yorke and Greenwood himself) and on their individual careers, which now seem to coexist with the desire to reunite onstage, but not necessarily with any urge to record new material.

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