A new dawn of live music is upon us. The Weeknd announced Thursday (March 3) the dates of the first leg of his global expedition, the After Hours Til Dawn Tour, which will feature special guest Doja Cat.
Kicking off the North American leg of the tour July 8 in The Weeknd’s backyard of Toronto, Canada, the shows will support his latest album, January’s Dawn FM, while also giving his previous work After Hours another chance in the spotlight. The 2020 album’s arena tour was postponed due to coronavirus concerns, and then canceled due to venue constraints and demand for more shows.
Fans who previously had tickets for the After Hours arena tour will have access to a special presale starting March 4, and will be emailed with further information. Tickets officially go on sale for everyone else March 10, with Verizon offering an exclusive presale March 7-9 through their customer loyalty program Verizon Up. Additional dates in Mexico, South America, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Africa and the Middle East will be announced later on.
According to the press release, the tour will be The Weeknd’s “most ambitious production to date,” and will reflect the creative journey of both Dawn FM and After Hours.
The After Hours Til Dawn Tour will also be a philanthropic endeavor, with Tesfaye partnering with the United Nations World Food Programme to launch the XO HUMANITARIAN FUND. The “Blinding Lights” artist is donating $500,000 to it, as well as $1 from each concert ticket sold in North America. The World Food Programme — which works to battle global hunger — is also contributing $1 million to the fund.
The tour announcement follows The Weeknd’s concert special, The Dawn FM Experience, which debuted exclusively on Prime Video Feb. 26. It saw Tesfaye transforming his newest album into theatrical and sometimes unnerving performance art.
See The Weeknd’s After Hours Til Dawn Tour dates in his Instagram post below: