For years, Los Angelenos and others who subscribe to alerts from ticketing agents have had to deal with the false promise that the rock duo Sparks is coming to town, only to suffer the letdown, again and again, that it actually refers to an appearance by the WNBA team the Los Angeles Sparks. But, at last, it’s really Ron and Russell Mael who are on their way to a theater near you.
Sparks announced a tour Monday that, while not as lengthy as some would like, will take the group across North America next spring, mostly in the month of March.
The outing follows on the heels of a bout of Sparks-mania at the movies, with the duo’s stint in cinemas in June as the subject of Edgar Wright’s documentary “The Sparks Brothers” soon to be followed by the August release of “Annette” in theaters Aug. 6 and on Amazon Prime Aug. 20.
The tour officially kicks off with two previously announced — and already sold-out — shows in the city that arguably remains the biggest and longest-standing home for undying Sparks fandom, Los Angeles, at Walt Disney Concert Hall. The newly announced dates begin March 11 at San Francisco’s Warfield, moving to the northwest and South before landing at New York’s Town Hall on March 28. The outing wraps up April 2 in Toronto at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre.
Ticketing begins with a fan club presale Tuesday at 10 a.m. in local markets, and a “Maeling List” presale Wednesday at 10. The general on-sale is Friday at 10. Ticket info can be found at allsparks.com.
“Annette,” which was just featured as the opening night premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, is director Leos Carax’s adaptation of a song cycle by the Mael brothers that was originally intended to exist as a rock opera in album form before Carax took it on as a full-blown movie musical. A soundtrack album that features Sparks performing on some numbers alongside stars Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard is also due in April.
Sparks last toured in late 2018.
The itinerary:
FEBRUARY
7 – 8 – Los Angeles, CA – Walt Disney Concert Hall
MARCH
11 – San Francisco, CA – Warfield Theatre
13 – Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom
14 – Seattle, WA – The Showbox
15 – Vancouver, BC – Vogue Theatre
18 – St. Paul, MN – Fitzgerald Theatre
19 – Chicago, IL – Copernicus Center
21 – Atlanta, GA – The Eastern
22 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium
24 – Knoxville, TN – Big Ears Festival*
25 – Raleigh, NC – Lincoln Theatre
26 – Washington, DC – Lincoln Theatre
28 – New York, NY – The Town Hall
30 – Boston, MA – Boch Center Shubert Theatre
APRIL
1 – Royal Oak, MI – Royal Oak Music Theatre
2 – Toronto, ON – Queen Elizabeth Theatre