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The Black Keys had a 'wake up call' after axed US tour and crypto gig backlash
9 February 2025, 18:00
Drummer Patrick Carney has opened up about the criticism the band received after axing their US tour dates and playing the sponsored show.
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The Black Keys said they received a 'wake up call' which was a "solid punch to the face" last year.
The Lonely Boy duo - comprised of frontman and guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney - cancelled their North American tour last yea and faced criticism for their decision to play a show at America Loves Crypto - an an Ohio event hosted by the Stand With Crypto Alliance.
Reflecting on the year, the band say it made them realise that they need to be more involved when it comes to the type of shows they do.
"I look at all this stuff happening for a reason," Carney told Rolling Stone. "What happened last year was a solid punch in the face to wake us up to understand how we have to go about doing this if we want to have a long career.
"And taking a little heat for playing a crypto show and all this other s***, there’s a lot more factors that go into this whole thing. Our version of success now is being able to make the music we want to make, having people hear it, and being able to play shows that the fans attend. It’s that simple.
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The pair split from their management team after the cancellation of their US tour and looking back on the event, the drummer added: "The essential thing that we learned here was how many management companies are directly connected to a company that runs every single aspect of promotion in this country.
"This whole industry is so intertwined from ticketing to promotion to the management company. But essentially as artists – and this is the thing that we care the most about – it’s almost impossible to talk about this…. You’re dealing with management companies that co-own festivals with this other company. You’re at the [whims] of these people who have other interests."
The Gold On The Ceiling rocker went on: "There’s a concentration of connectivity that eliminates competition. Our tour, we had about 10 [arena] shows that were not doing great. They were just in rooms that they shouldn’t have been in.
"So, in any situation like this tour, we might’ve had to take one on the chin and find new venues to play in certain cities, but instead, we were advised to cancel the whole tour."
Carney also hinted that they were misled by management over smaller spaces being booked.
The sticksman went on: "We were told … there were other venues being booked, and it was all going to get into more intimate rooms, and it would be great. But that wasn’t accurate. That didn’t exist.”
Meanwhile this week saw the Ohio rockers share a brand new single The Night Before.
The cool and infectious new track is the first taste to come from the band's 13th studio album, No Rain, No Flowers, which is set for release later this year.
Watch the Running Bear-directed black and white video for the single, which follows two hotel staff on a jolly:
The Black Keys - The Night Before (Official Music Video)
Speaking about the "groove based" track, which was co-written by the GRAMMY-winning songwriter Daniel Tashian, frontman Auerbach said: "The Night Before’ started with a chord progression that Daniel and I came up with and the rest just fell out. It was really collaborative and all came together in about 30 minutes.”
Carney added of the songwriting process: "We’ve never really worked with songwriters like that in Nashville. It’s crazy because Daniel was one of the first people I met when I moved to town over a decade ago.“But we pushed ourselves to bring in some new co-writers, and we really tapped into something cool with Daniel. We’re finishing up the album now and plan to release more tracks leading into the tour."
The band's upcoming No Rain, No Flowers album will follow their 2024 release Ohio Players, which saw them collaborate with Beck and Noel Gallagher.
The song comes after The Black Keys announced a new US tour after previously scrapping their North American dates last year.
The new shows will kick off at the Durant Grant Theatre in Oklahoma on 23rd May and come to a close at the Stone Pony Summer Stage at New Jersey's Asbury Park on 14th June 2025.
Tickets for the dates, which will see Hermanos Gutierrez and The Heavy Heavy as special guests, are on sale now.
The previously rockers spoke out shortly after cancelling the dates, citing their shows in London and Paris as catalysts for the decision.
Taking to social media, the Beautiful People (Stay High) rockers explained: "Thank you for your understanding and apologies for the surprise change… We’re pretty sure everyone is going to be excited when you see what we have in mind though, and look forward to seeing everyone soon."
The Howlin' duo added: "Following the recent run of shows in the UK & Europe, including stops at iconic venues like Brixton Academy and the Zenith in Paris, we have decided to make some changes to the North American leg of the International Players Tour that will enable us to offer a similarly exciting, intimate experience for both fans and the band, and will be announcing a revised set of dates shortly.
"Everyone who had purchased tickets and/or VIP to the initial tour dates will be fully refunded - and when the new plans are announced, will be the first to be able to buy tickets."
The effect of their London shows on them were clear when they came in to speak to Radio X's Dan O'Connell on The Evening Show.
Fresh from the first of three gigs at the newly reopened O2 Academy Brixton, Auerbach gushed: "It was incredible really. Amazing venue. Crowd was crazy.
"We had Noel [Gallagher] come out and play some songs with us in the encore and everybody lost their minds."
The Black Keys on Brixton gig
Talking about the venue itself, drummer Carney added: "It was always the place that you wanted to try to get to, you know?"
He added: "Those are my favourite venues. Like the 5, 6000 cap. Standing room floor."
"No seats is kinda crucial," interjected Auerbach.
The Black Keys and Noel Gallagher - On The Game at O2 Brixton Academy
The outfit are also set to return to this side of the pond for European dates, which will include three outdoor shows in the UK next year, where they'll play Leeds' Millennium Square on Tuesday 8th July, Manchester's Castlefield Bowl on Wednesday 9th July and London's Alexandra Palace Park on Friday 11th July.
Read more:
- The Black Keys' 2025 UK outdoor shows: How to buy tickets
- The Black Keys: There's 'no better feeling" than Noel Gallagher being proud of our collaboration
