Unknown Mortal Orchestra Lays Out Extensive 2023 Tour & Unveils New Song

Unknown Mortal Orchestra will embark on a month-long tour of North America in 2023 followed by a run of dates in the UK. The tour announcement came with the new acoustic song “I Killed Captain Cook,” heralded as the lead single from a double album expected in 2023.

Bandleader Ruban Nielson penned “I Killed Captain Cook” as a tribute to his mother. The song was written from “the perspective of the Hawaiian that killed Captain James Cook, the English explorer largely responsible for the colonization of Polynesia, who attempted to kidnap Hawaiian chief Kalaniʻōpuʻu, and eventually met his demise in Hawai’i as a result,” as per a press release. Ruban’s mom, Deedee Aipolani Nielson, told him the tale of Captain James Cook when he was a youngster.

“I Killed Captain Cook” arrived with a video featuring images of Deedee Aipolani Nielson. A press release describes Deedee as “a Kanaka Maoli from Hilo and Miss Aloha Hula 1973.” Watch UMO’s “I Killed Captain Cook” video:

UMO’s tour starts with a concert at Knitting Factory Spokane in Spokane, Washington on March 20. Additional West Coast stops follow in Portland, Seattle, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Diego and Los Angeles. UMO then heads to the Midwest via Phoenix and Denver for performances in Kansas City on April 5, St. Louis on April 6, Minneapolis on April 7 and Detroit on April 8.

A quick trip over the border comes next for a concert in Toronto on April 11. Next up is a two-night stand at New York City’s Webster Hall on April 13 and 14 before the group concludes the North American leg with shows in Washington D.C., Philadelphia and Boston. UK concerts are slated for May and June.

Tickets go up for grabs to the general public this Friday, October 28 at 10 a.m. local time.

See UMO’s full list of tour dates by scrolling below: