Latest news with #GZA
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Draft City Music Fest goes for 'cool and unique' with band lineup that includes Less Than Jake, De La Soul, Luke Combs UK
GREEN BAY - The Draft City Music Fest will be bookended by a legacy hip-hop act and a powerhouse ska-punk band, with an adventurous mix of hardcore, country, Latin, indie and rap performers in between. The free event at downtown's Leicht Memorial Park, a joint venture of the city of Green Bay and On Broadway Inc., will feature 10 acts across two nights as part of the NFL draft at Lambeau Field April 24-26. De La Soul headlines the WPS Foundation Draft Kickoff portion of the festival on Wednesday, April 23, and Less Than Jake will wrap up the festivities for what is being called the 8th Round Downtown on Saturday, April 26. The complete lineup, which also features GZA from Wu-Tang Clan, a Luke Combs tribute act and punk band Riverboat Gamblers alongside several local groups, was announced Wednesday at a press conference at City Hall. The much-anticipated reveal is the culmination of 10 months of behind-the-scenes work for Green Bay band promoter Tom Johnson of Tom Johnson Productions, who began putting out feelers already in June after Mayor Eric Genrich asked him to be the fest's entertainment booking agent. The mission was to cover a wide swath of genres to draw people downtown and to make the fest free as a way to give back to both the community and draft visitors. 'The mayor was really about doing something cool and unique, and he wanted to do a music festival that felt a little bit like a music festival, like Lollapalooza or something of that sort that we haven't really seen in Green Bay,' said Johnson, who has been booking bands at Green Bay venues for nearly 20 years. 'We're trying to raise it to the level of this is a one-time event, let's do the coolest thing we can possibly do, and let's make sure we're hitting different genres so anybody who wants to come down is going to feel included and their musical tastes are going to be taken into consideration," he said. "Just making sure were representing the widespread cultures that reside in Green Bay and giving everybody a chance to showcase their talents and get some local love.' The challenge was to find the right acts with availability at the right price to stay within budget. Unlike gigs where national bands already on tour in the area are booked for a night on their way through, getting acts to Green Bay for Draft City Music Fest requires they'll have to fly in special, which means higher "festival pricing," Johnson said. All of the acts will perform on a 40-foot by 40-foot stage with a video board at the park along the Fox River. The grounds can hold as many as 30,000 people each night, Johnson said. Green Bay native Jim Runge, who has more than 30 years of experience as an award-winning tour manager for such acts as The Black Keys, Imagine Dragons and Lucinda Williams, will oversee stage management and green room needs for the artists. VIP tickets — which include up-close concert viewing and access to beverage sales and conveniently located portable restrooms — will be available for $35 per day or $60 for both days through an Eventbrite link set to go live at 10 a.m. Thursday. When/where: 4 to 11 p.m. Wednesday, April 23, at Leicht Memorial Park, downtown Green Bay. Gates open at 3 p.m. Free. The biggest get of the festival is the first act Johnson was able to lock in last summer. 'We went after that, because that's a legacy hip-hop act — one of the best from the best eras of hip-hop. Real positive, too,' Johnson said. 'I think it's going to make a lot of people happy to see a band like that come to Green Bay. 'I never thought that would even remotely be a possibility ... The weight that they hold in that scene is incredible. The things that they've done and the people they've inspired is amazing.' The pioneering hip-hop group was formed in 1988, and its debut album, '3 Feet High and Rising,' is considered one of the genre's most important albums, with A Tribe Called Quest, Public Enemy, Queen Latifah and N.W.A. among the artists influenced by it. De La Soul had not toured for a long stretch until joining Wu-Tang Clan and Nas for North American dates on their co-headlining NY State of Mind Tour in 2023. The Texas punk rock band is one of the acts Johnson said he's been asked to bring back to Green Bay the most in the last 10 years. The group's last appearance in the city was at the now-defunct Main Stage, where the show included singer Mike Wiebe making his way out to the middle of Main Street to sing and dance in the median as traffic went by. Learning they would be on the same bill as De La Soul was a factor in the Gamblers saying yes, Johnson said. Who knew the world's most popular Luke Combs tribute act is from the United Kingdom or that it's endorsed by the country superstar himself, but both are true. The 'Hurricane' singer has the band playing April 16 for a week-long celebration of his new Category 10 bar/restaurant/entertainment venue that recently opened in Nashville. Luke Combs UK will do seven U.S. dates in all in April, with Green Bay being the final stop of the run. 'We would never be able to afford Luke Combs, but it's kind of the next best thing,' Johnson said. 'Country is a big thing in Green Bay and the surrounding areas, so that was a nice get.' The local seven-piece Latin band and a 2025 Bay Area Music Award nominee blends merengue, cumbia, salsa, bachata and punta for high-energy performances that have earned the group bookings at the Resch Center, Titletown District, Capital Credit Union Park and Farmers Market on Broadway. The band has been a mainstay of Green Bay's music scene for more than a decade, drawing its influences from the likes of Wilco, The Kinks and The Jayhawks, bouncing between alt-country, indie rock and other genres in between and often treating audiences to spontaneous jams. Both nights of the festival are being billed as family friendly, but the Draft Kickoff in particular has several elements built into it to appeal to kids. In addition to 15 food trucks and vendors and an appearance by the Green Bay Packers drumline, there will be a Glow Zone presented by TDS with glow wands and other light-up activities. A Kids Zone will have bounce houses, playground equipment donated by BCI Burke and Lee Recreation, and face painting, magic and balloon animals from Mischief & Magic. A mobile skate park will be part of the Alternative Zone. A container bar and beer garden presented by USA TODAY and Green Bay Press-Gazette will have 8th Round Downtown, a hazy pale ale concocted by nine Green Bay-area craft breweries that will be available for purchase exclusively at Draft City Music Fest. A display set to music and presented by Festival Foods will go off from three barges on the Fox River between the Riverboat Gamblers and De La Soul performances, at approximately 8:30 p.m. April 23. More: Looking for an NFL draft party near Lambeau Field? Here's what bars have planned and which bands are playing where More: 2025 NFL draft fun: Here's a running list of all the draft-related events happening in Green Bay and nearby More: Here are the Wisconsin supper clubs and what they'll be serving for the Taste of the Draft gala in Green Bay When/where: 5 to 11 p.m. Saturday, April 26, at Leicht Memorial Park, downtown Green Bay. Gates open at 4 p.m. Free. Thirty-three years into its career, the ska-punk band with a reputation for being a rocking good time still likes to think of itself as the life of the party. The high-energy band gets to Summerfest in Milwaukee, but Green Bay visits are few and far between, maybe as long ago as a 2000 stop at the Riverside Ballroom. The current lineup features guitarist/vocalist Chris DeMakes, bassist/vocalist Roger Lima, trombonist Buddy Schaub, saxophonist Peter 'JR' Wasilewski and drummer Matt Yonker. The rapper from legendary hip-hop collective Wu-Tang Clan will perform with his The Phunky Nomads band as a co-headliner with Less Than Jake. His Green Bay appearance coincides with the 30th anniversary of his solo album, 'Liquid Swords,' ranked No. 44 on Rolling Stone's list of the 200 greatest hip-hop albums of all time. Wu-Tang's final tour, the 27-date Wu-Tang Forever: The Final Chamber, begins in June. Fun fact: Ramsey Jones is the drummer for the Phunky Nomads and has also drummed for Rebelmatic, which is playing the same night. Maybe not an artist that is on a lot of people's radar, but Johnson thinks he's the act that festival goers will be most surprised by. Walston who performed from 2002 to 2019 as J Roddy Walston and the Business, plays piano and guitar with ferocity and counts Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard among his influences. His fast-paced, piano-driven rock has been showcased on 'Austin City Limits,' and he has played celebrity chef Rachel Ray's block party numerous times. He'll perform in Green Bay with a band, something he hasn't done often in recent years. 'You take all the best parts of Southern gospel and '70s rock. It's an experience, and it's a party. One of the coolest live bands I've ever seen,' Johnson said. The hardcore band from New York has played Green Bay previously for Johnson-booked shows, including at The Lyric Room and At the Tracks. The Fox Valley band that describes its music as "jangly pop" includes Green Bay natives Matty Day and Alex Drossart and has also played Appleton's Mile of Music. The Kids Zone and playground will remain. The container bar and beer garden will be open and serving the locally-brewed 8th Round Downtown pale ale. There will also be band and fest merchandise both nights. The Ray Nitschke Memorial Bridge on Main Street will close beginning at 2 p.m. April 23 and 3 p.m. April 26 for the festival. Parking is available in downtown parking ramps on the east side of the Fox River, along with street parking in the Broadway District and elsewhere. Carry-ins, including coolers, beverages and chairs, are prohibited. No pets allowed. There will be a clear bag policy in place similar to Green Bay Packers games. Draft City Music Fest is part of the larger Touchdown Downtown series of events celebrating the NFL draft across four days in Green Bay. A complete list of festivities, along with volunteer opportunities, can be found at (This story was updated to add new information.) Kendra Meinert is an entertainment and feature writer at the Green Bay Press-Gazette. Contact her at 920-431-8347 or kmeinert@ Follow her on X @KendraMeinert. This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Less Than Jake, De La Soul, GZA to play free music fest for NFL draft
The Independent
29-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
The 26 greatest movie openings of all time, ranked
A great ending can almost save even some of the worst films from total oblivion – making you either question everything you have seen up until that point or perfectly wrapping up the narrative with a neat little bow. A great opening, however, is something that can truly make or break a movie. Those first few minutes are essentially an audition for the movie to impress its audience and intrigue everyone for what is about to come. Whether it's setting the tone through shock and excitement or introducing us to a key character with engrossing dialogue, a great opening isn't just about spectacle: it's about storytelling. Here are 26 openings that effortlessly grabbed the viewer's attention and left them wanting more. 26. Shogun Assassin (1980) Here's a rarity – a movie opening that was made famous by the opening song of an album. Liquid Swords, the seminal second studio album by Wu-Tang Clan rapper GZA, uses practically the entire intro of the violent samurai film Shogun Assassin – a spliced-together telling of the first two Lone Wolf and Cub films intended for Western audiences. Visually, the opening scene – a series of shots of the titular assassin at work – isn't overly remarkable, but the voice dubbing by Gibran Evans is what has created its cult status. The naivety and vulnerability that Evans manages to evoke not only raises the movie's stakes but merges its brutality, atmosphere, and mythic storytelling. 25. Blade (1998) After a brief sequence depicting the birth of the titular day-walking vampire, gory 1998 superhero film Blade launches into a truly spectacular curtain-raising sequence, as an adult Blade (Wesley Snipes) hunts down his foes at a vampiric nightclub. The nightclub itself – creatively called 'Club Blood' – is an ingenious location, a place where blood sprays from sprinklers to the sound of Pump Panel's remix of 'Confusion' by New Order. Such was the scene's cult reputation that a venue full of New York revellers gathered in 2015 to re-enact the scene at a real nightclub, allowing themselves to be drenched as fake blood rained from the ceiling. 24. The Thing (1982) The Thing deals with the Lovecraftian fear of the unknown, and the paranoia and isolation that envelopes the film is evident from the get-go. A seemingly innocent dog is hunted by Norwegian scientists, who frantically shoot at the poor pup from a helicopter in Antarctica. The terrified dog reaches another research facility, run by Americans, who are baffled as to why the Norwegians are trying to kill the pooch. Both the American researchers and viewers have no idea why the dog is so dangerous, instantly creating intrigue before the actual horror erupts. That's no dog... 23. The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) A good Bond movie always needs a great opening and the franchise has had plenty to choose from over the years. From Sean Connery blowing up a cache of drugs in an unidentified Latin American country in Goldfinger to Pierce Brosnan's death-defying bungee jump sequence in GoldenEye, the films rarely fail to grab viewers' attention in the opening few minutes. If you want something that is quintessentially Bond then look no further than 1977's The Spy Who Loved Me, where in the opening four minutes, a nuclear submarine is hijacked, and Bond is seen fornicating with his latest lady of choice before being pursued over mountain tops in a ski chase and eventually diving over a cliff, saved only by his Union Jack parachute. It's ridiculous and sublime in equal measure, and like the song says: 'Nobody does it better.' 22. The Incredibles (2004) Animation studio Pixar has had its fair share of great openings over the years – more than a few of which have had the power to emotionally devastate. The opening to The Incredibles – a succession of talking-head TV interviews with the core adult characters in their crimefighting prime, before we get a look at Bob and Helen Parr's action-packed wedding day – doesn't have the emotional impact of, say, Up or Finding Nemo, but it's an exercise of extraordinary elegance in scene-setting, establishing the specifics of the film's retro-futurist world with a lightness of touch that is, dare I say, incredible. 21. Zoolander (2001) 'Is Derek Zoolander real?' 'Why are all these very famous people (Donald Trump, Victoria Beckham, Natalie Portman) talking about him?' 'Why haven't I heard of him?' These are the questions that you might ask yourself when you first watch Ben Stiller's Zoolander, a satirical take on the fashion industry and early 2000s culture. Not only is it fun and convincing, but it's executed with such stylish panache that it wouldn't feel out of place on an MTV documentary. 20. No Country for Old Men (2007) The Coen brothers' Oscar-winning film is a rare example of an opening and closing scene practically mirroring each other. 'I don't wanna push my chips forward, and go out and meet something I don't understand,' says Tommy Lee Jones in one of the directors' now trademark voiceover intros, played over idyllic shots of the Texas landscape. As he becomes more philosophical we are introduced to the film's demonic antagonist Anton Chigurh, who comes to represent the evil at its core. The simplicity of the opening only really hits home as Jones's character delivers a devastating monologue at the end of the film, where he speaks of a symbolic vision of hope he witnessed in a dream in the face of uncertain darkness. 19. Birth (2004) All of British director Jonathan Glazer's four feature films include remarkable openings, from Sexy Beast to Under the Skin to 2023's Zone of Interest. But there's something singularly hypnotic about Birth, in which the camera follows a man as he jogs around Central Park, before he collapses of a heart attack. It is an event that sets in motion the events of this sad, bewildering and often funny film, in which Nicole Kidman believes her husband has been reincarnated as a young child. And it's an opening that seems to be everything at once: poetic, haunting, mysterious. 18. Princess Mononoke (1997) Hayao Miyazaki's 1997 epic is a high point in the legendary Japanese animator's career and is filled with some of the best action sequences ever drawn. But there's no topping the exhilarating opening, in which the film's hero Ashitaka slays a rampaging demon to save his village, and is cursed in the process. It's incredibly dynamic, intricately designed, and, like much of the film, tonally complex – so much more than just a rote good guy vs bad monster battle scene. 17. Trainspotting (1996) The pounding drums of Iggy Pop's 'Lust for Life' and Ewan McGregor's legendary 'Choose Life' monologue at the start of Danny Boyle's Trainspotting kicks off what would become a phenomenon and an inescapable piece of British 1990s culture. Buzzing with the type of electricity and swagger that seemed to be reverberating through the country at the time, Trainspotting's dark humour and cynicism are captured perfectly in its opening 90 seconds. Furthermore, it sets up the central themes of addiction, escapism, and the clash between societal expectations and personal destruction. 16. Star Wars (1977) An opening so good that they tried to remake it 40 years later. Let's be honest: if the first Star Wars film hadn't gotten off to a rip-roaring start, would it have even spawned the behemoth that is still dominating entertainment today? The answer is almost definitely yes, but Darth Vader might not have been so imposing if he wasn't given one of the coolest and most intimidating introductions in movie history. 2016's Rogue One provided a nice little prequel to the scene, depicting Vader as a terrifying, almost unstoppable force. 15. Sunset Boulevard (1950) The noir genre has given birth to plenty of classic opening sequences, from Kiss Me Deadly to Double Indemnity. Sunset Boulevard – which opens with its narrator face down, dead, in a Hollywood swimming pool, is perhaps the finest and most lasting example – a 'you're probably wondering how I got here' for the ages. 14. Vertigo (1958) The strange and unsettling world of Vertigo is established superlatively in its opening scene, which sees Jimmy Stewart's copper John 'Scottie' Ferguson embark on a rooftop chase that claims the life of a fellow police officer. The scene features Hitchcock's first use of the memorable dolly zoom effect, to evoke the effects of Vertigo – a camera movement as impactful and famous as just about any in the history of cinema. 13. Scream (1996) The late, great Wes Craven reinvented the horror genre several times during his blood-soaked career, but the opening to Scream might go down as his greatest achievement. The film opens lightheartedly as Drew Barrymore's Casey receives a series of wrong-number phone calls. However, the stranger is persistent and the two eventually start talking about horror movies in a meta wink and nod to the audience. As the lingering sense of doom ramps itself up, the audience slowly realises that Scream isn't abiding by the usual horror tropes – it's creating a whole new rule book. 12. The Dark Knight (2008) Christopher Nolan's seminal 2008 superhero blockbuster may have borrowed many of its moves from the 1995 heist movie Heat – but when the results are this good, you don't ask for receipts. The Batman-less opening sequence sees a gang of clown-masked criminals stage a violent bank robbery, leading up to the ultimate reveal of Heath Ledger's Joker. It's expertly paced, thrillingly tense, and morbidly amusing – setting the stage for a film that would reinvent an entire genre. 11. The Matrix (1999) 'That's impossible,' says a police officer who has just watched Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) and an agent effortlessly jump over a street from one building to another. Those two words sum up what it feels like watching that opening scene (and the rest of The Matrix for that matter) for the first time. There are more memorable scenes in the film than this one but seeing the bullet time special effect for the first time is truly mind-blowing. 10. Touch of Evil (1958) If you thought complex long takes were a new gimmick invented by Netflix, then think again. In a single take Orson Welles shows us a ticking time bomb being placed into the boot of a car. As the car moves through the bustling streets, the camera subtly introduces two main characters played by Charlton Heston and Janet Leigh. They walk along the same path as the doomed car, unaware of the danger nearby. The scene is filled with movement and ambient noise – people talking, music playing, cars passing – adding to the immersive tension. The explosion immediately shifts the film into its central mystery: who planted the bomb? This inciting incident brings in Hank Quinlan (Welles), the corrupt police captain, and sets off the film's noir plot about crime, corruption, and morality. 9. All That Jazz (1979) The brilliant opening to Bob Fosse's autobiographical musical All That Jazz is a masterpiece of editing. We get a snatch of the film's overriding montage style and are introduced to Joe Gideon's (Roy Scheider) frazzled, barbiturate-dazed morning routine, before the film drops us in a theatre auditorium, where Gideon is auditioning a mess of dancers for a new show. As they strut and pirouette to the sounds of 'On Broadway', we get a musical number that is both spectacular and uniquely real – we know immediately that All That Jazz is going to be a musical like no other. 8. The Godfather (1972) Here's an offer I can never refuse: whenever I stumble upon The Godfather on television, I have to keep watching until the entire opening sequence is over. Director Francis Ford Coppola has made great openings elsewhere – including the iconic beginning to the Vietnam war drama Apocalypse Now – but there's no beating the first Godfather. The wedding sequence is the perfect introduction to the film's characters, dynamics and themes, an immersive and patient piece of intricate scene-setting. 7. Inglourious Basterds (2009) Quentin Tarantino's 2009 war film is one of his strongest efforts, elevated to greatness by two phenomenal set pieces. The first of these is the opening, a piano wire-taut interrogation scene, in which Nazi investigator Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz) slowly coaxes a dairy farmer (Denis Ménochet) into giving up the Jews hiding under his floor. It's one of the finest, tensest, and most memorable sequences in Tarantino's entire career – and that's no mean feat. 6. There Will Be Blood (2007) There's more than a little something primordial about the opening to There Will Be Blood, which follows Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis) as he discovers silver in the depths of a mine. Watching Plainview drag his injured body out of the pit is a perfect microcosm of the film at large: a man reduced to his basest rudiments thanks to his own remorseless avarice. That the scene unfolds so cleanly without any dialogue is a testament to the clarity of director Paul Thomas Anderson's storytelling. 5. Goodfellas (1990) If Goodfellas is a cautionary tale about romanticising the lifestyle of a gangster then its opening scene communicates this in the most shocking way possible. A made man in the mafia is brutally beaten, stabbed and stowed in the boot of a car by Henry Hill (Ray Liotta), Jimmy Conway (Robert De Niro), and Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci). As the violence dissipates, Hill says the legendary line: ' As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster.' The opening treads the fine line between the glamour of mafia life and its raw violence, mirroring Henry's journey in the film. 4. Blade Runner (1982) There is an awe-inspiring type of horror that greets you in the opening scene of Ridley Scott's iconic Blade Runner. Flames erupt from towers scattered across an unrecognisable Los Angeles skyline; flying cars scream past your point of view; Vangelis's ethereal score almost threatens to cause a sensory overload. The jaw-dropping spectacle is all in aid of what is essentially an over-the-top establishing shot for the imposing Tyrell Corporation building. Few sci-fi films have ever come close to replicating an introduction quite like this – so much so that Blade Runner 2049' s opening felt more like a homage than an upgrade. 3. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) There are great character introductions, and then there is Raiders of the Lost Ark, which immediately creates a legend out of Indiana Jones. In what is essentially a mini-adventure, Spielberg tells us everything we need to know about the character and the movie we are about to watch. Everything from the idol swap to the rolling boulder and Indy's wit and sarcasm is an exhilarating spectacle and arguably the pinnacle of the franchise. 2. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) Nothing quite like Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey has been made before or since, and there isn't anything that has matched the weird magic of the opening. After a slow, dramatic aligning of planets, set to 'Also sprach Zarathustra' composed by Richard Strauss, we are transported into a prehistoric earth, where apes roam the land, discover a strange black monolith, and invent tools – or, rather, weapons. Incredible design; incredible costumes; incredible editing; and all in service of a story that is jaw-dropping in scope and significance. 1. Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) The phrase 'silence is golden' is a pure cliche, but few directors utilised minimal dialogue – or the absence of dialogue entirely – better than Sergio Leone. Somehow after the success of The Dollars Trilogy with the steely Clint Eastwood, Leone managed to make a western that was even grittier, this time with Charles Bronson in the central role. Its 10-minute opening scene in a deserted railway station, where three gunmen are waiting for their target, is a masterclass in slow-burn tension and visual storytelling. Instead of immediate action, Leone lingers on the mundane: creaking wood, buzzing flies, dripping water, and the rustling wind. As boredom almost threatens to get the best of them, Bronson's 'Harmonica' arrives playing his namesake instrument. We know instantaneously that this man is a force to be reckoned with and, after what feels like an eternity, the shootout is over in a matter of seconds. Leone's patience creates a hypnotic opening that tells you 'this isn't your average western'.
Boston Globe
24-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Wu-Tang Clan announces final tour, including a stop at TD Garden
The tour announcement was released alongside a trailer. A voice speaks over emotional music and a backdrop of the world, with the voice announcing, 'It's no beginning or ending, babe. It doesn't stop.' The video shows snippets from the group's early stages and includes words from RZA, Nas, and footage of late member, Ol' Dirty Bastard. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up The tour will bring members RZA, GZA, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Method Man, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa to the world stage one last time. As RZA put it in an interview with the Times, 'we may come to your city, you'll see all of us together and that may be the last time you see us all together in the physical. You might watch us on TV, but we're not coming to your city again. We want you to come break bread with us.' Advertisement Held up for decades as one of the most influential acts in hop hop, hits like 'C.R.E.A.M,' 'Protect Ya Neck,' and 'Triumph' and classic albums including 'Enter The Wu-Tang' and 'Wu-Tang Forever' long ago cemented Wu-Tang's status as icons. Tickets will go on sale Friday, February 28 at 10 a.m. on Marianna Orozco can be reached at
CBS News
24-02-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Rap group Wu-Tang Clan brings final North American tour to California for 4 dates
Legendary rap group Wu-Tang Clan on Monday announced their "Wu-Tang Forever: The Final Chamber" tour that will launch this summer, including four late June dates in California. The sprawling New York City collective -- featuring producer and mastermind RZA along with acclaimed MCs GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa and the late Ol' Dirty Bastard on early recordings -- will kick off the tour on June 6 at the CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore. Wu-Tang Forever: The Final Chamber with Run The Jewels. The final tour begins. Tickets on sale Friday👐🏾 — Wu Tang Clan (@WuTangClan) February 24, 2025 Melding a distinctively gritty, cinematic sound and complex rhyming style during the early '90s that set the group apart from the era's teaming masses of gangsta rappers, the Wu-Tang Clan rocketed to fame with the release of its landmark debut Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) in 1993. That album and subsequent group and solo releases further established the collective's credentials over more than three decades as one of greatest crews in hip-hop history. Produced by AEG, the tour hits Pechanga Arena in San Diego on June 21, moving to Arena in Los Angeles on June 22 before heading north for concerts at the Chase Center in San Francisco on June 24 and Sacramento's Golden 1 Center on June 26. It comes to a close with a July 18 date at Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center. The tour will also feature politically charged duo Run the Jewels (the celebrated partnership of rapper Killer Mike and former Company Flow rapper/producer El-P) as the opening act. "This is a special moment for me and all my Wu brothers to run around the globe together one more time and spread the Wu swag, music, and culture," the RZA said in a statement released with the tour announcement. "On this tour we're playing songs we've never played before to our audience and me and our production team have designed a Wu-Tang show unlike anything you've ever seen." The tour announcement also noted that there would be no pre-sale, with all tickets and VIP packages going on sale at 10 a.m. local time on February 28. Additional information can be found on .
CBC
24-02-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Rap group Wu-Tang Clan announces final tour, with stops in Vancouver, Laval, Toronto
Wu-Tang Clan is forever, but their touring days are coming to an end. Fans in Vancouver, Laval and Toronto will get to watch the legendary rap group — made up of RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa and previously, the late Ol' Dirty Bastard — when they kick off their final tour this summer. The "Wu-Tang Forever: The Final Chamber" tour launches June 6 in Baltimore at the CFG Bank Arena and concludes on July 18 at Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center. The shows are set to take place in Vancouver on June 30 at Rogers Arena; Laval, Que., at Place Bell on July 13; and Toronto on July 14 at Scotiabank Arena. The tour will also hit Raleigh, N.C.; Tampa, Fla.; Atlanta; Fort Worth, Texas; Houston; Austin, Texas; Tulsa, Okla.; Phoenix, Ariz.; San Diego; Los Angeles; San Francisco; Sacramento, Calif.; Seattle; Portland, Ore.; Greenwood Village, Colo.; Chicago; Detroit; Columbus, Ohio; Boston; New York and Newark, N.J. Wu-Tang Clan will be joined by openers Run the Jewels. Tickets go on sale Friday, local time. There is no pre-sale. "Wu-Tang Clan has shown the world many chambers throughout our career; this tour is called The Final Chamber. This is a special moment for me and all my Wu brothers to run around the globe together one more time and spread the Wu swag, music, and culture," RZA said in a statement. "Most importantly to touch our fans and those who have supported us throughout the years. On this tour we're playing songs we've never played before to our audience and me and our production team have designed a Wu-Tang show unlike anything you've ever seen."
