DEVIN TOWNSEND Announces First North American Headline Tour In Five Years; BLABBERMOUTH.NET Presale

Canadian singer, songwriter and producer Devin Townsend has announced his first North American headline tour since 2020. Taking place in May 2025, and featuring a bill-topping appearance at Milwaukee Metal Fest, the jaunt also features special guests TESSERACT.

A special BLABBERMOUTH.NET presale will begin on Wednesday, November 20 at 2:00 p.m. ET and end on Thursday, November 21 at 10:00 p.m. local time. When prompted, type in the presale code "DTBBM2025" to access tickets before the general public. Check back here on Wednesday for ticketing links to individual shows. General on-sale will be Friday, November 22 at 10 a.m. local time.

The full list of dates is as follows:

May 02 - Nashville, TN - Marathon Music Works
May 03 - Atlanta, GA - Tabernacle
May 04 - Lake Buena Vista, FL - House of Blues (Orlando)
May 06 - Cincinnati, OH - Bogart's
May 07 - Raleigh, NC - The Ritz
May 09 - New York, NY - Palladium Times Square
May 10 - Silver Spring, MD - The Fillmore Silver Spring
May 11 - Boston, MA - House of Blues
May 13 - Montreal, QC - MTELUS
May 14 - Toronto, ON - Queen Elizabeth Theatre
May 16 - Detroit, MI - Masonic Cathedral Theatre
May 17 - Milwaukee, WI - Milwaukee Metal Fest
May 19 - Dallas, TX - Granada Theater
May 21 - Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre
May 23 - Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern

Devin's latest studio album, "PowerNerd", came out on October 25 via InsideOut Music.

In September, Devin released a new video in which he explained the inspiration for the "PowerNerd" title. He said: "'PowerNerd' is essentially a manifesto of working through the problems that you face in life. And the definition of it had originally been — there are certain personality traits or proclivities that one may have that perhaps society deems as being a weakness, whether or not that's empathy or hypersensitivity or something. And to people who don't have those sorts of aspects of their personality, certain things can be taken for granted, as it's, like, 'Oh, it's easy to do that,' 'It's easy to go out in public,' 'It's easy to socialize,' whatever. But if these aren't things that are part of your psychological makeup, it's sometimes effort just leaving the house. So a powernerd, in a sense is — the definition that I at least adhere to — you turn those tendencies into a superpower. So if you're hypersensitive, your hypersensitivity becomes your superpower. It's about harnessing it, so it doesn't get imposed on others, of course, but at the same time, to be able to recognize the ways in which you're different and not view that as being a liability, but rather view it as being a strength. That's the definition of 'powernerd'."

Townsend's career is one of many distinct eras. He's been the leader of STRAPPING YOUNG LAD, the lynchpin of the DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT and the co-architect of country duo CASUALTIES OF COOL, all while maintaining his prolific and lauded solo project. Now, the polymath's newest era starts with "PowerNerd".

"It was a conscious thing," Devin said of his brand-new album, the music on which he wrote in just 11 days. "I thought, 'I've spent so much time overthinking every aspect of my work — what would happen if I didn't?' Maybe I would have the opportunity to be a bit more direct with what it is that I'm trying to do. I really wanted to see if I could cut through some of the meandering."

A song that embodies that is the album's title track, which features a guest spot from HATEBREED's Jamey Jasta. However, that aggression is far from the only thing to come from "PowerNerd"'s 11 episodic tracks. "Dreams Of Light", by comparison, is an evocative and dynamic four-minute ballad. "Younger Lover" calms down from an explosive opening to lush verses of synths and singing, whereas "Falling Apart" and "Jainism" add texture after texture on top of dulcet, acoustic introductions.

Where "PowerNerd"'s music was written in less than a fortnight, its lyrics were refined over a far longer period of time into a narrative about strength and healing. On "Falling Apart", Devin commands himself to "keep the tension under control." "You've got to believe that things will only get better," subsequent song "Gratitude" powerfully declares. These uplifting messages even play into the record's title.

Devin previously offered as a definition: "I would say that a powernerd would be somebody that has a tendency that society has deemed weak or not valuable, whether that's empathy or being an insular person or an introvert, and turns that into a type of personal power. It's like, 'Okay, yeah, I'm sensitive to this, that and the other thing, but man, I am going to pull through! I am going to do things with that sensitivity that are rooted in strength.'"

"PowerNerd" is available on several different formats, including a limited 2CD+Blu-ray artbook (featuring the album, bonus tracks and Devin's first-ever Dolby Atmos mix),limited 2CD digipak in O-card, standard CD, gatefold 2LP and digital album.

The album's artwork was created by longtime collaborator Travis Smith.

As well as express strength through adversity, "PowerNerd" will open the door to Devin's immediate future. Its positivity and succinctness will soon be contrasted by follow-up "The Moth" — described by Devin as "orchestral, over-the-top, dark and uncomfortable" — and the "alien weirdness" of finale "Axolotl". Both efforts have already been written, and together the trilogy will express the mind-boggling range of this man's musical talent.

Photo credit: Tanya Ghosh