This weekend has been kicked off to a red hot start, as the Red Hot Chili Peppers announce a world tour on the same day as the 30th birthday of Blood Sugar Sex Magik.
The first thing I did when I woke up this morning was open Spotify- the only part of my morning routine I’ve been able to stick to over the past month. This morning’s vibe was the Chili Peppers' Freaky Styley . Maybe it was the Friday energy that made me crave those funky bass lines and busy drum beats, or maybe the charge of the recent new moon had me feeling intuitive.
30 work emails and a cup of tea later, right around “Yurtle the Turtle,” I opened Instagram to discover some massive music news: The Red Hot Chili Peppers have announced a 2022 world tour through a quirky, faux news broadcast.
Co-anchors Johnson Hammerswaddle (Anthony Kiedis) and Todd the Squirrel (Flea) open with some of today’s news: “Half of humanity will boil alive by next Thursday, and there’s a new chicken sandwich coming out,” before turning it over to Randy Raindrops (Chad Smith) for today’s weather.
Finally giving the fans what they want, Hammerswaddle and Squirrel introduce guitarist John Frusciante (who plays himself) as a special guest. Frusciante reveals that the tour will kick off in June, and the group will begin the U.S. leg sometime in July.
The news arrived as fans were still riding the John-Fruscsiante-is-back-in-the-band wave, and came as quite a relief after COVID shut down planned RHCP festival performances in 2020. This tour will be Frusciante’s first in 15 years alongside Kiedis, Flea and Smith; or perhaps Hammerswaddle, Squirrel and Raindrops- to be determined.
In January 2020, drummer Chad Smith confirmed “we’re making new music, and it’s very exciting.” It only makes sense that the tour would follow an album, but that’s a fan-girl talking, not a journalist. Still, here’s hoping!
Live Nation noted in a press release, “All the tour dates, sales information, support acts and other factoids will be available shortly.”