Mitski Shares New Song & Tour Dates For Spring 2022

After nearly two years of silence, Mitski has returned with her first new music in over three years. Titled “Working For The Knife,” the acclaimed musician’s gritty new single arrives with an accompanying music video, and the announcement of an upcoming spring 2022 tour in North America and Europe, set to kick off in February 2022. They will be her first live shows since wrapping up her Be The Cowboy tour in September 2019, when she announced that she’d be going on an indefinite hiatus and deleted her social media.

The heavy synth and guitar track, produced by her longtime collaborator Patrick Hyland, arrived with an intimate music video shot inside the dim and dramatically lit interiors of The Egg, a performance venue in Albany, New York.

Directed by Zia Anger with Ashley Connor directing photography, the video begins with Mitski sulking about the cavernous premises in a black cowboy hat and matching coat, which she later unveils to reveal a silky blue jumpsuit underneath. She dances around the theatre — even getting on a handrail and licking it — as she sings solemnly about feeling like the world is moving on without her, and “working for the knife,” which we’re interpreting to be a not-so-subtle metaphor for capitalism.

“It’s about going from being a kid with a dream, to a grown up with a job, and feeling that somewhere along the way you got left behind,” Mitski wrote of the song in a press release. “It’s being confronted with a world that doesn’t seem to recognize your humanity, and seeing no way out of it.”

Since lockdown, there’s been no shortage of art released centered around that specific feeling of dehumanization by the wider systems of power that be, but Mitski’s “Working the Knife” stands out. As with all her music, she nails the issue right on the head while drilling deeper into its complexities. At the end of the video, after the music’s faded away, Mitski stands alone onstage as an imaginary crowd cheers her on and she continues dancing — desperately, panting; at the end of the frenzied choreography, she collapses onto the ground and looks up with a grin into the camera. Despite it all, one can’t deny that there’s still some sick pleasure to be derived from the system’s approval.

Mitski released Be The Cowboy in August 2018. The 14-track-album was a breakout for the beloved singer who’d already amassed a sizable cult following with her previous four records, Lush, Retired From Sad, New Career In Business, Bury Me At Makeout Creek, and Puberty 2.

Her forthcoming spring 2022 tour kicks off February 17, 2022 in Asheville, North Carolina and ends May 19 in Munich, Germany. Read on for the full list of dates and cities below, and how to buy tickets.

Mitski’s Spring 2022 Tour Dates

• Thu. Feb. 17, 2022 - Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel
• Fri. Feb. 18, 2022 - Raleigh, NC @ The Ritz
• Sat. Feb. 19, 2022 - Atlanta, GA @ The Eastern
• Mon. Feb. 21, 2022 - Birmingham, AL @ Iron City
• Tue. Feb. 22, 2022 - New Orleans, LA @ Civic Theatre
• Thu. Feb. 24, 2022 - Houston, TX @ The Lawn at White Oak Music Hall
• Fri. Feb. 25, 2022 - Dallas, TX @ The Factory in Deep Ellum
• Sat. Feb. 26, 2022 - Austin, TX @ ACL Live at Moody Theater
• Mon. Feb. 28, 2022 - Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren
• Thu. Mar. 3, 2022 - Los Angeles, CA @ Shrine Exposition Hall
• Fri. Mar. 4, 2022 - Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
• Mon. Mar. 7, 2022 - Portland, OR @ Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
• Wed. Mar. 9, 2022 - Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre
• Sat. Mar. 12, 2022 - Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre
• Mon. Mar. 14, 2022 - St. Paul, MN @ Palace Theatre
• Tue. Mar. 15, 2022 - Milwaukee, WI @ The Riverside Theater
• Thu. Mar. 17, 2022 - Detroit, MI @ Royal Oak Music Theatre
• Fri. Mar. 18, 2022 - Toronto, ON @ Massey Hall
• Sat. Mar. 19, 2022 - Montreal, QC @ St-Jean-Baptiste Church
• Mon. Mar. 21, 2022 - Boston, MA @ TBD
• Thu. Mar. 24, 2022 - New York, NY @ Radio City Music Hall
• Fri. Mar. 25, 2022 - Philadelphia, PA @ Franklin Music Hall
• Sat. Mar. 26, 2022 - Washington, DC @ The Anthem
• Tue. Mar. 29, 2022 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE
• Wed. Mar. 30, 2022 - Louisville, KY @ Old Forester’s Paristown Hall
• Thu. Mar. 31, 2022 - Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium
• Thu. April 21, 2022 - Bristol, UK @ Marble Factory
• Fri. April 22, 2022 - Leeds, UK @ University Stylus
• Sat. April 23, 2022 - Glasgow, UK @ Queen Margaret Union
• Mon. April 25, 2022 - Dublin, IE @ Vicar Street
• Tue. April 26, 2022 - Manchester, UK @ O2 Ritz
• Thu. April 28, 2022 - London, UK @ The Roundhouse
• Sat. April 30, 2022 - Brussels, BE @ Botanique
• Mon. May 2, 2022 - Tourcoing, FR @ Le Grand Mix
• Tue. May 3, 2022 - Paris, FR @ Le Cabaret Sauvage
• Wed. May 4, 2022 - Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
• Fri. May 6, 2022 - Zurich, CH @ Les Docks
• Sat. May 7, 2022 - Lausanne, CH @ Les Docks
• Mon. May 9, 2022 - Berlin, DE @ Metropol
• Tue. May 10, 2022 - Copenhagen, DK @ Vega
• Wed. May 11, 2022 - Stockholm, SE @ Nalen
• Thu. May 12, 2022 - Oslo, NO @ Rockefeller Music Hall
• Sat. May 14, 2022 - Hamburg, DE @ Fabrik
• Sun. May 15, 2022 - Cologne, DE @ Stollwerck
• Tue. May 17, 2022 - Vienna, AU @ WUK
• Wed. May 18, 2022 - Prague, CZ @ Rock Cafe
• Thu. May 19, 2022 - Munich, DE @ Strom

How To Buy Tickets To Mitski’s Spring 2022 Tour

North American presale tickets go on sale Wednesday October 5, 2021 at 10 a.m. local time. Use the password: presalefortheknife. Otherwise, general tickets go on sale Friday, October 8, 2021 at 12 p.m. ET.

Editors note: This article was updated on October 5, 2021 at 11:13 a.m. with new information about the song and upcoming tour.