David Gilmour arrives at the Circus Maximus. The British singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, legendary guitarist of Pink Floyd, has announced his first live shows in Italy after eight years, in support of his new album “Luck and Strange” out on September 6th for Sony Music.
The live event, among the most important of 2024 in the capital, will take place on 27, 28 and 29 September and 1, 2 and 3 October: the concerts will represent the world premiere and will be the only shows in continental Europe.
The shows will be held in the extraordinary setting of the Circus Maximus, thanks to the collaboration of the Municipality of Rome and the Ministry of Culture. An arena built specifically for the occasion with all seats will be set up in the historic location, a structure that will offer spectators the opportunity to enjoy the concert in maximum comfort, surrounded by breathtaking scenery.
David Gilmour at Circus Maximus, Onorato: “World tour preview”
“With great satisfaction – declared Alessandro Onorato, Councilor for Sport, Tourism, Fashion and Major Events of Rome Capital – we announce David Gilmour’s show at the Circus Maximus for the world premiere of the tour, with six dates – 27,28, 29 September and 1, 2, 3 October 2024 – a few days after the release of his latest album ‘Luck and Strange’. It will be the only stop in continental Europe for the former Pink Floyd guitarist, who by choosing Rome has demonstrated how much this city has become increasingly attractive abroad.”
“In the last few years – added Onorato – thanks to the choices of this administration and I thank Mayor Gualtieri, there has been a clear change of pace: in 2022 Rome surpassed Milan in terms of number of tickets sold for live concerts, 2 million. While we are waiting for the 2023 data, but according to forecasts we should have reached 3 million. And for 2024, among the many events, the 4 ColdPlay dates at the Olympic Stadium stand out as well as David Gilmour, who will further embellish the Roman billboard. I thank him and all his staff for the trust they have placed in us. Only London will host one of his concerts – concluded the councilor – it is truly a source of pride, the testimony of how things have changed positively for Rome. There will be 6 special evenings of music in an arena built specifically for the occasion with all seats. From 9am on Wednesday 15th May the exclusive sale will begin until 16th May at 11.59pm, while from Friday 17th at 9am the free sale will start.”
Tickets for David Gilmour
Virgin Radio Italia will carry out an exclusive presale which will give fans the opportunity to purchase their tickets in advance. Fans who register on virginradio.it from Wednesday 15 May at 9am to Thursday 16 May at 11.59pm will receive a code that will allow them to purchase up to 4 tickets on www.ticketone.it/virginradio. It will be possible to purchase tickets in advance also thanks to a presale linked to the new album. By pre-ordering the new album, from May 10th to May 16th at 6pm, you will be able to receive an email in the following days with a code that will allow you to access the pre-sale open on May 15th and 16th. With each order an email will be sent with a code that gives access to the pre-sale of two tickets.
“Luck and Strange”, the new album by David Gilmour
Luck and Strange, David Gilmour’s new album, was recorded over five months in Brighton and London and is Gilmour’s first album of new material in nine years. The album was produced by David together with Charlie Andrew, best known for his work with ALT-J and Marika Hackman. Most of the album’s lyrics were composed by Polly Samson, Gilmour’s co-writer and collaborator for the past thirty years. Samson says of the lyrical themes of “Luck and Strange,” “It’s written from the perspective of being older; mortality is the constant.” Gilmour explains: “We spent a lot of time during and after lockdown talking and thinking about this sort of thing.”
The album contains eight new tracks, including the first single “The Piper’s Call”, along with a beautiful reworking of “Between Two Points” by The Montgolfier Brothers and contains artwork and photographs by the famous artist Anton Corbijn.
Contributing musicians include Guy Pratt and Tom Herbert on bass, Adam Betts, Steve Gadd and Steve Di Stanislao on drums, Rob Gentry and Roger Eno on keyboards with string and backing vocal arrangements by Will Gardner. The title track also features the late Pink Floyd keyboardist Richard Wright, recorded in 2007 during a barn jam at David’s house.
Some contributions emerged from the livestreams that Gilmour and his family performed before global audiences during the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021; Romany Gilmour sings, plays harp and appears on lead vocals on “Between Two Points”. Gabriel Gilmour sings backing vocals.
Photo from David Gilmour’s Instagram. Credit @pollysamson_official
