Kesha to Play The Ryman Oct. 23 & 24

In support of her recently-released, deeply personally, and musically adventurous fifth-album, Gag Order, famed pop singer and native Nashvillian Kesha has announced a fall run of shows which will bring her back to Nashville for her first hometown headliner in six years (after a planned 2020 date was cancelled due to Covid), a pair of shows Oct. 23 & 24 at The Ryman with fellow Nashville pop breakout Jake Wesley Rogers!

First announced earlier this year, Kesha’s Rick Rubin-produced Gag Order is a drastic departure from the upbeat, dance-primed electro pop of 2020’s High Road, with an approach to songwriting less commercially-minded and more rooted in substance and quality (notably, Kesha has always been a musical chameleon and has long been able to swerve between mainstream, pop bombast and intimate, art-forward songwriting with expertise at both). The result is an experimental, psych-tinged, art pop effort which might very well be her best record yet, and certainly her most earnest and meaningful.

For nearly a decade, Kesha has been in a very public legal battle with producer Dr. Luke, with whom she signed a record deal at 18, suing him for alleged sexual assault and battery, emotional abuse, and violation of business practices, leading to a defamation countersuit with a trial set to begin this summer- all of which the singer has been limited in her ability to speak publicly about, thus the title (and accompanying artwork), Gag Order. This is notably, and awkwardly, also the last album under her record deal with Luke’s Kemosabe Records.

Since erupting onto the scene with classic millennial banger “Tik Tok” in the late aughts, Kesha has proven herself to be one of pop’s most versatile and enduring figures, flexing her pop star prowess, rock and roll edge, and artistic range over numerous fanatic and ever-evolving releases. We’ve long been fans of hers, and her Nashville roots over the years (her mom is successful songwriter Pebe Sebert) have remained strong, with local musicians often appearing as part of her backing band. That’s why this return to The Ryman, on the heels of a great album, feels extra special.

Tickets go on sale this Friday, June 2 at 10 a.m. CDT right here, with pre-sales underway now (try code DISCO)!

Oct 15 – Dallas, TX @ The Factory in Deep Ellum
Oct 16 – Austin, TX @ ACL Live at The Moody Theater
Oct 18 – New Orleans, LA @ Orpheum Theater
Oct 20 – Orlando, FL @ Hard Rock Live
Oct 21 – Atlanta, GA @ The Eastern
Oct 23 – Nashville, TN @ The Ryman Auditorium
Oct 24 – Nashville, TN @ The Ryman Auditorium
Oct 26 – Newport, KY @ MegaCorp Pavilion
Oct 28 – Mashantucket, CT @ Foxwoods Resort Casino
Oct 29 – Washington, D.C. @ The Anthem
Oct 31 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Met Philadelphia
Nov 1 – Boston, MA @ MGM Music Hall at Fenway
Nov 3 – New York, NY @ Hammerstein Ballroom
Nov 6 – Toronto, Ontario @ History
Nov 7 – Detroit, MI @ Masonic Temple Theatre
Nov 9 – Chicago, IL @ Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom
Nov 11 – Milwaukee, WI @ The Eagles Ballroom
Nov 12 – Prior Lake, MN @ Mystic Showroom
Nov 14 – Denver, CO @ Mission Ballroom
Nov 17 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
Nov 18 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Palladium