Culture
23 Jun 21

California rapper Hobo Johnson and the Lovemakers announces Vicar Street gig

Tickets will go on sale this Friday, 25th June at 10am via Ticketmaster.ie.

Sacramento alternative hip-hop artist Hobo Johnson & The Lovemakers have announced a headline show at Dublin's Vicar Street, set to take place on February 23, 2022.

The California rapper (real name Frank Lopes Jr.) released his debut LP in 2017, The Rise of Hobo Johnson, with second album The Fall of Hobo Johnson landing in 2019. Lopes recently returned with two new singles ‘You Want a Baby’ and ‘I Want You To See The World’.

For fans of Oliver Tree, Rex Orange County and Cuco; Hobo Johnson and his bandmates “The Lovemakers” have also emerged with a new album The Revenge Of Hobo Johnson.

The California rapper, speaking of his June 2nd single ‘I Want You To See The World’, said:

“I want to see the world is my favourite song I’ve ever written because it really articulates the last year of my life. COVID really allowed me, and a lot of people it seems, the time to reevaluate the country and society we live in."

“At the same time, this new evaluation is far different than the rhetoric we’ve been given through popular media, and is hard to accept as a possible reality," Lopes said in a statement. "I’m grateful for the lyric ‘if you look too hard, then you just might find, the bottom of a bottle‘ is in there because it rings true the newfound hopelessness that comes along with this perspective. Speaking about these topics seems so important to me now, and makes me wonder why anyone liked my older music.”

The artist was formerly signed to Reprise and Warner Records but has since decided to go it alone, with plans to start a non-profit record label. Johnson’s aim is to tackle financial inequality, racism and right-wing propaganda through his music.

Hobo Johnson became a viral sensation in 2018 when he and his band performed a NPR Tiny Desk Concert, which gained more than 20 million views on YouTube.

€25 tickets to see Hobo Johnson at Vicar Street will be available from Ticketmaster this Friday, 25th June at 10am - presented by Singular Artists.