When Tracy Chapman Concert Tour?
With her breakout hit "Fast Car," American singer, songwriter, and musician Tracy Chapman entered the worldwide scene in 1988. Chapman has then put on eight studio albums and toured concerts all across the globe.
Supporting her debut record, the album released in April 1988, Chapman's first big concert tour was one To help with record promotion, she traveled North America and Europe much of 1988 and 1989. Two opening artists on this trip were Neil Young and Midnight Oil. Chapman's breakthrough combination of folk, pop, and rock was presented to audiences all across the world and helped her to become known as a new voice in the music field.
Chapman returned on tour in late 1992 supporting her second album, "Crossroads," after some time to compose fresh songs. She started touring Europe with shows in the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, Denmark, and Sweden in addition to big venues such as the Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Those who have seen Chapman perform valued songs from her early albums as well as fresh ones in addition to her sensitivity and genuineness.
Three years later, Chapman began the New Beginning Tour in January 1996. This tour was in promotion of her fourth studio album, “New Beginning”. The tour was changed to embrace more intimate venues which were quieter and more reflective and brought out the die-hard fans of Tracy with global activist interest and songwriting preferences. Some of the locations that were part of the North American segment of the tour were Seattle, Nashville, and Austin.
Chapman’s 2000 Summer Tour was an attempt to get back to the missionary style of performing to vast outdoor festival audiences as epitomized by Lilith Fair. These shows which were an interesting mix of the provocative theme of ‘New Beginning’ with other career highlights put together were applauded by critics for reminding the people that Chapman was still as relevant and as angry as she was when she set off on her nearly fifteen-year music journey. She also performed some other summer shows in Rome and Pompeii which are considered to be part of exotic Europe.
Following the release of “Telling Stories” in 2001, Chapman embarked on the Tell It Like It Is Tour for North America and Europe from February to August 2003. This meant that she was accompanied by a five-piece backing band that let her rearrange some of her hits and perform some of the softer tunes from the new album in a grandiose manner. Critics acknowledged that even in concert Chapman's singing was as forceful and caring as in her original studio recordings, be it during political or love songs.
Chapman has been touring again recently for her albums “Our Bright Future” in 2008 and “Unpredictable Weather” in 2015 where she has incorporated more of the past but not without timely important songs. In Our Bright Future Tour of 2008-2009, Chapman was playing many of the songs, which she had recorded in her 1980 and 1990 albums instead of playing popular songs like “Fast Car” again and again. She also used food banks in this tour to raise awareness of the need for food security and economic justice. On the other hand, in her latest Unpredictable Weather Tour, Chapman also went on raising other social justice agendas, especially concerning mass imprisonment and the reformation of prison systems in the USA. Some of her liveliness was critiqued as over the top, especially in newer politicized songs such as ‘The Promise’ that replaced songs such as ‘The Times They Are A Changing’ and ‘The Night of the Light’.
Tracy Chapman has since then recorded her first album, with her concert touring and live performance exceeding three decades, still she has the charisma of a music powerhouse. She has remained true to her folk songs but has also presented other sides of her music, such as when she rocks with the full band or sets a more sophisticated mood with a solo accompaniment. Of course, concert tours contributed to the creation of studio albums, which defined certain stages in Chapman’s musical development, but the latter served as live performances that established the singer as one of the most talented and socially engaged American musicians. Whether crooning gently into a microphone accompanied by nothing more than her acoustic guitar or leading a rousing sing-along with bass and drums, Tracy Chapman’s live renditions of her ever-growing list of compositions define this legendary singer-songwriter’s true soul, spirit, and passion for music.
