Yusuf / Cat Stevens (Photo via his Facebook page)
In September 2022, when he revealed a pair of October 2022 shows in Turkey, Cat Stevens wrote they “would lead to more international touring in 2023.” On March 3, he announced that he’ll play at the 2023 Glastonbury Festival in the coveted Legend’s slot on June 25. And in late March, he revealed four more concerts in Europe, as well as news of a new studio album, King of a Land. The first took place on Monday, June 12, in Berlin, Germany, with a 23-song set that featured such classic rock favorites as “Peace Train,” “Wild World,” and “Moonshadow,” as well as several from the new album.
The two 2022 shows, in Istanbul and Ankara, represented the legend’s first full length concerts in five years. (Profits went towards supporting his Peace Train charity.) The musician, who is also known as Yusuf Islam, or Yusuf/Cat Stevens, hasn’t toured since his 50th Anniversary tour of 2016-2017. [He performed at public benefit concerts twice in the interim: once in Christchurch, New Zealand in 2019 and again in 2020 in London.] In 2017, he did a series of 18 concerts in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. He began that tour in 2016 with concerts in Canada, the U.S. and U.K.
I’m just thinking back to the first time I nervously walked up to a microphone in a small folk club in Soho, in 1965. And now walking onto the great Pyramid Stage of Glastonbury. What a journey. @glastonbury #PyramidStage #Peace pic.twitter.com/LCAx9XdPYo
— Yusuf / Cat Stevens (@YusufCatStevens) June 25, 2023
#Glastonbury: Cat Stevens pays tribute to George Harrison with cover of The Beatles pic.twitter.com/YTp1iie2NX
— Far Out #Glastonbury23 updates (@FarOutMag) June 25, 2023
Watch him perform “Wild World” and “Father and Son” at the brief 2023 tour’s opening night at Zitadelle Spandau in Berlin. (For the latter, he was accompanied by his younger self on the screen behind the stage.)
Here are three songs, including “Where Do the Children Play?” and “If You Want to Sing Out”
Watch him perform “Morning Has Broken” on Oct. 19, 2022, in Istanbul
In recent years, many of his acclaimed studio albums got well-received expanded editions via UMe. On Feb. 22, Stevens released a cover of “Here Comes the Sun” in honor of George Harrison’s 80th birthday. That same day, he announced a new partnership with Dark Horse Records, the boutique record label founded by George Harrison and operated today by his son Dhani and David Zonshine. The new studio album, King of a Land, arrives on June 16.
Cat Stevens 2023 Tour (Tickets will be available here and here)
Jun 12 – Berlin, Germany – Zitadelle Spandau
Jun 15 – Hamburg, Germany – Stadtpark Open Air
Jun 18 – Rome, Italy – Auditorium Parco della Musica
Jun 21 – Marbella, Spain – Auditorio Starlite
Jun 25 – Glastonbury, UK – Glastonbury Festival
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1 Comment so far
Jump into a conversationGreat Cat Stevens !
Expert in melody and lyrics.
You must explore his entire work.
It’s amazing !