Erykah Badu & The Alchemist to Premiere New Album Live Before Streaming Drop

Erykah Badu and The Alchemist plan to unveil their Abi & Alan album on tour during live shows starting August 8. Fans will have to wait until August 29 to listen to the tracks on official platforms.

Starting at Seattle's Showbox SoDo, the Abi & Alan Luv Is Tour shows will hit ten cities before a final stop in Austin at ACL Live on August 24. Each live show turns into a special preview party where the crowd gets a first listen.

According to The Music Universe, "This marks what is believed to be the first time in music history that an artist has chosen to debut their album during live concerts rather than through traditional release channels."

On stage, The Cannabinoids will join the performance. Award-winning producers RC Williams, A1, Rob Free, S1, and Jah Born mixed beats and live sounds to compose the album. They added spark to Badu's mix of computer and real-time music.

Fans have waited 15 years since Badu's last full-length studio album, New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh) in 2010. To build buzz, they've shared one track from the highly anticipated project titled "Next to You."

Abi & Alan mix parts of their real names — she's Erica Abi Wright, he's Alan Daniel Maman. Badu's own label, Control FreaQ Records, will release their latest joint record to the world.

Want to catch Badu and The Alchemist live this August and be part of the first listeners in America? Three venues are sold out already, but you can buy tickets to any of the following dates from Erykah Badu's official website or through ticketing platforms like Live Nation or Ticketmaster. The following tour stops still have tickets available as of the time of writing.

August 8 – Seattle, WA – Showbox SoDo

August 10 – Aspen, CO – Belly Up Aspen

August 11 – Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre

August 13 – Minneapolis, MN – Fillmore

August 19 – Miami Beach, FL – Fillmore

August 20 – Orlando, FL – House of Blues

August 24 – Austin, TX – ACL Live