Lizzo juicing up for April 19 album, May 5 Palace gig

The tour and album announcement come a day ahead of the Minneapolis-reared hip-hop star's appearance on "Ellen."

January 28, 2019 at 6:12PM
(The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Lizzo tore up the Palace Theatre last May on tour with Haim. / Carlos Gonzalez, Star Tribune
Lizzo tore up the Palace Theatre last May on tour with Haim. / Carlos Gonzalez, Star Tribune (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

"Juice" has opened up the floodgates for Lizzo. Not only did the homegrown hip-hop star announce on Monday the long-awaited release of her first album for Atlantic Records, coming April 19. She also confirmed a spring tour that will include a May 5 gig at the Palace Theatre -- her first headlining show in her former hometown in a year and a half.

The Minneapolis-reared rapper/singer/dazzler is due to formally announce all her going-ons with an appearance on Tuesday's episode of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show."

Coquettishly titled "'Cuz I Love You," the album is now available for pre-order and will arrive right after her two appearances at the Coachella Festival. Further details on the record such as a tracklisting have yet to be revealed, although presumably her aerobics-reviving, chart-cracking new single "Juice" will be among the jams. YouTube views for that song's '80s-tinged video (directed by her longtime Twin Cities collaborator Quinn Wilson) are up over 2.3 million after just three weeks.

"'Cuz I Love You" will be Lizzo's third full-length release overall and her first since her locally made and independently released 2015 collection "Big Grrrl, Small World," which helped get her signed to Atlantic. She offered a teaser of an EP via her new label in 2016, "Coconut Oil," which included the minor hit "Good As Hell."

Tickets for the Palace show go on sale a week from Friday, Feb. 8, via eTix and First Ave outlets for $30 and $50. Pre-sale options begin next Monday. She performed twice at the Palace last May touring as Haim's opening act. Her last headlining set in town was at Myth nightclub's New Year's Eve party in 2017.

Lizzo's own announcement for her upcoming tour erroneously lists the Palace date as May 4 – which could be an unintended clue that a second show will be announced. Either way, you can expect the May 5 gig to sell out faster than you can say "remember that gooey-gooey."

about the writer

about the writer

Chris Riemenschneider

Critic / Reporter

Chris Riemenschneider has been covering the Twin Cities music scene since 2001, long enough for Prince to shout him out during "Play That Funky Music (White Boy)." The St. Paul native authored the book "First Avenue: Minnesota's Mainroom" and previously worked as a music critic at the Austin American-Statesman in Texas.

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