Classic hip-hop trio Digable Planets have announced they’ll be hitting the road for a North American tour in celebration of the 30th anniversary of their debut album, Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space).
The tour is set to kick off on June 18 in Los Angeles and make stops in D.C., Boston, Toronto, and more cities before concluding in Austin. A number of festival stops are included as well, such as the Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival, TD Halifax Jazz Festival, and Calgary Folk Festival. See the full list of dates below.
Initially formed in 1987 by members Ishmael “Butterfly” Butler, Mariana “Ladybug Mecca” Vieira, and Craig “Doodlebug” Irving, Digable Planets released their first album in 1993. Blending jazz and hip-hop, Reachin’ became a cross-genre hit, earning a gold certification from the RIAA and a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for its lead single, “Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat).”
The group has been reunited and performing live since 2015, after first breaking up in 1995, getting back together in 2005, and stepping away again in 2011.
In a recent interview with Yahoo Entertainment, the group reflected on the process behind Reachin’ in honor of its anniversary. Speaking to the making of “Rebirth of Slick,” Irving explained, “Originally, I was in a group at the time called the Dread Poets Society, and we used the sample for a song called ‘Skin Treatment.’ When I hooked up with Ish, he wanted to hear what I was doing with my old group, and I let him hear it. He was feeling it, and then I saw his brain started percolating. Eventually, he asked [if we could] use it for our demo. I asked the group, everybody was cool with it. He went in, flipped it, put his magic to it, and it became the song that we know today.”
Visit the official artist site for ticket details.
06-18 Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival
06-24 Concord, CA – Concord Pavilion *
07-11 Halifax, Nova Scotia – TD Halifax Jazz Festival
07-27 Calgary, Alberta – Calgary Folk Music Festival
07-29 Napa, CA – Blue Note Jazz Festival
08-25 Port Townsend, WA – Thing 2023
09-09 Washington, D.C. – 9:30 Club
09-12 Sayreville, NJ – Starland Ballroom
09-13 Boston, MA – Royale
09-14 Portland, ME – State Theatre
09-15 New Haven, CT – College Street Music Hall
09-16 Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer
09-19 Toronto, Ontario – The Danforth Music Hall
09-20 Buffalo, NY – Town Ballroom
09-21 Cleveland, OH – House of Blues Cleveland
09-22 Bentonville, AR – Format Festival
09-24 Austin, TX – Emo’s Austin
* with Jill Scott
