San Francisco Chronicle

Gorillaz announce return to S.F.

- By Aidin Vaziri Aidin Vaziri is The San Francisco Chronicle’s pop music critic. Email: avaziri@sfchronicl­e.com Twitter: @MusicSF

Hot on the heels of its stage-sagging headlining set at the Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park over the weekend, Gorillaz announced on Monday, Aug. 14, that they are returning to the city to perform at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium on Oct. 4.

The virtual hip-hop band, created by British pop icon Damon Albarn (formerly of Blur) and the illustrato­r Jamie Hewlett, is on tour in support of “Humanz,” its fifth studio recording and first new album since 2010.

Many of the guests featured on the release, including Pusha T, house music producer Jamie Principle and English grime star Little Simz, appeared onstage with Albarn and his touring band at Outside Lands — and could very likely return for the new date.

Rappers Vince Staples and Danny Brown are also on the bill for the fall date.

Tickets for the show, priced at $65 for general admission, go on sale Friday, Aug. 18.

Albarn says that “Humanz,” recorded last year, portends a world under President Trump’s rule. Its trenchant first

Missed the Gorillaz set at Outside Lands? Catch up on the three-day festival at www. sfchronicl­e.com/outside -lands single, “Hallelujah Money,” was released on the eve of 45’s inaugurati­on.

“It was that sense that, ‘Stuff is really accelerati­ng at the moment and we are about to enter a whole new epoch,’ ” Albarn said during an exclusive backstage interview at Outside Lands. “We’re now in it . ...

“When I was making the record, I was concerned with my own internal didactic,” he added. “Now I just play the music. I don’t even feel it. It’s so of now that I don’t even feel like explaining what the songs are really about. They just fit in so naturally with what’s going on.”

 ?? Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle ?? Damon Albarn leads Gorillaz last week at Outside Lands. The band will return to S.F. in October.
Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle Damon Albarn leads Gorillaz last week at Outside Lands. The band will return to S.F. in October.

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