José González is bringing his quietly devastating fingerpicking — and a head full of big ideas about AI, game theory, and what it means to be human in 2026 — back to North America this fall. The Gothenburg-based singer-songwriter has just announced a headline run that kicks off September 11 at Montreal’s MTELUS and winds its way across the continent through late September.

Artist presales begin Wednesday, May 13 at 10:00 AM local time (password: STORM), with local presales following on Thursday, May 14. General on-sales open Friday, May 15 at 10:00 AM local. Full ticket details are available at jose-gonzalez.com/tour-dates.

The tour celebrates Against the Dying of the Light, González’s fifth studio album and his first collection of original songs in more than four years, out now via Mute Records in North America and City Slang for the rest of the world. A spiritual sister volume to 2021’s Local Valley, the record finds González — who, lest we forget, has a background in biochemistry — exploring moral philosophy, the ethics of modern technology, and the stories we tell ourselves to make sense of an accelerating world. It’s heavy stuff, but delivered with the warm, intuitive vocals and singularly inventive nylon-string guitar work that have been his calling card since day one.

The album’s lead single, “A Perfect Storm,” draws on influences as varied as West Saharan desert blues, post-hardcore stalwarts Quicksand, and experimental rock outfit Battles. It builds from intimate fingerpicking to a thrillingly distorted peak, all while González sounds the alarm on what AI researchers have called a “race to lose control.” The accompanying video uses AI itself to confront the viewer with the technology’s unsettling capabilities — a meta move that lands harder than any lecture could.

Listen to “A Perfect Storm” on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Jose+Gonzalez+A+Perfect+Storm

Among the can’t-miss dates on this run is a very special September 20 appearance at the Hollywood Bowl, where González will support Gregory Alan Isakov with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. Beyond that, the itinerary touches Toronto’s Danforth Music Hall, Vancouver’s Orpheum Theatre, Mesa Arts Center, San Diego’s UCSD Epstein Family Amphitheatre, Saratoga’s Mountain Winery, Napa’s Uptown Theatre, and a closing California swing through Sacramento and Santa Barbara — before the tour continues into Europe and the UK through January 2027.

JOSÉ GONZÁLEZ — NORTH AMERICAN FALL 2026 DATES
September 11 — Montreal, QC — MTELUS
September 12 — Toronto, ON — Danforth Music Hall
September 13 — Calgary, AB — The Palace Theatre
September 15 — Vancouver, BC — Orpheum Theatre
September 17 — Tucson, AZ — Fox Tucson Theatre
September 18 — Mesa, AZ — Mesa Arts Center
September 19 — San Diego, CA — UCSD Epstein Family Amphitheatre
September 20 — Los Angeles, CA — Hollywood Bowl (w/ Gregory Alan Isakov and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra)
September 22 — Reno, NV — Artown
September 23 — Saratoga, CA — Mountain Winery
September 24 — Sacramento, CA — Channel 24
September 25 — Napa, CA — Uptown Theatre
September 26 — Santa Barbara, CA — UCSB Campbell Hall

“Against The Dying Of The Light is a collection of songs reflecting on humanity,” González says of the record. “Who we are — tribes of sentient apes with stories that sometimes are incompatible with each other and tools that could eventually lead to dystopia or extinction.” The songs, he notes, can be enjoyed purely for “the sounds, harmonies, and rhythms,” but the lyrics are designed to push listeners toward engagement and action — “for humanism and enlightenment values and against the dying of the light.”

Off-stage, González recently took the 10% Pledge through Giving What We Can, publicly committing 10% of his income to effective charities fighting extreme poverty. His Pledge Club has already directed more than $175,000 to organizations like Helen Keller International, Against Malaria Foundation, and New Incentives. More info is available at givewithjose.com.

Tickets go on sale Friday, May 15 at 10:00 AM local. Mark the calendar, set the alarm, and don’t sleep on the Hollywood Bowl night — this one’s going to sell.