OK Orchestra Tour


The OK Orchestra Tour was the fifth concert tour by the American pop band AJR, supporting their fourth studio album, OK Orchestra. It ran from September 7, 2021, to October 20, 2022, and covered 71 shows across four continents. The set list consisted primarily of songs from OK Orchestra, with a few numbers from the band's previous albums The Click and Neotheater.

Background and development

Following news of the COVID-19 pandemic, AJR canceled the second leg of the Neotheater World Tour and the Everything Everywhere Tour in May 2020. The band performed drive-in concerts and virtual shows as safe alternatives to the tours through to 2021. AJR wrote their fourth album during this time, which released as OK Orchestra on March 26, 2021. On March 31, the band stated plans to tour in 2022, which was formally announced on April 11 as the OK Orchestra Tour. Presale tickets were sold through Live Nation Entertainment beginning on April 13 via a text-provided access code, while general tickets became available on April 16. With 32 shows across the United States, AJR additionally teased international dates in the same announcement.
On July 11, the band announced a 2021 leg of the OK Orchestra Tour with 12 new dates and VIP packages for the entire tour, which from lowest to highest tier included exclusive merchandise, early entry, a group photo, a live master class and Q&A with Ryan Met, and a dodgeball or Pictionary game with the band. These tickets and packages became available on July 16. The OK Orchestra Tour started on September 7 at the Sylvee in Madison, Wisconsin, with the first leg ending in October. On September 13, AJR postponed the September 16 show at the Zoo Amphitheatre in Oklahoma City to June 7, 2022, due to an inability to enforce COVID-19 safety regulations. The night before the band's September 23 concert at Palace Theatre in Albany, the show's changed its venue, instead taking place at Times Union Center. Shows during the 2021 leg were opened by Daisy the Great and Sasha Alex Sloan.
On September 18, 2021, AJR announced eight more dates in the United States for 2022, additionally announcing 18 dates in Europe. Tickets for these shows became available on September 24. On November 21, the band stated they would release new music before the 2022 leg. On February 9, 2022, AJR released a music video for "Ordinaryish People" featuring Blue Man Group, who announced on the same day that they would join the OK Orchestra Tour for five dates. The band later canceled their October 22 concert at the 1930 Moscow Concert hall in Moscow on February 25 due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. On March 31, tickets for five dates in Australia and New Zealand became available, followed the next day by an additional date in Dublin. On May 9, the tour's May 10 show at Riverbend Music Center in Cincinnati was rescheduled to May 17 due to heavy rainfall in the Ohio River bordering the flood stage. Gayle was the tour's opening act from the start of the 2022 leg up to May 21, while BoyWithUke opened shows from May 27 to June 24. Dates in Australia and New Zealand were opened by Alexander 23, and Ryan Mack supported the tour's European leg.

Reception

The tour received positive reviews from critics. Brittaney Penney of The Honey Pop praised the show's stage design with a walking treadmill and an interactive LED screen. Dan Garcia hailed the performance of "Bang!" alongside a fireworks show and a story told by the band involving Elton John accidentally complimenting them. Piet Levy of Milwaukee Journal Sentinel complimented Mitchell Schellenger's creative direction for the tour, highlighting the treadmill usage in "3 O'Clock Things" and a Blue Man Group-inspired segment for "Ordinaryish People" which involved the band drumming with digital paint effects behind them. Levy further lauded Ryan Met's solo performance of "Joe" with beatboxing provided by Kenny Urban, the breakdown of the production involved in "Weak", and "Burn the House Down" for its illusory effects where Jack throws various objects and himself through one screen and emerges from another.
Raina Kutliroff of The Daily Illini admired touring trumpeter Arnetta Johnson for her energetic performance and dancing, particularly noting the trumpet interlude in which she played various songs not in the setlist. Kutliroff additionally commended the concert's narrative, surrounding a "Do Not Push" button that lead singer Jack Met later disclosed represented his struggles with obsessive–compulsive disorder before "an explosion of a grand finale" by pushing it. Alex McEwen of Culturess noted that the tour's rescheduled show on June 7 in Oklahoma City differed greatly from other shows, with an absence of the "Do Not Push" button and an encore with "100 Bad Days" re-used from AJR's One Spectacular Night, altering the setlist. This encore was additionally used in New Zealand, with Courtney Tabener of Ambient Light enjoying the show's lighting design and Jack's high-energy performance.

''The OK Orchestra Tour Doc''

Alongside the development of the tour, AJR released The OK Orchestra Tour Doc, a six-episode documentary series that was directed by Austin Roa and published to YouTube between October 24, 2021, and November 6, 2022. Episodes ranged 7–17 minutes in length and showcased rehearsals, fan interactions, concert highlights, backstage footage, and hardships with the tour.

Set list

The following set lists are adapted from the show in Norfolk on September 19, 2021, and the show in Austin on April 29, 2022. It is not intended to represent all shows throughout the tour.

2021 leg

  1. "Bummerland"
  2. "3 O'Clock Things"
  3. "Adventure Is Out There"
  4. "Weak"
  5. "Dear Winter" / "The Trick"
  6. "Christmas in June"
  7. "Ordinaryish People"
  8. "Karma"
  9. Interlude
  10. "Joe"
  11. "Record Player"
  12. "World's Smallest Violin"
  13. "100 Bad Days"
  14. How We Made / "Bang!"
  15. "My Play"
  16. "Burn the House Down"
;Encore

2022 leg

  1. "Bummerland"
  2. "Karma"
  3. "3 O'Clock Things"
  4. "Bang!"
  5. "Dear Winter" / "The Trick
  6. "Don't Throw Out My Legos"
  7. "Ordinaryish People"
  8. "100 Bad Days"
  9. Interlude
  10. "Joe"
  11. "I Won't"
  12. "World's Smallest Violin"
  13. "Humpty Dumpty"
  14. How We Made / "Weak"
  15. "The Good Part"
  16. "Burn the House Down"
;Encore

Tour dates

Cancelled dates