Josh Groban’s Four Nights, Two States Tour

Groban’s Illuminations drops Nov. 15 and the artist has come up with a rather novel way for working out tour plans to support the disc.

Saying he wants to recreate the experience of playing in his living room, Groban will play piano while accompanied by his guitarist. Groban’s intentions on this up-close-and-personal run of dates is to get audiences involved in the initial planning stages of his “Illuminations” tour.

“Going on tour involves so many steps to get ready for what people eventually see as the big production,” Groban said. “The first step is simple. I sit down in my living room at the piano and play. I try to explore the songs in a different light and just practice as much as possible to get the songs in my hands and voice.”

Groban described his usual concert tour prep, including working on songs he hasn’t played in years and working out the arrangements with his guitarist, saying all this goes down, usually in his living room, before anything resembling a formal rehearsal with a full band and orchestra takes place.

“I want to bring my living room to you,” Groban said. “I want the ‘first step’ for this tour to be in front of you.”

However, it’s a short list of dates with each audience member receiving a copy of Illuminations. The “Before We Begin” tour starts off in California, playing Palm Desert’s McCallum Theatre Nov. 6; San Diego’s Balboa Theatre Nov. 7 and Santa Barbara’s Granada Theatre Nov. 10. Then it’s a quick jaunt to the East Coast to play New Haven, Conn., at the Shubert Theatre Nov. 13.

A presale for members of Friends Of Josh Groban begins Oct. 21 at 10 a.m. and the general onsale begins Oct. 22 at 10 a.m. All times local. For more information, click here for JoshGroban.com.