Car Seat Headrest Locks In North American Tour

In case you were curious, the band takes its name from when singer/songwriter Will Toledo used to record in the back of his parents’ automobile for privacy.

Toledo has been recording music with the band name since he was a teenager and put out 10 albums before signing with Matador Records in 2015. He is now joined by bassist Ethan Ives and drummer Andrew Katz, as well as a number of other musicians on specific tracks. Seth Dalby is also listed as a band member on the group’s Facebook page and he is credited as playing the bass on “Unforgiving Girl (She’s Not An)” on the group’s Bandcamp page.

While Matador was hoping 2016 would be the band’s breakout year, a snafu with sample clearance for the song “Not What I Needed” ended up costing the record company about $50,000. Physical copies of the album had to be destroyed a week before the release when The Cars’ Ric Ocasek heard the way the song “Just What I Needed” was sampled on the track and objected. After the complaint from Ocasek, Matador discovered the publishing house it had reached a verbal agreement with could not actually license the song, and the tune would have to be pulled.

“People were crying; people were not happy about it,” Toledo said in an interview with AvClub. “I was the only person in the situation who was used to being 10 days from an album release and not having the album done.”

Now, Toledo is touring the country with performances booked from July 28 in Victoria, British Columbia until Nov. 26 in Seattle, Wash. Festivals like Pygmalion, Midpoint and Sound on Sound are all on the menu, so while the group has a devoted internet following, this year will likely be one in which thousands of new listeners are also exposed to the Headrest.

The band also recently released music recorded from its performance at the Spotify House at SXSW this year.

Below is the full schedule, with supporting acts listed in parenthesis. Festivals that have not yet announced daily lineups are listed as ranges, but the band will likely only be performing on one day at the festival.

July 28 – Victoria, British Columbia, Centennial Square
Aug. 20 – Omaha, Neb., Stinson Park @ Aksarben Village (Maha Music Festival)
Aug. 30 – Boise, Idaho, Neurolux (w/ Stef Chura)
Aug. 31 – Salt Lake City, Utah, Urban Lounge (w/ Stef Chura)
Sept. 1 – Denver, Colo., Bluebird Theater (w/ Stef Chura)
Sept. 3-4 – Philadelphia, Penn., Benjamin Franklin Parkway (Made in America Festival)
Sept. 5 – St. Louis, Mo., The Ready Room(w/ Stef Chura)
Sept. 6 – Oxford, Miss., Proud Larry’s (w/ Stef Chura)
Sept. 7 – Nashville, Tenn., Mercy Lounge (w/ The Lemon Twigs)
Sept. 8 – Atlanta, Ga., Terminal West (w/ The Lemon Twigs)
Sept. 9 – Raleigh, N.C., Contemporary Art Museum (Hopscotch Music Festival)
Sept. 10 – Asheville, N.C., The Grey Eagle (w/ The Lemon Twigs)
Sept. 12 – Richmond, Va., The National (w/ The Lemon Twigs)
Sept. 13 – Baltimore, Md., Ottobar (w/ The Lemon Twigs)
Sept. 15 – New York, N.Y., The Bowery Ballroom (w/ Lucy Dacus)
Sept. 16 – New York, N.Y., The Bowery Ballroom (w/ Lucy Dacus)
Sept. 17 – Cambridge, Mass., The Sinclair (w/ Lucy Dacus)
Sept. 18 – Montreal, Quebec, Bar le Ritz PDB (w/ Lucy Dacus)
Sept. 19 – Toronto, Ontario, Mod Club (w/ Lucy Dacus)
Sept. 21 – Detroit, Mich., The El Club (w/ Lucy Dacus)
Sept. 22 – Champaign, Ill., Various Venues (Pygmalion Music Festival)
Sept. 23 – Chicago, Ill., Thalia Hall (w/ Lucy Dacus)
Sept. 23-24 – Cincinnati, Ohio, Various Venues (Midpoint Music Festival)
Sept. 25 – Cleveland, Ohio, Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame (w/ Lucy Dacus)
Sept. 27 – Madison, Wis., Majestic Theatre (w/ Lucy Dacus)
Sept. 28 – Minneapolis, Minn., Cedar Cultural Center (w/ Lucy Dacus)
Sept. 29 – Green Bay, Wis., Meyer Theatre
Oct. 16 – San Francisco, Calif., Treasure Island (Treasure Island Music Festival)
Oct. 31 – Boulder, Colo., Fox Theatre (w/ Naked Days)
Nov. 3 – Lawrence, Kan., The Bottleneck (w/ Naked Days)
Nov. 4 – Norman, Okla., Opolis (w/ Bully)
Nov. 4-6 – McDade, Texas, Sherwood Forest Faire (Sound on Sound Festival)
Nov. 6 – Dallas, Texas, Dada Dallas (w/ Naked Days)
Nov. 8 – Albuquerque, N.M., Launchpad (w/ Naked Days)
Nov. 9 – Tucson, Ariz., Club Congress (w/ Naked Days)
Nov. 10 – Phoenix, Ariz., The Crescent Ballroom (w/ Naked Days)
Nov. 17 – Eugene, Ore., WOW Hall (w/ Naked Days)
Nov. 25 – Portland, Ore., Wonder Ballroom
Nov. 26 – Seattle, Wash., The Neptune

Aug. 30- Sept. 2 and Sept. 5-6 will feature Stef Chura as support. Sept. 7-8 and 10-13 will include The Lemon Twigs. A two night stand at the Bowery Ballroom in New York Sept. 15 and 16, then Sept. 17-21, 23, and 25-28 will all have Lucy Dacus. The final support act will be Naked Days, coming along Oct. 31-Nov. 3 and then Nov. 6-17.

Tickets to most of these shows are on sale now. Check out the group’s Facebook page for the latest on the Headrest.