The OK Orchestra Tour was the fifth concert tour by the American pop band AJR, supporting their fourth studio album, OK Orchestra (2021). 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 (2017) and Neotheater (2019).
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 "Bummerland" "3 O'Clock Things" "Adventure Is Out There" "Weak" "Dear Winter" / "The Trick" "Christmas in June" "Ordinaryish People" "Karma" Interlude ("Come Hang Out" / "Netflix Trip" / "Birthday Party" / "All My Favorite Songs" / "The Green and the Town" / "Don't Throw Out My Legos" / "Break My Face" / "I'm Ready" / "Humpty Dumpty") "Joe" "Record Player" "World's Smallest Violin" "100 Bad Days" How We Made / "Bang!" "My Play" "Burn the House Down"
Encore
2022 leg "Bummerland" "Karma" "3 O'Clock Things" "Bang!" "Dear Winter" / "The Trick "Don't Throw Out My Legos" "Ordinaryish People" "100 Bad Days" Interlude ("Next Up Forever" / "Netflix Trip" / "Birthday Party" / "Record Player" / "The Green and the Town" / "I'm Ready" / "Break My Face" / "Christmas in June" / "Turning Out") "Joe" "I Won't" "World's Smallest Violin" "Humpty Dumpty" How We Made / "Weak" "The Good Part" "Burn the House Down"
Encore
Tour dates List of 2021 concerts Date (2021) City Country Venue Opening act Attendance RevenueSeptember 7MadisonUnited StatesThe Sylvee Daisy the GreatSasha Alex Sloan2,352 / 2,413$140,938September 8Grand RapidsDeltaPlex Arena & Conference Center September 12PeoriaPeoria Civic Center2,986 / 6,059$155,895September 14Des MoinesWells Fargo Arena rowspan="7" rowspan="7" September 15WichitaHartman ArenaSeptember 19NorfolkAtlantic Union Bank PavilionSeptember 23AlbanyPalace TheatreSeptember 24PortlandCross Insurance ArenaSeptember 25WallingfordToyota Oakdale TheatreSeptember 28LouisvillePalace TheatreOctober 1JacksonvilleDaily's Place3,817 / 5,237$168,183
List of 2022 concerts Date (2022) City Country Venue Opening act Attendance RevenueApril 28DallasUnited StatesToyota Music FactoryGayle8,036 / 8,228$356,222April 29AustinCircuit of the Americas April 30HoustonCynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion7,560 / 16,087$359,274May 3OrlandoAddition Financial Arena6,251 / 6,251$363,689May 4TampaMidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre rowspan="2" rowspan="2" May 6AtlantaAmeris Bank AmphitheatreMay 7RaleighRed Hat Amphitheater5,609 / 5,800$267,625May 8CharlottePNC Music Pavilion rowspan="2" rowspan="2" May 11ClevelandWolstein CenterMay 13ColumbusValue City Arena7,182 / 7,436$405,855May 14Washington, D.C.Merriweather Post Pavilion14,857 / 15,000$491,065May 15PhiladelphiaTD Pavilion at the Mann11,723 / 12,035$490,245May 17CincinnatiRiverbend Music Center May 18PittsburghPetersen Events Center6,286 / 8,025$354,821May 20MansfieldXfinity CenterGayleBlue Man Group May 21New York CityForest Hills Stadium11,328 / 12,650$660,336May 27DetroitPine Knob Music TheatreBoyWithUke13,920 / 14,929$451,889May 28IndianapolisRuoff Music Center May 29NashvilleAscend Amphitheater6,830 / 6,830$253,611May 31St. LouisHollywood Casino Amphitheatre June 1Kansas CityStarlight Theatre7,178 / 7,262$334,486June 3ChicagoHollywood Casino AmphitheatreBoyWithUkeBlue Man Group June 4MilwaukeeAmerican Family Insurance AmphitheaterBoyWithUke10,802 / 23,410$563,656June 5MinneapolisMinneapolis Armory6,543 / 6,877$315,649June 7Oklahoma CityOklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden6,000 / 6,000$264,707June 8OmahaBaxter Arena June 10DenverFiddler's Green Amphitheatre16,661 / 16,661$624,947June 11Salt Lake CityUSANA Amphitheatre19,416 / 20,097$569,668June 12BoiseFord Idaho Center June 14SeattleWhite River Amphitheatre8,850 / 9,326$366,943June 15PortlandRV Inn Style Resorts Amphitheater6,852 / 7,413$405,586June 17San FranciscoConcord Pavilion10,605 / 12,097$354,713June 19IrvineFivePoint AmphitheatreBoyWithUkeBlue Man Group10,863 / 11,695$345,912June 21PhoenixAk-Chin PavilionBoyWithUke rowspan="2" rowspan="2" June 22San DiegoPetco ParkJune 24Las VegasCosmopolitan of Las VegasBoyWithUkeBlue Man Group3,267 / 3,267$165,284June 26HonoluluNeal S. Blaisdell Center rowspan="3" rowspan="3" August 19MelbourneAustraliaPalais TheatreAlexander 23August 21BrisbaneFortitude Music HallAugust 23SydneyHordern Pavilion3,257 / 5,550$132,734August 27AucklandNew ZealandSpark Arena2,002 / 3,477$81,071August 28WellingtonMichael Fowler Centre September 25DublinIrelandOlympia TheatreRyan Mack1,602 / 1,615$43,950September 261,613 / 1,613$44,258September 28GlasgowScotlandO2 Academy Glasgow2,243 / 2,550$55,157September 29ManchesterEnglandO2 Apollo Manchester rowspan="7" rowspan="7" October 1LondonBrixton AcademyOctober 2BirminghamO2 Academy BirminghamOctober 4LeedsO2 Academy LeedsOctober 5NottinghamRock CityOctober 7SouthamptonSouthampton GuildhallOctober 9ParisFranceLe TrianonOctober 11BrusselsBelgiumAncienne Belgique1,506 / 1,935$38,309October 12CologneGermanyE-Werk1,891 / 2,000$55,581October 13TilburgNetherlandsPoppodium 013 October 14MunichGermanyNeue Theaterfabrik1,400 / 1,400$41,149October 16ZurichSwitzerlandX-Tra995 / 1,840$50,731October 17MilanItalyAlcatraz October 19BerlinGermanyHuxley's Neue Welt1,566 / 1,600$46,028October 20WarsawPolandProgresja
Cancelled dates List of cancelled concerts, showing date, city, country, venue and reason for cancellation Date City Country Venue ReasonSeptember 13, 2021Oklahoma CityUnited StatesZoo AmphitheatreCOVID-19 safety restrictions, rescheduled to June 2022May 10, 2022CincinnatiRiverbend Music CenterDanger of flooding, rescheduled to one week laterOctober 22, 2022MoscowRussia1930 Moscow Concert HallRussian invasion of Ukraine
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