An arena-level touring act that outgrew First Avenue a decade and a half ago, the Killers will squeeze in an intimate, high-buck gig at Minneapolis' legendary rock club on July 13, the night before it headlines TC Summer Fest at Target Field.
The Killers to play warmup gig at First Avenue next week ahead of Target Field show
The band played 7th St. Entry in 2004 on its way up to arena-headliner status.
July 6, 2023 at 6:20PM
Tickets go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m. via AXS.com, and will be priced $95. It's billed as an "evening with" gig, meaning there's no opener.
Tickets also are still available to the Killers' set the next day, July 14, at Target Field, where they will be preceded by an impressive lineup of other First Ave veterans, the Flaming Lips, Death Cab for Cutie, Cannons and Yam Haus.
Interestingly, the underplay gig in Minneapolis' 53-year-old rock hub could be seen as something of a makeup gig for the Killers.
They played First Ave's kid-sister club 7th St. Entry on their first tour in 2004, but then they moved up/over to the Live Nation-affiliated venue the Quest their next time in town, and then Roy Wilkins Auditorium. Yeah, poor them. So this will actually be the band's first time performing in First Ave's Mainroom, though singer Brandon Flowers has performed there twice on solo tours.
First Ave's longtime lead talent buyer, Sonia Grover, is known to be a major fan of the group, and that may or may not have had something to do with landing the booking. The group isn't on tour, so the show also is likely being used as a warmup gig.
Last seen in town to a packed — and rather rapturous — crowd at Xcel Energy Center last September, the "Mr. Brightside" and "When You Were Young" hitmakers put out two albums during the pandemic.
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