It was somewhat of a surprise when Brandon Flowers, frontman for the rock band The Killers, announced he’d be performing at the 3,000-seat Red Butte Garden in Salt Lake City — a relatively small venue considering The Killers have played to large crowds at the Delta Center.
Tickets for the Red Butte show sold out in just a few minutes.
Now, there’s an even bigger surprise: The singer has just announced a two-night stint at an even smaller venue nearby.
Brandon Flowers to perform at The State Room in Salt Lake City
On Thursday, The State Room — which has a capacity of 299 — made a surprise announcement that Flowers will be performing at the venue on Aug. 28 and 29.
“We’re adding a couple of warm-up shows at Salt Lake City’s State Room for good measure,” Flowers shared in his own Facebook post. “Feels right, don’t it?”
Flowers, who releases his new country album “Thrasher” on Aug. 21, teased that the shows would also include selections from “The Desired Effect” — his last solo album from 2015 — and “Flamingo,” his debut solo album from 2010.
The presale for the shows started immediately, and tickets for the general public go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. MDT.
The pair of shows comes just a few days before Flowers officially kicks off a solo tour in support of “Thrasher.”
Flowers — who relocated from Las Vegas to Utah several years ago — will then return to Salt Lake City on Sept. 11 for his show at Red Butte Garden.
The upcoming tour, which appears to be more intimate with smaller venues, will span across North America, the U.K. and Ireland, as the Deseret News reported.
What we know about Brandon Flowers’ album ‘Thrasher’
“Thrasher” marks Flowers’ first solo album in over a decade and draws inspiration from his childhood in Nephi, Utah, according to a Red Butte Garden press release shared with the Deseret News.
The singer has previously referenced his upbringing in the small Utah town on The Killers’ 2021 album “Pressure Machine,” as the Deseret News reported.
“I discovered this grief that I hadn’t dealt with,” Flowers told RadioX at the time. “Many memories of my time in Nephi are tender. But the ones tied to fear or great sadness were emotionally charged. I’ve got more understanding now than when we started the band, and hopefully, I was able to do justice to these stories and these lives in this little town that I grew up in.”
Flowers was introduced to country music at a young age by his father, Terry Flowers, while growing up in Nephi, according to Rolling Stone.
Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings have had an influence on Flowers’ work, but “Thrasher” takes it a step farther: The album was recorded in Nashville and features David Rawlings, a guitarist who is a longtime collaborator with Gillian Welch; and Charlie McCoy, a harmonica player who played on all four of Bob Dylan’s Nashville records, per the press release.
“As I’ve gotten older, I’ve found my way back to my father’s music — ‘Country-Western’ (as he called it) — and discovered that the stories I carry really feel most at home in the skin of this beautiful American tradition,” Flowers said in a statement, per Deseret News.
He released his first single from the album, “Plans,” back in June. Over the years, Flowers has been vocal about Bruce Springsteen’s influence on his own music, and that comes out in the new song that reflects on life’s unexpected turns.
The Springsteen influence is also strong on Flowers’ newest single, “Tiger’s Blood,” which released on Friday.
In 2021, Springsteen collaborated with The Killers on “Dustland,” a remake of the band’s original 2008 song “A Dustland Fairytale,” and recorded a music video in Utah, as the Deseret News reported.
Flowers previously told Rolling Stone that when he initially finished writing “A Dustland Fairytale,” he sent Springsteen a copy of the song and a note expressing gratitude for his influence.
“I attribute my discovery and absorption of his music with helping me become a more authentic writer,” Flowers told Rolling Stone in 2021. “He helped me to see the extraordinary in everyday people and their lives.”
As his newest music rolls out, Flowers has assured fans it doesn’t mean he’s leaving rock behind.
“This is not me running away from rock ’n’ roll,” Flowers said in his announcement, per Deseret News. “I don’t want to replace my old songs. I simply found room for more.”