Last year’s most nostalgia-friendly tour that wasn’t built around old white guy racism has reloaded for another fun go-around. This year’s star attraction will hit you right in the memories, too.
The unapologetically titled I Love The ’90s Tour returns for more Pog-friendly funzos with R&B legends TLC tapped as the event’s headliners. This is bad news for scrubs, good news for Clinton-era radio enthusiasts and likely confusing news for R U the Girl winner O’So Krispie. New tracks from the group’s long-delayed Kickstarter-funded full-length are being teased in the promotional material, so that should serve as a not too shabby hook too.
Joining T-Boz and Chilli on the summer-set tour are Sugar Ray dude Mark McGrath, Montell Jordan, Blackstreet, Naughty by Nature, Biz Markie, C+C Music Factory with Freedom Williams, and SNAP! (This sounds a bit like something on your dad’s gym playlist, doesn’t it?) McGrath’s spot on the bill is one worth unpacking. Sugar Ray has been happy to do the nostalgia thing on combo tours with the Everclears, Better Than Ezras and Marcy Playgrounds of the world, so it’s not that strange, but it’s still interesting seeing a token proto bro-pop guy shuffled into the mix. Will his set include just his part of Shania Twain’s “Party For Two” as the big closer? We have a lot of questions.
Officially billed as I Love the ’90s—The Party Continues Tour, the multi-act jaunt begins in Everett, Washington on July 7 and wrap up in Chicago ion September 16. This is a good time to have an extended think about what the inevitable “I Love The 2000s” tour will have in store.
