Starting this week, Kesha will get back to throwing some glitter and making it rain. On Tuesday, the multi-platinum pop singer announced an American summer tour, her first since the Warrior Tour in 2013. She took to Instagram to share the news.
“I’m playing songs you’ve never heard me play before and I may never play again,” the 29-year-old singer said in a video peppered with expletives.
“The day has come that I, now, present to you, Kesha and The Creepies. This project and upcoming tour comes from my deep eternal love of dirty rock ‘n’ roll and country music,” she captioned a photo of her tour poster. “I thrive from making and performing music, and much like a flower with no sun, my soul slowly dies when I don’t get to create and perform.”
The singer announced this news amid long-running litigation involving her producer Lukasz “Dr Luke” Gottwald, 42. Kesha sued the producer in Los Angeles County Superior Court in 2014, alleging a long history of sexual, physical and mental abuse. He sued her in New York around the same time, alleging defamation and breach of contract. In June 2015, the judge in LA put that case on hold because Kesha’s contract required that disputes be resolved in New York.
In April, despite her counterclaims, a New York State Supreme Court Judge denied an injunction that would have removed Kesha from her six-album contract under Gottwald and Sony Music. Most, but not all, of her claims against him in New York were dismissed, though that decision can be appealed and Kesha’s lawyers are trying to revive the suit in Los Angeles.
Following the court ruling, the singer wrote on Instagram that she’d been offered a deal in exchange for a public apology.
“I got offered my freedom IF i were to lie. I would have to APOLOGISE publicly and say that I never got raped,” she wrote in the caption. “THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS behind closed doors. I will not take back the TRUTH. I would rather let the truth ruin my career than lie for a monster ever again.”
Though Kesha remains under contract with Gottwald’s Kemosabe label, in late April she worked with German EDM producer Zedd to create the single True Colors, which she made available on iTunes. The song was released with permission from Kemosabe and parent company RCA, and Kesha took the stage with Zedd at Coachella, marking the first time she’d performed live since filing suit in 2014.
Until she can release her own music, Kesha explained in her most recent Instagram post, the multi-platinum star finds herself “reinventing some of my old songs and some of my favourite songs from my music idols” for her upcoming tour.
Kesha performed most recently in June at Intrigue Nightclub at the Wynn in Las Vegas, which is also where her tour will begin July 23. The 17-city jaunt will end on October 1 at the Mad Decent Block Party in downtown Los Angeles.
