Indie pop duo The Bird and the Bee have announced that they’re releasing a Van Halen tribute album, sharing the single “Ain’t Talking ‘Bout Love.” Interpreting the Masters Volume 2: A Tribute to Van Halen will be out on August 2nd.
The album will be in the style of the duo’s 2010 record Interpreting the Masters, Vol. 1: A Tribute to Daryl Hall and John Oates, crafting a band’s classics into a new genre. Vocalist Inara George and multi-instrumentalist Greg Kurstin (who’s produced for Adele, Sia, Beck, Pink and more) rework “Ain’t Talking ‘Bout Love,” from Van Halen’s 1978 self-titled debut, into a lush synth-pop jam that skews closer to the Eighties. The duo previously released their cover of “Panama,” which will also appear on the album.
“When I want to listen to hard-rock music there’s still nothing that hits me like they do,” said Kurstin in a statement. “Every time I hear them it takes me back to when I first found them on the radio, and it felt so dangerous to me—like they were from a whole other world. It would be so great if people who would never usually listen to Van Halen heard this record, and then ended falling in love with them too.”
The Bird and the Bee will embark on a 15-date tour later this year, kicking off at Los Angeles’ John Anson Ford Theater on August 2nd. The opening show will feature Dave Grohl from Foo Fighters on drums and Justin Meldal-Johnsen on bass. Inara George will then continue the tour with a backing band, stopping in Chicago, Brooklyn, Birmingham, Austin and more before ending the tour in San Francisco.
The Bird and the Bee 2019 Tour Dates
August 2 – Los Angeles, CA @ John Anson Ford Theater
August 11 – St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club
August 12 – Chicago, IL @ Sleeping Village
August 14 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Smalls Theatre
August 15 – Providence, RI @ Columbus Theatre
August 16 – Philadelphia, PA @ World Cafe Live
August 17 – Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere
August 20 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
August 21 – Atlanta, GA @ Aisle 5
August 22 – Birmingham, AL @ The Saturn
August 24 – Dallas, TX @ Trees
August 25 – Austin, TX @ Parish
August 28 – Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom
August 29 – San Diego, CA @ Casbah
August 30 – San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop