Beck and Cage the Elephant are setting out on a co-headlining tour this summer, and now it’s got a theme song: Their collaboration “Night Running,” which shares a name with the tour, is the latest single from Cage the Elephant’s upcoming album Social Cues (due out April 19th).
“Night Running” is a thick, sticky tune with a dub-reggae vibe that Cage frontman Matt Shultz and Beck eagerly sink their teeth into, singing and rapping about vampires and x-ray vision. Beck, who co-wrote the song, has been making faded afterparty grooves like this for years, but it’s a newer sound for Cage the Elephant, and they wear it well.
In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Matt Shultz and his guitarist brother Brad revealed that “Night Running” was written years before this album, and that they sparred with each other while finishing it. “Matt was leaving [the studio] early every day, and I got super-pissed and told him he wasn’t trying,” Brad Shultz said. They ended up sending the track to Beck, who sent it back with his verses within 24 hours.
Cage the Elephant and Beck kick off the Night Running Tour in mid-July. They’ll play 30 venues across the U.S. with support from Spoon, plus additional opening sets from Sunflower Bean, Wild Belle and Starcrawler at some dates.
Beck and Cage the Elephant Tour Dates
July 11 – Ridgefield, WA @ Sunlight Supply Amphitheater*
July 13 – George, WA @ Gorge Amphitheatre*
July 16 – Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre*
July 17 – Irvine, CA @ FivePoint Amphitheatre*
July 19 – Las Vegas, NV @ Park Theater*
July 20 – Chula Vista, CA @ North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre*
July 21 – Phoenix, AZ @ Ak-Chin Pavilion*
July 23 – Denver, CO @ Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre*
July 26 – Austin, TX @ Austin360 Amphitheater+
July 27 – Dallas, TX @ Dos Equis Pavilion+
July 28 – Houston, TX @ The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion+
July 30 – St. Louis, MO @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre+
July 31 – Chicago, IL @ Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island+
August 2 – Cincinnati, OH @ Riverbend Music Center+
August 3 – Detroit, MI DTE @ Energy Music Theatre+
August 4 – Indianapolis, IN @ Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center+
August 11 – Toronto, ON @ Budweiser Stage^
August 12 – Saratoga Springs, NY @ Saratoga Performing Arts Center^
August 13 – Darien Center, NY @ Darien Lake Amphitheater^
August 15 – Mansfield, MA @ Xfinity Center^
August 16 – Gilford, NH @ Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion^
August 17 – New York, NY @ Forest Hills Stadium
August 20 – Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center^
August 21 – Camden, NJ @ BB&T Pavilion^
August 22 – Columbia, MD @ Merriweather Post Pavilion^
August 24 – Raleigh, NC @ Coastal Credit Union Music Park^
August 25 – Charlotte, NC @ PNC Music Pavilion Charlotte^
August 27 – Birmingham, AL @ Oak Mountain Amphitheatre^
August 29 – Tampa, FL @ MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre^
August 30 – West Palm Beach, FL @ Coral Sky Amphitheatre^
*with Starcrawler
+with Wild Belle
^with Sunflower Bean