Richmond Raceway (Richmond) and AEG Presents will welcome GRAMMY®-nominated British alternative rock band Bastille and the band’s North American tour, Doom Days Tour Part 1, to Virginia Credit Union LIVE! at Richmond Raceway on Saturday, Sept. 28 at 7:30 p.m. The tour is in support of the band’s third studio album, Doom Days, which will be released on June 14.
Tickets will go on sale to the public online at vaculive.com or in-person at The National Box Office at 708 East Broad Street in Richmond, Va. on Friday, May 10 at 10 a.m. Virginia Credit Union and RICHMOND NATION members will receive an exclusive pre-sale for the Bastille concert on Wednesday, May 8 at 10 a.m.
On June 14, Virgin Records will release Bastille’s third studio album, Doom Days. Today, the album is officially available for pre-order. Fans who pre-order Doom Days in digital format will instantly receive the single “Joy” plus the No. 1 Alternative hit “Quarter Past Midnight” and the title track, “Doom Days.” View the official video for “Doom Days” on Bastille’s YouTube page. The band released the first single from the album “Quarter Past Midnight” on May 2018 and the title track to the album, “Doom Day”, last month.
The band’s North American tour will kick off on Sept. 16 at The Met in Philadelphia, Pa., and include shows at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, N.Y. on Sept. 24, Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, Calif., and Virginia Credit Union LIVE in Richmond, Va. on Sept. 28.
Every online ticket order purchased for the U.S. dates on the North American tour will include a CD of the new album. The pre-sale code will be revealed on the band’s Instagram Stories the morning of the pre-sale launch. The artist ticket pre-sale begins on Friday, May 3, at 10 a.m. Tickets go on sale to the public for the concert at Virginia Credit Union LIVE! on Friday, May 10, beginning at 10 a.m.
Doom Days marks something of a shift in perception from its widely acclaimed predecessor, Wild World, which confronted the world and the actions of those in power. Recorded during the course of 2018 at the band’s South London studio, One Eyed Jack’s, the new album captures the need to temporarily switch off and escape.
The album takes the listener on a big night out in search of distraction from the surrounding apocalypse; be that screaming along to the radio in the back of an Uber careening through the city (“Quarter Past Midnight”), getting loved up in the company of good friends (“4AM”), a casual hook-up (“Another Place”) or the end-of-night longing to be with somebody (“Those Nights”). It revels in the bad decisions we make, both personally in our relationships and collectively on a macro scale (“Bad Decisions”), tells a relatable tale of being cornered into a deep discussion about the world’s problems when all you want to do is have a good time (“Million Pieces”), and wryly confronts modern anxieties, taking side-swipes at phone addiction, fake news and climate change denial (“Doom Days”).
The album celebrates real human connections and urges us to keep searching for those moments of elation. Being set over the course of one night allows the band to hold a mirror up to the world using personal, relatable situations. Doom Days ends waking on the kitchen floor hangovers dispelled by a simple phone call from someone special.
“The glimmer of hope at the end of the album says everything,” says Dan Smith. “The smallest human gesture can pull you back from the brink.”
Doom Days bustles with energy and ideas. Its diverse sound takes in gospel, house music, and R&B to name a few genres, and incorporates instrumentation inspired by Bastille’s acclaimed re-orchestrated tour. The album is at times introspective, intimate, political and also perhaps their most danceable yet, with tracks like “Million Pieces” and “Nocturnal Creatives” built on 90’s breakbeats and U.K. garage hooks. Pop culture references, mood-setting dialogue clips and a rolling cast of breaking vocalists add textures and voices to this night out.
Hailed by Rolling Stone as “Britpop’s new crown princes,” Bastille has sold over eight million adjusted albums and amassed more than 6.5 billion cumulative streams globally. The group began as a solo project by Dan Smith, whose birthday is Bastille Day (July 14), but expanded to form the band in 2010. Bastille is made up of Smith as lead vocalist, Kyle Simmons on keyboards, Will Farquarson on bass and guitars, and Chris “Woody” Wood on drums.
Bastille was introduced internationally with the single “Pompeii,” which is now 6x Platinum in the U.S. alone. “Pompeii” and subsequent hits “Good Grief” (2016) and “Quarter Past Midnight” (2018) each topped Mediabase Alternative chart in the United States.
Marshmello and Bastille’s hit single, “Happier,” has topped charts around the world, with cumulative streams exceeding two billion. Certified 2x Platinum in the U.S., “Happier” held the No. 1 position for three consecutive weeks on Billboard’s BDS and Mediabase/Top 40 Radio Airplay chart. It also topped Billboard’s Alternative Songs and Dance/Electronic Streaming chart, among others.
Bastille’s first studio album, Bad Blood, was released in March 2013 and entered the UK Albums Chart at number one. The hit single “Pompeii” peaked at number two on the United Kingdom Singles Chart and number five in the United States. Bad Blood was released in the U.S. to critical acclaim in Sept. 2013.
The band’s sophomore album, Wild World, hit number one on the U.K. Albums Chart and debuted inside the top ten in over a dozen nations around the globe. The album was released in June 2016 coinciding with the launch of the Wild Wild World Tour later that summer. Their music has also been featured on television shows Made in Chelsea, The Vampire Diaries, Teen Wolf, Finding Carter, and on the EA Sports video game series FIFA (2013, 2016, 2017).
The Commonwealth Mall at Virginia Credit Union LIVE! will feature concessions, displays, and merchandise on the day of the event, with gates opening at 6:30 p.m. Parking for the event is located in Lot D, at the corner of Laburnum and Carolina Avenues, and can be accessed through Gate 4 on Laburnum Avenue. Parking is $10 cash only for the public and free for Virginia Credit Union members with lots opening at 5:30 p.m.
To purchase tickets and learn more about Virginia Credit Union LIVE!, visit vaculive.com or connect on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. To learn more about Bastille, visit www.bastillebastille.com.
2019 Virginia Credit Union LIVE! Concert Season
Virginia Credit Union LIVE! continues to bring top musical acts and superior concert experiences to music fans in the Richmond region. The venue has hosted top national recording artists such as Aerosmith, Sting, Bob Dylan, Jimmy Buffett, Dave Matthews Band, Florida Georgia Line, and The Lumineers. This year’s Virginia Credit Union LIVE! concert season looks to be one of the best in the venue’s history. Tickets for previously announced shows are available for purchase unless otherwise specified.
Juice WRLD will take the stage of Virginia Credit Union LIVE! on Tuesday, May 14 at 7:30 p.m. Juice WRLD will be promoting his new album, A Deathrace for Love.
The 1975, one of the most popular pop-rock bands in the world, will bring their North American Tour to Virginia Credit Union LIVE! on Wednesday, May 22 at 7 p.m. The popular British pop-rock group’s tour is in support of their critically-acclaimed new album, “A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships.”
The Avett Brothers, one of the top folk-rock acts in the country, perform their iconic sound to Virginia Credit Union LIVE! on Sunday, June 9 at 7:30 p.m. This will be the band’s first performance at the venue since July 25, 2013.
Wu-Tang Clan’s 25th Anniversary of 36 Chambers Tour comes to Virginia Credit Union LIVE! at Richmond Raceway on Tuesday, June 18 at 7:30 p.m.
Styx, the band that has forged an indelible legacy on record and onstage, will rock Virginia Credit Union LIVE! at Richmond Raceway on Friday, June 21 at 7:30 p.m.
Young the Giant and Fitz and the Tantrums will bring their New Wave modern rock co-headline tour to Virginia Credit Union LIVE! at Richmond Raceway on Tuesday, June 25 at 7:00 p.m.
“Weird Al” Yankovic’s Strings Attached tour, a high-energy, rock and comedy show featuring costumes, props, a video wall, and for the first time, the Richmond Symphony, comes to Virginia Credit Union LIVE! on Thursday, June 27 at 7:30 p.m.
As part of Eastern League All-Star Week, Richmond and the Richmond Flying Squirrels have partnered for the All-Star Country Music Jam headlined by Big & Rich with special guests Cowboy Troy and DJ Sinister at Virginia Credit Union LIVE! on Monday, July 8 at 7 p.m.
JoJo Siwa’s D.R.E.A.M. The Tour will be showcased at Virginia Credit Union LIVE! on Thursday, July 18 at 7 p.m. The D.R.E.A.M. tour will bring the viral Nickelodeon superstar’s youthful energy to the Virginia Credit Union LIVE! stage to highlight some of her certified platinum singles.
Umphrey’s McGee and their memorable progressive guitars with musical styles, including rock, metal, jazz, blues, funk, reggae, electronic, bluegrass, and folk to Virginia Credit Union LIVE! at Richmond Raceway on Friday, July 19 at 7:00 p.m.
Skillet and Sevendust’s co-headline Victorious War Tour, along with special guests Pop Evil and Devour The Day, to Virginia Credit Union LIVE! at Richmond Raceway on Tuesday, August 13 at 6:45 p.m.
Dark Star Orchestra will present their critically acclaimed live show to Deadheads both young and old at Virginia Credit Union LIVE! at Richmond Raceway on Thursday, August 15 at 7:30 p.m. Dark Star Orchestra tirelessly strives for and achieves is a continuation of the spirit of what has now become over forty years of the Grateful Dead’s timeless music.
To purchase concert tickets and learn more about Virginia Credit Union LIVE!, visit vaculive.com or connect on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Richmond Raceway 2019 NASCAR Season
NASCAR returns “under the lights” to Richmond for the NASCAR Playoff Race Weekend. America’s Premier Short Track will start the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs with the Go Bowling 250 playoff race and host the second race of the Monster Energy Series Playoffs with the Federated Auto Parts 400 playoff race on Sept. 20-21.
Tickets for the NASCAR Playoff Race Weekend are available for purchase in-person at the Richmond Ticket Office, via phone at 866-455-7223, or online at richmondraceway.com.
Stay connected to Richmond Raceway on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube, and by downloading the Richmond Raceway mobile app for Apple or Android.