Frank Ocean released his first album in over four years in August and in typical Ocean fashion went right back into hiding without any sort of press or live tour. That may change. He has announced his first shows in three years - a pair of European festival gigs in London and Denmark at Lovebox Festival and NorthSide Festival respectively.
His first gig will take place in Aarhus, Denmark at NorthSide Festival. It will be his first show in Denmark since a gig in 2013 in Copenhagen. He will perform on Friday, June 9.
At the festival Ocean will be joined by Radiohead, Run The Jewels, Bastille, MØ, Veronica Maggio, Liss, Bisse and Phlake.
He will also perform at Lovebox Festival in Victoria Park in London. Ocean is the only announced act thus far on the bill.
According to NorthSide's website, Ocean won't be doing many festival gigs over the summer, which isn't all that surprising.
In his recent New York Times interview, it was clear that he was still grappling with the consequences of fame and how to manage the expectations of life, while also going about day-to-day routines.
"It's hard to articulate how I think about myself as a public figure. I've gotten used to being Frank Ocean," he said. "A lot of people stopped me on the street when I hadn't put music out in a while, literally would yell out of an Uber, 'Frank, where the album?'"
The decision to perform in London and Denmark could have come from Ocean's acute understanding of the business side of his music.
"I know exactly what the numbers are. I need to know," he remarked. "I need to know how many records I've sold, how many album equivalents from streaming, which territories are playing my music more than others, because it helps me in conversations about where we're gonna be playing shows, or where I might open a retail location, like a pop-up store or something."
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