Vampire Weekend's Ezra Keonig recently took to his Apple Music radio show, Time Crisis, to make a serious clarification regarding one of the opening acts on the band's upcoming Only God Was Above Us tour.
Despite some confusion, the hardcore group Turnstile will not be joining Vampire Weekend as an opening act. Rather, Turnstiles -- yes, the plural form of the word for automated, one-person sized gates -- is set to open for the indie rockers for both nights of their tour stop at New York City's iconic Madison Square Garden.
The confusion all began when Vampire Weekend's publicist sent out press releases regarding the opening acts for the tour. Some members of the media and fans responded with confusion.
In a conversation on Sunday's Time Crisis, Koenig explained that, "[Vampire Weekend's publicist] got many people saying, 'You had an 's' there. You clearly must be talking about the beloved new school hardcore band Turnstile."
"We had to tell people, first of all-how dare you," Koenig joked. He quickly went into defense mode, praising Turnstiles.
Turnstiles are a Billy Joel tribute band based out of South Florida. Koenig described the group as "America's premier" Billy Joel cover band before correcting himself to clarify that the group are a tribute band. "They're one of the leading lights of the Billy cover world," he said.
He detailed more about Turnstiles, explaining that the band is a bonafide touring act in their own right. "They're not a bar band. They're doing, like, pretty significant touring. It's, like, a real show with lights," he said.
Turnstile, meanwhile, is a hardcore punk band. The group previously opened for My Chemical Romance, but will not be joining the "Hannah Hunt" band at Madison Square Garden. The group was nominated for three Grammy Awards in 2023, including Best Rock Performance for their song "Holiday" and both Best Rock Song and Best Metal Performance nominations for "Blackout."
One X, formerly Twitter, user summarized the wider internet's confusion surrounding who is actually opening for the New York-based band, posting, "Thought turnstile was opening for vampire weekend and that no one caught the graphic designer's typo until further inquiry revealed that no it is in fact a billy joel tribute band from south florida which somehow does actually make more sense."
This show at Madison Square Garden is a part of Vampire Weekend's Only God Was Above Us Tour, which begins on April 8. This start date coincides with the upcoming total solar eclipse. The band will play a special show on that day, which is also Koenig's 40th birthday, but they will break during the eclipse and then return to the stage following the solar event.
The tour will take the group across the United States, eventually wrapping up in mid-October. Turnstiles will open for Vampire Weekend on both nights of their New York performances.
Other opening acts joining the band on the Only God Was Above Us tour include: Mark Ronson, the Brothers Macklovitch and Ra Ra Riot.
Vampire Weekend will release their fifth studio album, Only God Was Above Us, on April 5. The record is a follow up to 2019's Father of the Bride.
