The Chemical Brothers on Tour
Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons have reigned supreme in the dance music world for more than two decades, and their live shows just keep getting better as time goes on. Pairing eye-popping visuals and special guests such as dancers and robots with their massive dance hits, a Chemical Brothers show proves they're one of dance music's premier acts, with expertly mixed sets that keep the crowds moving and visuals that keep all the senses entertained. The duo has played major festivals around the world, and those large-scale venues seem to be pushing their live-show ambitions ever larger.
The Chemical Brothers in Concert
Childhood classmates Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons began their journey into music in 1992, when the pair DJed as the Dust Brothers in clubs around Manchester, England. Their first self-released single, "Song to the Siren," was embraced by British techno guru Andrew Weatherall, who signed them to his Junior Boy's Own label and re-released "Siren." The pair worked their way through the UK music scene, touring the world and playing club nights frequented by Oasis' Noel Gallagher and the Charlatans' Tim Burgess. A legal squabble led to them changing their name to The Chemical Brothers in 1995, which was also the year they released their debut Exit Planet Dust. That album, which blended big beat and house with other strains of popular UK club music, was a critical smash (U2's The Edge even name-checked it as his favorite album of the year). 1997's Dig Your Own Hole was the band's worldwide breakthrough, with the pulsing "Block Rockin' Beats" and the buzzing "Setting Sun," which featured Gallagher's drawl, dominating MTV and radio. Surrender, which contained the psychedelia-tinged Bobby Gillespie collaboration "Out of Control" and the Gallagher-fronted fantasia "Let Forever Be," followed in 1999. In the years since, the Brothers have released albums beloved by dance-music aficionados like 2010's high-concept Further and 2019's idea-stuffed No Geography, redrawing the boundaries of modern electronic music and upping their artistic quotient with each passing year.
