Ohio-based rock band The National have shared their collaborative new single featuring Bon Iver. The new song is entitled “Weird Goodbyes” and includes instrumentation by the London Contemporary Orchestra arranged by Bryce Dessner. The new song is delicate with soft melodic vocals and a gentle string arrangement alongside a soft beat. The lyricism discusses heartbreak, grief and nostalgia.

Speaking on the production of the track, founding member Aaron Dessner offers, “‘Weird Goodbyes’ was one of the first new songs we made. I was misusing drum machines, as usual, and stumbled onto this beat that got stuck in my head — it felt like something only Bryan could naturally play. We built the song around the beat,” He continues, adding “Matt’s melody and words felt so elegant and moving from the beginning — mourning a loss of innocence and motivation, holding onto memories and feelings that inevitably slip away and the grief we all suffer in weird goodbyes.”

The band is currently in the middle of the UK leg of their summer 2022 tour dates. Their next scheduled show is in London at All Points East music festival on August 26. They will also visit Manchester and Edinburgh for back to back shows on the 27th and 28th. From there, The Nationals will kick off their U.S. trek with a performance at the Moon River music festival in Chattanooga, Tennessee on September 10. They will also be playing in Colorado, Missouri, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and New York before closing out the tour with their appearance at Sound On Sound festival in Bridgeport, Connecticut on September 25. Along the way, they will be playing with Lucy Dacus, Dry Cleaning and Indigo Sparke. 

The National Summer 2022 UK & US Tour Dates
8/26 – London, UK – All Points East
8/27 – Manchester, UK – Depot Mayfield *
8/28 – Edinburgh, UK – Connect Festival
9/10 – Chattanooga, TN – Moon River Music Festival
9/12 – Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre ^
9/13 – Kansas City, MO – Grinders KC ~
9/14 – Minneapolis, MN – Surly Brewing Festival Field ~
9/16 – Milwaukee, WI – Riverside Theater ~ SOLD OUT
9/17 – Maryland Heights, MO – Saint Louis Music Park ~
9/18 – Indianapolis, IN – TCU Amphitheater at White River State Park ~
9/19 – Pittsburgh, PA – Heinz Hall for the Performing Arts ~
9/22 – Boston, MA – Roadrunner ~ SOLD OUT
9/23 – Port Chester, NY – The Capitol Theatre ~ SOLD OUT
9/24 – Harrisburg, PA – Harrisburg University ~
9/25 – Bridgeport, CT – Seaside Park / Sound on Sound Festival

^ w/ Lucy Dacus
* w/ Dry Cleaning
~ w/Indigo Sparke

Photo Credit: Kalyn Oyer