Arcade Fire announces surprise Ukraine benefit show in New Orleans

Arcade Fire has been teasing a new album to follow up its polarizing 2017 record Everything Now for a while now. Though the band hasn’t made a formal announcement of when new music is coming, Arcade Fire will give fans a first taste of the new era at a surprise show today (March 14) at New Orleans’ Toulouse Theatre.

The show, that was announced at 12 a.m. ET on social media, will have all of its proceeds go to the Plus 1 Ukraine Relief Fund. There’s no set price on tickets, and instead, fans can pay what they can.

Fans who live in New Orleans can get wristbands at the venue door at 10 a.m. CT, with the specification that only one wristband guaranteeing entry will be given per person who purchases a ticket. Pianist Rickie Monie will be opening the show. Doors open at 7:30 p.m.

As for when fans who can’t attend the New Orleans show can expect new music, it looks like it’s coming very soon. The band recently shared a snippet of a song on its site’s contact page; the clip plays when you click on the doodle of an eye with a speech bubble that says “we.” Fans also uncovered some hidden clues of the next album on the band’s site, including the sheet music for a song hidden in the coding.

Additionally, Arcade Fire also sent some fans a cryptic postcard with the same sheet music, accompanied by the words “WE missed you.” The band’s Instagram page also removed all posts, and swapped the main image with the same doodle of an eye, but this time it says “I.”

For this album cycle, there is no fake Stereogum this time around, no cereal, or any other cringey publicity stunts. The band seems genuinely excited to share new music and thankfully, the first reveal is for a good cause.