Photo by Bobby Strickland

Today, in celebration of their first day of touring, Sylvan Esso shared “Sunburn” as a surprise release. The tight, cathartic pop track encapsulates the fleeting feeling of delight and the ever-encroaching reality of discomfort.

“Sunburn” was written warm on January evening in Los Angeles and marks the group’s first release since their 2020 Grammy-nominated LP Free Love. The chorus of the track came to Amelia Meath as she sat on the porch of a house and watched the cityscape become blanked by smog.

The band shared in a press release that “Sunburn” is not, “tied to any specific time or place, but the sting that comes from too much of a good thing.” Meath and her partner Nick Sanborn explain in greater detail: 

“Sunburn” is: eating candy til you’re sick
riding your bike too fast down a hill
when you’re five years old and don’t want to get out of the water, and by the end you’re shivering and all your fingers are pruney and your lips are turned purple
an undertow that sneaks up unsuspectingly
the painful pulsing pink of swollen eyelids leftover after a day lying in the sun
plunging forward without time for second-guessing
produced by Sylvan Esso
for you“

Tonight, Sylvan Esso will bring the track to their headlining career-spanning sets at the Historic Durham Athletic Park, in Durham, N.C., which are set to take place from May 19-21. The series of baseball stadium shows are Meath and Sanborn’s largest hometown shows to date and will see support from Gus Dapperton & Vagabon on May 19, Yo La Tengo & Indigo De Souza on May 20 and Little Brother & Mr Twin Sister on May 21.

Following the hometown shows Sylvan Esso are set to perform more than 30 shows across the country into October. During their travels, they’ll make stops in cities including Dallas, New York, Toronto, Montreal, Detroit, Denver, Las Vegas, San Francisco and many more. During the tour, they’ll see support from ODESZA.

Find tickets to Sylvan Esso’s nearly sold-out shows at Durham Athletic Park here.

Learn more about their amphitheater shows and find tickets here.

Listen to “Sunburn” below:

Sylvan Esso 2022 Tour Dates

May 19 – Durham, NC – Durham Athletic Park +

May 20 – Durham, NC – Durham Athletic Park # SOLD OUT

May 21 – Durham, NC – Durham Athletic Park @ SOLD OUT

May 23 – Richmond, VA – The National!  

May 24 – Ithaca, NY – Beak and Skiff Apple Orchard%

May 26 – Portland, ME – Thompson’s Point%

May 27 – North Adams, MA – Solid Sound Festival

June 24 – Rothbury, MI – Electric Forest Festival

July 24 – Newport, RI – Newport Folk Festival

July 29 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena* SOLD OUT

July 30 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena* SOLD OUT

July 31 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena* SOLD OUT

Aug. 17 – Phoenix, AZ – Ak-Chin Pavilion*

Aug. 19 – Austin, TX – Germania Insurance Amphitheater* SOLD OUT

Aug. 20 – Dallas, TX – Dos Equis Pavilion* SOLD OUT

Aug. 21 – Dallas, TX – Dos Equis Pavilion*

Aug. 23 – Atlanta, GA – Lakewood Amphitheater* 

Aug. 25 – Columbia, MD – Merriweather Post Pavilion*  

Aug. 26 – New York, NY – Forest Hills Stadium* SOLD OUT

Aug. 27 – New York, NY – Forest Hills Stadium* 

Aug. 30 – Philadelphia, PA – TD Pavilion at the Mann*

Sept. 1 – Toronto, ON – Budweiser Stage* 

Sept. 2 – Montreal, QC – Parc Jean-Drapeau*

Sept. 3 – Gilford, NH – Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion* 

Sept. 4 – Boston, MA – Xfinity Center*

Sept. 7 – Cincinnati, OH – The ICON Festival Stage at Smale Park*

Sept. 8 – Detroit, MI – Pine Knob Music Theatre* 

Sept. 9 – Chicago, IL – Huntington Bank Pavilion* SOLD OUT

Sept. 10 – Chicago, IL – Huntington Bank Pavilion*

Sept. 14 – St. Louis, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre*

Sept. 16 – Denver, CO – Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre* SOLD OUT

Sept. 17 – Denver, CO – Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre* 

Sept. 18 – Las Vegas, NV – Life is Beautiful Festival

Sept. 20 – Salt Lake City, UT – USANA Amphitheatre*

Sept. 22 – Ridgefield, WA – RV Inn Style Resorts Amphitheater*

Sept. 23 – Vancouver, BC – PNE Amp* SOLD OUT

Sept. 24 – Vancouver, BC – PNE Amp*

Sept. 26 – Bend, OR – Hayden Homes Amphitheater* 

Sept. 27 – Boise, ID – Fort Idaho Center Amphitheater*

Sept. 29 – Sacramento, CA – Heart Health Park*

Sept. 30 – San Francisco, CA – Shoreline Amphitheatre* 

Oct. 1 – San Francisco, CA – Shoreline Amphitheatre* SOLD OUT

+ w/ Gus Dapperton and Vagabon

# w/ Yo La Tengo and Indigo De Souza

@ w/ Little Brother and Mr. Twin Sister

! w/ Benét

% w/ Samia

*w/ ODESZA