Kurt Vile releases new single “Zoom 97”

Kurt Vile Photo credit: Eleanor Petry

Kurt Vile has dropped “Zoom 97,” the latest single off his upcoming LP Philadelphia’s been good to me, available May 29th via Verve Records. Album opener “Zoom 97,” finds Vile taking us for a spin on Lincoln Drive, a windy, river-bending stretch of highway between KV’s home in Mt. Airy and the City of Brotherly Love.

Kurt Vile will will head out on an extensive 2026 world tour, including a headline hometown show at The Dell as part of Connor Barwin’s Make The World Better concert series, alongside co-headliners Pavement.

“Jump in my whip / My engine whines / Zigzag my way / Down Lincoln Drive / Puck on my lip, feel I can fly / For a while,” he sings. As Gold Tone mandolins swirl and dubby effects bubble around his vocals, an image of Vile driving with the window down, his signature shaggy mane rippling in the wind, begins to cohere. Kurt explains as only he can:

This was the first song that came together on this record that we knew was real special, like we knew we were on the right track ya know…

I could reminisce out loud but for now we takin it inward… “jump in my whip… my engine whines, yeah… zig zag my way… down Lincoln Drive, yeah…”

See yall out there in the world soon enoughs 🙂

Philadelphia’s been good to me was largely self-produced, with assists from Violators bassist Adam Langellotti, keys wiz Matthew Jugenheimer, drummer Kyle Spence, guitarist Jesse Trbovrich, and longtime Violators engineer Rob Schnapf, the record sees Vile returning to his home-recording roots while also coming into his own as a producer, using time-tested and world-worn tools to fill the album with more warmth than you can fit into the back of a touring band’s van. “I’ve been waiting for that kinda natural element to show up again in my recordings, like the old home recording days,” he says. “I think I finally caught that again, but in a higher fidelity; it’s never overly polished, but it’s still pretty damn shimmery.” He’s especially proud of the sparkly lead guitar melodies he pulls from an old, hollow-body Gretsch Tennessean once owned by longtime friend and “one of my true heroes,” Travis Good of the Sadies.

Kurt Vile 2026 Tour Dates

Tue. June 16 – Toronto, ON @ History *
Wed. June 17 – Montreal, QC @ Beanfield Theatre *
Fri. June 19 – Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground *
Sat. June 20 – Greenfield, MA @ Green River Festival
Sun. June 21 – Asbury Park, NJ @ Stone Pony (North to Shore Fest) *
Mon. June 22 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Smalls Theatre *
Tue. June 23 – Cleveland, OH @ The Roxy *
Thu. June 25 – Detroit, MI @ Saint Andrew’s Hall *
Fri. June 26 – Chicago, IL @ Salt Shed *
Sat. June 27 – Eau Claire, WI @ Blue Ox Music Festival
Sun. June 28 – St Paul, MN @ Palace Theatre %
Wed. July 1 – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom @ [SOLD OUT]
Thu. July 2 – Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall % [SOLD OUT]
Fri. July 3 – Seattle, WA @ 5th Avenue Theatre %
Sun. July 5 – South Lake Tahoe, CA @ The Hangar %
Tue. July 7 – San Francisco, CA @ The Castro Theater %
Wed. July 8 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Novo %
Thu. July 9 – San Diego, CA @ The Observatory North Park %
Fri. July 10 – Phoenix, AZ @ Van Buren %
Sat. July 11 – Santa Fe, NM @ The Bridge at Santa Fe Brewing Co. %
Mon. July 13 – Austin, TX @ ACL Live at The Moody Theatre !
Tue. July 14 – Houston, TX @ Heights Theater !
Wed. July 15 – Dallas, TX @ Longhorn Ballroom !
Fri. July 17 – Atlanta, GA @ The Eastern !
Sat. July 18 – Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium !
Sun. July 19 – Asheville, NC @ Orange Peel !
Mon. July 20 – Saxapahaw, NC @ Haw River Ballroom !
Wed. July 22 – Washington, DC @ Howard Theatre !
Thu. July 23 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Paramount !
Fri. July 24 – Boston, MA @ Royale !
Sat. July 25 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Dell Music Center >$
Thu. Aug. 13 – Paredes de Coura, PT @ Paredes de Coura Festival
Sat. Aug. 15 – Saint-Malo, FR @ La Route du Rock
Mon. Aug. 17 – Hamburg, DE @ Mojo
Tue. Aug. 18 – Copenhagen, DK @ Vega
Fri. Aug. 21 – Trondheim, NO @ Pstereo
Sun. Aug. 23 – Hasselt, BE @ Pukkelpop
Mon. Aug. 24 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
Tue. Aug. 25 – Nijmegen, NL @ Doornroosje
Thu. Aug. 27 – La Tour-de-Peilz, CH @ Nox Orae
Fri. Aug. 28 – Paris, FR @ Rock en Seine
Sat. Aug. 29 – Luxembourg, LU @ Den Atelier
Sun. Aug. 30 – Köln, DE @ Gloria
Tue. Sept. 1 – Munich, DE @ Muffathalle
Wed. Sept. 2 – Prague, CZ @ Archa+
Thu. Sept. 3 – Berlin, DE @ Huxleys Neue Welt
Fri. Sept. 4 – Maastricht, NL @ Zero for Three
Sun. Sept. 6 – Dorset, UK @ End of the Road
Mon. Sept. 7 – Bristol, UK @ The Crane %
Tue. Sept. 8 – Brighton, UK @ Chalk %
Wed. Sept. 9 – London, UK @ Troxy %
Fri. Sept. 11 – Manchester, UK @ The Ritz %
Sat. Sept. 12 – Birmingham, UK @ XOYO %
Sun. Sept. 13 – Glasgow, UK @ SWG3 TV Studio %
Mon. Sept. 14 – Dublin, IE @ Vicar Street %
Tue. Sept. 15 – Leeds, UK @ Project %
Wed. Nov. 4 – Buffalo, NY @ Asbury Hall $
Thu. Nov. 5 – Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall $
Fri. Nov. 6 – Louisville, KY @ Headliners Music Hall $
Sat. Nov. 7 – St. Louis, MO @ The Sovereign $
Sun. Nov. 8 – Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall $
Tue. Nov. 10 – Des Moines, IA @ Wooly’s $
Wed. Nov. 11 – Lawrence, KS @ Liberty Hall $
Thu. Nov. 12 – Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room $
Fri. Nov. 13 – Fort Collins, CO @ Washington’s $
Sat. Nov. 14 – Denver, CO @ Summit $
Mon. Nov. 16 – Fayetteville, AR @ George’s Majestic Lounge $
Tue. Nov. 17 – Memphis, TN @ Minglewood Hall $ #
Wed. Nov. 18 – New Orleans, LA @ Joy Theatre $
Fri. Nov. 20 – Athens, GA @ 40 Watt Club $
Sat. Nov. 21 – Charleston, SC @ The Music Farm $
Sun. Nov. 22 – Charlotte, NC @ Neighborhood Theatre $
Mon. Nov. 23 – Richmond, VA @ The National
Tue. Nov. 24 – Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar $ [SOLD OUT]