IRVING PLAZA PRESENTS JUTES’ NORTH AMERICAN TOUR: “SMILE, YOU’RE ON TOUR!”

By Charmaine Swasey, Contributing Writer

Alternative Hard rock Artist Jutes jump-starts New York City this past Thursday, August 27th, 2026 with his North American Headline tour, “Smile, You’re On Tour!” in celebration of his newly released third album, “Chin, Up Beautiful,” at Irving Plaza music venue located at, 17 Irving Plaza, New York, NY.

The Canada-born singer began his tour on August, 11th, at Phoenix, Arizona, alongside supporting bands, In Color and Wilt in several acts including at Irving Plaza. 

Other tracks performed from the album include “Dissassociate,” which speaks to the artist’s inner desire to escape from sympathy overload, and the state of being numb over feeling, and “Blink Twice,” which focuses on the spiral from chaos to acceptance to resolution. Like “Dissassociate,” this track embraces a distortive sound that is vigorous, with mid-range vocals that follows a steady drum beat, then slips into full-lung wails piercing through fierce guitar riffs. Both are sensual with an edge that ceases to be snuffed out. 

To mark this album’s continuation of emotional burnout and intensive desire, the artist performed a single track belonging to his debut album, “Sleepyhead.” Verses like,“I'm stumbling like the living dead lately / Hold me 'til the bitter end, save me,” deeply signify longing for close attachment with someone, whilst fighting intrusive thoughts. The new album greatly holds on to this feeling. Especially in his new track, “Icarus.” During his performance of this track, the audience are lifted into a sound that merges grungy vibrancy with ethereal dreamscape. The multi-effect of the venue’s strobe lights emits flickers of white as Jutes sings, “I wanna dive, dive / Into a concrete ocean in the night, night / Wind beneath my wings, hope I can fly, fly /Finally I'm a star, look in the sky.” This matches the sense of “Sleepyhead,” in which the artist reflects his invisibility earlier in his career, to finally reaching fame and sabotaging himself in the process, by romanticizing rather than moving on from his past struggles. 

The beat shifts to a sentimental tune off his new album’s next ninth song on the tracklist entitled, “Take Care of Her.” The artist dedicated this track to his grandmother who had recently passed. His vocals belge out the lyrics, “I lost you, oh, right before my eyes,” strongly capturing his intense love and ache over her loss. Despite this track’s personal message, it is still widely familiar to other forms of loss whether it be a breakup or feeling of displacement. 

Jutes wraps up the night with the track, “Chin Up, Beautiful,” just as the album’s title. It is a dreamy track with slow drumbeats that sound like a serenade, and his soft vocals, succeeded by an upper pitch. Which carries the track’s lyrics like,“The wallpaper's peelin', the cracks are beginnin' to spread / Blissfully delusional,” transporting listeners into the artist's expression of detachment and personal revival. This track’s ending lyrics interpret forced reassurance to ignore overwhelming anxiety: “Turn out the lights, pretend that the monsters are dead (Dead).” 

“Chin Up, Beautiful” is an emotionally charged album with thirteen tracks encompassing gritty sound-waves with a mild caress, to portray a dystopian impression. His North American: “Smile, You’re On Tour!” runs through October 4th, 2026. 

This album is accessible through YouTube, iTunes, and other listening services. And the album’s official Vinyl and CD are available for

purchase through Jutes official merch website:

jutesmusic.com

Header Image by Photographer, Kelsey Swasey

Professional Website: swaseyphotography.com