Jon Batiste announces Big Money Tour with promise of fresh sounds, improvisation and connection

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Jon Batiste announces Big Money Tour with promise of fresh sounds, improvisation and connection

2025-05-16 00:00 Last Updated At：00:11

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jon Batiste is hitting the road again. The Grammy and Oscar winner is launching his second headlining tour, promising fresh sounds for his forthcoming album and material from his latest project, “Beethoven Blues (Batiste Piano Series, Vol. 1).”

Batiste announced Thursday that his Big Money Tour: Jon Batiste Plays America will begin Aug. 27 in Kansas City. He'll groove through more than 30 venues across the U.S. in cities like Detroit, Austin, Texas, Nashville, a co-bill with Diana Ross in St. Louis and Philadelphia, before closing in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 31.

For the first time, Batiste will grace the stages of the Encore Theater in Las Vegas and the iconic Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado. He hopes the tour will offer attendees a deeper connection to him as an artist for the tour, a nod to his ninth studio album.

“Every show is both an origin story and a manifesto,” said Batiste, a seven-time Grammy winner who won an Oscar for his work on “Soul” in 2020. The tour comes on the heels of performing the national anthem at this year's Super Bowl and “Beethoven Blues,” which reimagined the famed German pianist’s work and debuted No. 1 on Billboard's classical albums chart.

Batiste, a Louisiana native, is known for his signature rich blend of R&B, hip-hop, swing, jazz and pop. He's also the former bandleader for the “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”

The multitalented musician will wrap up his intimate Maestro Tour shows on Monday in Los Angeles.

He expects to be joined on the road by his wife, Suleika Jaouad, who is currently facing cancer for the third time and recently released a new book, “The Book of Alchemy.”

Batiste believes his unreleased music can still forge a connection, even with those hearing it for the first time.

“I try to tell the most up-to-date origin story through the set,” he said. “If you come to the show and you don’t know any of the music, or you don’t know anybody on stage and it’s your first time seeing me perform or seen me on television, you’ll leave and feel like you know the songs. You’ll connect with the artist, the human being and the movement. It’s almost like you’re going to see a play.”

Batiste said the tour will mark the beginning of his “next era” of music. He views the live performances as an opportunity to introduce new material to audiences, allowing the songs to evolve through connection before ultimately recording them for his forthcoming album.

Tickets will be available through artist presales beginning Friday.

“It’s about getting the music to a point where you and your community and everybody is acquainted with the sound and feeling of it,” he said. “You’ve explored every aspect of it. You’ve arranged and rearranged, then go record and share it, versus the opposite, which is most often the case. It’s fresh and brand new. Then you go on tour, and you start discovering things in the music on stage you didn’t even know were there in the studio.”

Along with introducing fresh sounds, Batiste said he'll incorporate some improvisation.

“I’m always going to find a space in the show where there's improv,” he said. “That's at the heart of what I’m all about in trying to represent the cultural music that I come from. I really take a responsibility to push forward. This is about bringing people together, channeling the moment and communal expression.”

Thousands of nurses go on strike at several major New York City hospitals

NEW YORK (AP) — Thousands of nurses in three hospital systems in New York City went on strike Monday after negotiations through the weekend failed to yield breakthroughs in their contract disputes.

The strike was taking place at The Mount Sinai Hospital and two of its satellite campuses, with picket lines forming. The other affected hospitals are NewYork-Presbyterian and Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx.

About 15,000 nurses are involved in the strike, according to New York State Nurses Association.

“After months of bargaining, management refused to make meaningful progress on core issues that nurses have been fighting for: safe staffing for patients, healthcare benefits for nurses, and workplace violence protections,” the union said in a statement issued Monday. “Management at the richest hospitals in New York City are threatening to discontinue or radically cut nurses’ health benefits.”

The strike, which comes during a severe flu season, could potentially force the hospitals to transfer patients, cancel procedures or divert ambulances. It could also put a strain on city hospitals not involved in the contract dispute, as patients avoid the medical centers hit by the strike.

The hospitals involved have been hiring temporary nurses to try and fill the labor gap during the walkout, and said in a statement during negotiations that they would “do whatever is necessary to minimize disruptions.” Montefiore posted a message assuring patients that appointments would be kept.

“NYSNA’s leaders continue to double down on their $3.6 billion in reckless demands, including nearly 40% wage increases, and their troubling proposals like demanding that a nurse not be terminated if found to be compromised by drugs or alcohol while on the job," Montefiore spokesperson Joe Solmonese said Monday after the strike had started. "We remain resolute in our commitment to providing safe and seamless care, regardless of how long the strike may last.”

New York-Presbyterian accused the union of staging a strike to “create disruption,” but said in a statement that it has taken steps to ensure patients receive the care they need.

"We’re ready to keep negotiating a fair and reasonable contract that reflects our respect for our nurses and the critical role they play, and also recognizes the challenging realities of today’s healthcare environment,” the statement said.

The work stoppage is occurring at multiple hospitals simultaneously, but each medical center is negotiating with the union independently. Several other hospitals across the city and in its suburbs reached deals in recent days to avert a possible strike.

The nurses’ demands vary by hospital, but the major issues include staffing levels and workplace safety. The union says hospitals have given nurses unmanageable workloads.

Nurses also want better security measures in the workplace, citing incidents like a an incident last week, when a man with a sharp object barricaded himself in a Brooklyn hospital room and was then killed by police.

The union also wants limitations on hospitals’ use of artificial intelligence.

The nonprofit hospitals involved in the negotiations say they’ve been working to improve staffing levels, but say the union’s demands overall are too costly.

Nurses voted to authorize the strike last month.

Both New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani had expressed concern about the possibility of the strike. As the strike deadline neared, Mamdani urged both sides to keep negotiating and reach a deal that “both honors our nurses and keeps our hospitals open.”

“Our nurses kept this city alive through its hardest moments. Their value is not negotiable,” Mamdani said.

State Attorney General Letitia James voiced similar support, saying "nurses put their lives on the line every day to keep New Yorkers healthy. They should never be forced to choose between their own safety, their patients’ well-being, and a fair contract.”

The last major nursing strike in the city was only three years ago, in 2023. That work stoppage, at Mount Sinai and Montefiore, was short, lasting three days. It resulted in a deal raising pay 19% over three years at those hospitals.

It also led to promised staffing improvements, though the union and hospitals now disagree about how much progress has been made, or whether the hospitals are retreating from staffing guarantees.