Multi-Grammy® and Academy Award® winner Jon Batiste announced The Big Money Tour: Jon Batiste Plays America. A nod to his forthcoming project and second-ever headlining run, the tour kicks off August 27 at The Midland in Kansas City, MO, and includes a stop at Taft Theatre on October 21.
Each night of The Big Money Tour will unfold like a multi-act musical journey connecting audiences to Batiste’s roots, his evolution, and the movement he’s building through music. Featuring selections from his critically acclaimed catalog alongside new material performed live for the first time, the show blends structure with spontaneity and becomes what he describes as “creative church”—a space for joy, openness, and collective experience. “We’re living in a complicated time, and music has this incredible ability to reframe what we’re feeling, to help us keep going,” he says. “These shows are meant to be healing, liberating, and unforgettable.”
“At the heart of what I’m about is representing the cultural music I come from and taking responsibility to push it forward,” Batiste says. “That’s jazz. That’s blues. That’s soul. That’s country and gospel music—forms born from people coming together, improvising in real time, and expressing something deeper. I can’t wait to channel that energy live every night—it’s where the music hits its truest form.”
The forthcoming tour builds on a year of high-profile moments for Batiste, including his powerful rendition of the National Anthem at the 2025 Super Bowl—a cultural event that brought his singular artistry to one of America’s most-watched stages. In celebration of the performance, he released My United State, a two-track project that examines American identity through sound. 2025 also saw Batiste take home two GRAMMY® Awards: Best Music Film for the critically acclaimed Netflix documentary American Symphony, and Best Song Written for Visual Media for “It Never Went Away,” the Oscar-nominated song he co-wrote with Grammy winner Dan Wilson for the film.
Batiste capped off 2024 with the November 15 release of Beethoven Blues via Verve Records/Interscope. The album marked his biggest sales week to date, debuting at No. 1 on Billboard’s Classical Albums chart and No. 9 on the Top Album Sales chart. It also entered the Billboard 200 at No. 64—his highest debut on the chart and his fifth career entry. Beethoven Blues held the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Classical Crossover Albums chart for nine consecutive weeks and topped the Billboard Classical Albums chart for five weeks. Showcasing his interpolations of Beethoven’s most iconic works through an expansive and innovative lens, the album expands the boundaries of classical music by infusing it with spontaneity, soul, and inclusivity.
