“Surgery tomorrow,” Travis Barker has posted on instagram, sharing eye-watering pics of exactly why he's going under the knife, having injured his finger twice in the last month, and with Blink-182's reunion tour looming.
I smashed my finger so hard I dislocated it and tore the ligaments
Travis Barker
"I was playing the drums at rehearsals yesterday and I smashed my finger so hard I dislocated it and tore the ligaments,” Barker had tweeted earlier this month, before following that up with another post on 20 February in which he shared a first image of his distinctly unphotogenic, swollen knuckle.
Blink-182 are - if Barker’s surgeon is up to snuff - hitting the road in March for their first live run with frontman Tom DeLonge since their last reunion ended acrimoniously in 2015. Following two albums with Alkaline Trio frontman Matt Skiba (California, 2016 and Nine, 2019), the band was reconciled when DeLonge mended bridges with bass player Mark Hoppus following the latter’s cancer diagnosis.
“Mark and I have a long history,” DeLonge told Guitar World in 2021. “When he came out with cancer, it was like nothing else mattered. I just wanted to be there, human-to-human.
“Yeah, we’ve argued over the years and stuff, but right now who the fuck cares about any of that? All I want to do is ask him, ‘What do you need and how can I help your journey right now?’”
New single Edging saw the light of day late last year, as the band officially confirmed long-standing rumours of their live reunion. DeLonge has also posted that the band was working on “the best album we’ve ever made.”
There’s no word on how long Barker’s fixed digit should take to recover, with the first of the trio’s planned shows only weeks away, but the drummer hasn't yet mentioned any possible delay and, yes, we’ll be keeping our own fingers (carefully) crossed.
Blink-182’s world tour kicks off in Tijuana, Mexico, 11 March, before taking in North American, European and Australasian jaunts. The full Blink-182 tour dates are below.
Latin America (+ with support from Wallows)
- March 11 – Tijuana, MX – Imperial GNP (Festival)
- March 14 – Lima, Peru – Estadio San Marcos+
- March 17-19 – Buenos Aires, Argentina – Lollapalooza Argentina (Festival)
- March 17-19 – Santiago, Chile – Lollapalooza Chile (Festival)
- March 21-22 – Asuncion, Paraguay – Venue TBA
- March 23-26 – Bogotá, Colombia – Estereo Picnic (Festival)
- March 24-26 – São Paulo, Brazil – Lollapalooza Brasil (Festival)
- March 28 – Mexico City, MX – Palacio de los Deportes+
- April 1-2 – Monterrey, MX – Venue TBA
North America (* with support from Turnstile)
- May 4 – St. Paul, MN – Xcel Energy Center*
- May 6 – Chicago, IL – United Center*
- May 9 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena*
- May 11 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena*
- May 12 – Montreal, QC – Bell Centre*
- May 16 – Cleveland, OH – Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse*
- May 17 – Pittsburgh, PA – PPG Paints Arena*
- May 19 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden*
- May 20 – Belmont Park, NY – UBS Arena*
- May 21 – Boston, MA – TD Garden*
- May 23 – Washington, DC – Capital One Arena*
- May 24 – Brooklyn, NY – Barclays Center*
- May 26 – Baltimore, MD – Baltimore Arena*
- May 27 – Hershey, PA – Hersheypark Stadium*
- Jun 14 – Phoenix, AZ – Footprint Center*
- Jun 16 – Los Angeles, CA – Banc of California Stadium*
- Jun 20 – San Diego, CA – Pechanga Arena*
- Jun 22 – San Jose, CA – SAP Center*
- Jun 23 – Sacramento, CA – Golden 1 Center*
- Jun 25 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena*
- Jun 27 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena*
- Jun 29 – Edmonton, AB – Rogers Place*
- Jun 30 – Calgary, AB – Scotiabank Saddledome*
- Jul 3 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena*
- Jul 5 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center*
- Jul 7 – Austin, TX – Moody Center*
- Jul 8 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center*
- Jul 10 – Tampa, FL – Amalie Arena*
- Jul 11 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL – FLA Live Arena*
- Jul 13 – Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena*
- Jul 14 – Charlotte, NC – Spectrum Center*
- Jul 16 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena*
Europe (with support from The Story So Far)
- Sep 2 – Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro^
- Sep 4 – Belfast, UK – SSE Arena^
- Sep 5 – Dublin, Ireland – 3Arena^
- Sep 8 – Antwerp, Belgium – Sportpaleis^
- Sep 9 – Cologne, Germany – Lanxess Arena^
- Sep 12 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Royal Arena^
- Sep 13 – Stockholm, Sweden – Avicii Arena^
- Sep 14 – Oslo, Norway – Spektrum^
- Sep 16 – Berlin, Germany – Mercedes-Benz Arena^
- Sep 17 – Hamburg, Germany – Barclays Arena^
- Sep 19 – Prague, Czech Republic – O2 Arena^
- Sep 20 – Vienna, Austria – Stadthalle^
- Oct 2– Lisbon, Portugal – Altice Arena^
- Oct 3 – Madrid, Spain – Wizink Centre^
- Oct 4 – Barcelona, Spain – Palau Sant Jordi^
- Oct 6 – Bologna, Italy – Unipol Arena^
- Oct 8 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Ziggo Dome^
- Oct 9 – Paris, France – Accor Arena^
- Oct 11 – London, UK – The O2^
- Oct 14 – Birmingham, UK – Utilita Arena^
- Oct 15 – Manchester, UK – AO Arena^
- Oct 21 – Las Vegas, NV – When We Were Young Festival
2024 Australia/New Zealand (! with support from Rise Against)
- Feb 9 – Perth, Western Australia – RAC Arena!
- Feb 11 – Adelaide, South Australia – Entertainment Centre!
- Feb 13 – Melbourne, Victoria – Rod Laver Arena!
- Feb 16 – Sydney, New South Wales – Qudos Bank Arena!
- Feb 19 – Brisbane, Queensland – Entertainment Centre!
- Feb 23 – Auckland, NZ – Spark Arena!
- Feb 26 – Christchurch, NZ – Christchurch Arena!
