DEVO on Tour

Often misunderstood, but nevertheless iconic, new-wave synth band DEVO is back for their 2022 tour, marking their first tour across the United States in eight years. Known best for the smash hit “Whip It” (1980), the Akron, Ohio, band is slated to hit four cities across the country. The band has released 11 studio albums, with their debut, Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are DEVO! coming from Warner Bros label in 1978. They would go on to release five albums in the next five years; however, none were able to capture a mainstream audience like their debut. “Whip It” reached as high as No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100, and the accompanying music video was received as a culture shock to the system, sending waves through the MTV generation, which elevated the band’s fame. DEVO is heralded by their fans for concert performances that deliver high energy, alluring visual effects and innovative music from decades ago that still feels fresh.

DEVO in Concert

Musicians Gerald Casale and Mark Mothersbaugh were friends at Kent State University in the 1970s. The art majors, and another acquaintance, Bob Lewis, who was band-member-turned-manager became friends through a similar dark social humor that was often unconventional and offbeat. They agreed on a philosophy that society had actually been undergoing a “de-evolution” that rejected individuality or quirkiness. Thus, the robo-rhythmic group DEVO was born in the late 1970s, and with it a genre of new wave techno-pop. The group had their breakthrough with the film score for the local short, The Truth About De-Evolution, winning First Prize at the 1976 Ann Arbor Film Festival. In attendance at the festival were David Bowie and Iggy Pop, who helped DEVO secure a label contract with Warner Bros. Although their debut album caught on as an underground success, the group was also met with pushback. Some saw the band’s non-conformist style as threatening. Rolling Stone magazine even labeled the group as fascists in an initial review of the album. Despite this, their third album, Freedom of Choice, and its premier single “Whip It” catapulted the group into the forefront of pop music as it was one of the most successful singles of 1980.