Hans Zimmer announces major North American tour for 2027: "The Next Level" is coming to 30 arenas
Hans Zimmer is returning to the United States and Canada with the major "Hans Zimmer Live - The Next Level" tour, which will bring his new concert production to North America for the first time in early 2027. According to the official announcement by the tour organizers and the schedule on the official Hans Zimmer Live website, the North American leg will include 30 concerts from February 17 to April 11, 2027, with performances in major arenas from the U.S. East Coast to the West Coast and Canada. The first concert is scheduled for February 17 at PeoplesBank Arena in Hartford, Connecticut, while the tour finale is planned for April 11 at Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. Zimmer will therefore travel through a number of the largest concert markets in less than two months, including Boston, Chicago, Miami, Atlanta, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Vancouver and Seattle. The announcement was published on September 17, 2026, and ticket sales begin as early as next week.
According to official information, the first presale begins on Wednesday, September 23 at 10 a.m. local time and is intended for American Express members, while the artist presale is scheduled for Thursday, September 24 from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. local time. General ticket sales begin on Friday, September 25 at 10 a.m. local time. Organizers warn that the details of individual sales channels and presale conditions may depend on the venue, so visitors are advised to check the information for the specific city. Given that the tour includes 30 large arenas in two countries and that the European leg of the production has already attracted a very large number of spectators, interest in individual dates could be strong as soon as sales begin.
New production following success in Europe
"The Next Level" is not conceived as a traditional film music concert, but as a large audiovisual arena production in which Zimmer's music is combined with electronic sound, stage design and extensive lighting design. According to the organizers' announcement, Zimmer performs on stage with a 19-member ensemble, and the concert is designed so that familiar themes from his film scores take on a new, more powerful concert form. The production developed from Zimmer's previous tours, but a new stage concept has been prepared for "The Next Level" that emphasizes the technological and visual aspects of the performance. The organizers also emphasize that the music is not performed as a mere reproduction of film arrangements, but is adapted to the space of large arenas and the dynamics of a live concert. It is precisely this approach that has turned Zimmer in recent years into one of the few film music composers who regularly fills large concert halls and arenas.
In the official announcement, Zimmer said that he wants the audience to feel an energy similar to a major electronic party or a roller coaster ride, adding that every concert represents a new exploration for him. The message fits the concept of a production that combines orchestral and electronic elements, powerful rhythms, solo sections and visual effects. Unlike concert programs in which film music is performed alongside projections of scenes from films, "The Next Level" focuses on the performers, the music and the stage design as an independent experience. Such a format allows Zimmer to reshape, extend or connect familiar themes into units that function independently of the film from which they originate. The organizers therefore present the new North American tour as a continuation of the evolution of his concert format, rather than simply another series of performances of his greatest compositional hits.
The tour follows 50 sold-out concerts in Europe
The North American dates were announced after the major European cycle of "The Next Level". According to data published on the official tour website, by April 2026 the production had completed 50 sold-out concerts in 17 European countries and attracted more than 600,000 visitors. The official website also states that in the first half of 2026 the tour ranked among the ten largest tours in the world, which further explains why large arenas have been selected for the North American continuation. After Europe, the production continues its journey through Asia and Australia during the second half of 2026, with dates in cities such as Yokohama, Taipei, Beijing, Singapore, Perth, Melbourne and Sydney. The arrival in the United States and Canada in February 2027 will therefore not mark the beginning of the entire world tour, but the next major geographical stage of an already established production.
For Zimmer, this is a format that draws on decades of film work while at the same time separating him from the traditional relationship between composer and movie screen. His career includes music for more than 500 projects, according to the tour's official biography, while among the best-known titles he has worked on are "Gladiator", "The Lion King", "Inception", "Interstellar", "The Dark Knight" trilogy, "Dunkirk", "No Time to Die", as well as "Dune: Part One" and "Dune: Part Two". According to the official biography, he has won two Academy Awards and five Grammys for his work, while his compositions have over the years become a recognizable part of contemporary film culture. It is precisely the breadth of this catalog that allows concert programs to connect themes from very different genres, from historical dramas and animated films to science fiction, action spectacles and superhero franchises. The organizers have not yet published the final list of compositions for each North American evening, so it has not been confirmed whether the program will be performed in a completely identical form in every city.
From Hartford through Canada to California and the Pacific Northwest
The schedule shows that the tour will be logistically intensive. After opening in Hartford on February 17, Zimmer will perform at UBS Arena in Belmont Park, New York, on February 19, and at Prudential Center in Newark on February 21. Philadelphia and Boston follow, after which the tour moves into Canada at the end of February with concerts in Ottawa and Quebec City. At the beginning of March, Hamilton and Detroit are on the schedule, followed by Chicago and Cincinnati, and then a series of cities in the southeastern United States, including Charlotte, Orlando, Miami, Tampa and Atlanta. In mid-March, the tour passes through Nashville, Kansas City and Oklahoma City before concerts in Fort Worth, Denver and Salt Lake City.
The final third of the tour is directed westward. After Phoenix on March 30, "The Next Level" arrives in Los Angeles on April 1, followed by Anaheim, San Francisco and Sacramento. The final four concerts lead through Vancouver, Seattle and finally Portland on April 11. For audiences planning to travel from another city or state, such a schedule provides several options for choosing a date, and when planning it may be useful to check in advance accommodation near the selected concert venue, especially in cities where a large number of visitors is expected. Since the concerts are scheduled one to three days apart, the subsequent addition of extra dates in individual cities will depend on demand and venue availability, but as of September 18, 2026, 30 performances have officially been announced.
Complete schedule of the 2027 North American tour
- February 17 - Hartford, Connecticut - PeoplesBank Arena
- February 19 - Belmont Park, New York - UBS Arena
- February 21 - Newark, New Jersey - Prudential Center
- February 23 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - Xfinity Mobile Arena
- February 24 - Boston, Massachusetts - TD Garden
- February 26 - Ottawa, Ontario - Canadian Tire Centre
- February 28 - Quebec City, Quebec - Videotron Centre
- March 2 - Hamilton, Ontario - TD Coliseum
- March 3 - Detroit, Michigan - Little Caesars Arena
- March 5 - Chicago, Illinois - United Center
- March 7 - Cincinnati, Ohio - Heritage Bank Center
- March 9 - Charlotte, North Carolina - Spectrum Center
- March 11 - Orlando, Florida - Kia Center
- March 13 - Miami, Florida - Kaseya Center
- March 14 - Tampa, Florida - Benchmark International Arena
- March 16 - Atlanta, Georgia - State Farm Arena
- March 17 - Nashville, Tennessee - Bridgestone Arena
- March 19 - Kansas City, Missouri - T-Mobile Center
- March 21 - Oklahoma City, Oklahoma - Paycom Center
- March 22 - Fort Worth, Texas - Dickies Arena
- March 25 - Denver, Colorado - Ball Arena
- March 27 - Salt Lake City, Utah - Delta Center
- March 30 - Phoenix, Arizona - Mortgage Matchup Center
- April 1 - Los Angeles, California - Crypto.com Arena
- April 2 - Anaheim, California - Honda Center
- April 4 - San Francisco, California - Chase Center
- April 5 - Sacramento, California - Golden 1 Center
- April 8 - Vancouver, British Columbia - Rogers Arena
- April 9 - Seattle, Washington - Climate Pledge Arena
- April 11 - Portland, Oregon - Moda Center
The schedule on the official Hans Zimmer Live website confirms that there are 30 performances, most of them in the United States, along with several Canadian stops. Starting times have already been announced for some concerts, but they are not the same at all venues and may change. Hartford, for example, is announced for 7:30 p.m., while Detroit is scheduled for 8 p.m. according to information from the venue. Organizers therefore advise ticket buyers to check the official website of the specific arena after purchase, especially information about door-opening times, entry rules, permitted items and any schedule changes. Such details may vary from city to city and are not part of a single tour-wide policy.
Presale on September 23 and 24, general sale on September 25
Ticket sales will be divided into several phases. According to the official tour website, the American Express presale begins on September 23 at 10 a.m. local time and runs until September 24 at 10 p.m., with limited availability and special conditions for holders of eligible cards. The artist presale begins on September 24 at 10 a.m. local time and runs until 10 p.m. the same day, and prior registration through the official Hans Zimmer Live website is required for access. General sales begin on September 25 at 10 a.m. local time. In some markets, venues or ticketing partners may offer additional local presales, so the schedule may differ slightly depending on the location.
Ticket prices for all cities had not been published uniformly at the time the tour was announced. Ticketing systems and venues state that details about prices and available categories will be visible when sales begin, while some locations also warn of limits on the number of tickets per buyer. This means that the final price may depend on the city, section, type of ticket, fees and any packages. For audiences planning to travel to a concert, the most important thing is to distinguish official presale dates from the secondary market, where offers may appear before the general sale without any guarantee that they reflect the official starting price. Organizers therefore direct all key tour information to the official website and local arena websites.
Zimmer's catalog remains at the center of the concert spectacle
Although organizers emphasize technology, lighting and stage design, the main reason for audience interest remains Zimmer's vast catalog of film music. His themes from "The Lion King", "Gladiator", "Pirates of the Caribbean", "The Dark Knight", "Inception", "Interstellar" and "Dune" have over the years become recognizable beyond the films themselves. In a concert setting, such material takes on a different character because the audience is not following a film narrative, but instead the music is built as a sequence of independent performances. Zimmer himself performs on stage with the ensemble, so the format combines elements of a rock concert, electronic production and an orchestral spectacle. "The Next Level" further emphasizes this concept through a 19-member ensemble and stage design created for large arenas.
The 2027 North American tour will therefore also be important as an indicator of how successfully the European leg can translate to the U.S. and Canadian market in a new production phase. Zimmer has already built a large audience there through his film work and previous concert projects, but the announced schedule of 30 arenas represents a significantly larger production undertaking than occasional special performances. The organizers do not present the tour as a retrospective, but as a current project that reinterprets the existing repertoire through a new concert aesthetic. The large number of cities and venues shows that "The Next Level" is conceived as a full-scale arena project, rather than a limited series of special concerts. For audiences, the first concrete indication of demand will come as early as the end of September, when presales and general sales begin for all 30 announced dates.
Sources:
- Hans Zimmer Live - official tour website, North American concert schedule, presale dates and information on the European leg of the production (link)
- PeoplesBank Arena - official announcement about the start of the tour in Hartford, the production, the 19-member ensemble, ticket sales and biographical information (link)
- Prudential Center - official announcement with details of the North American tour and Zimmer's statement about the concept of "The Next Level" (link)