Portugal. The Man Returns with Funky, Mad Magazine-Inspired “What, Me Worry?” Video; New Album in June

It’s been nearly five years since Woodstock, the eighth studio album from Portugal. The Man that was released in 2017 and (finally) helped the band break through on a massive scale thanks to “Feel It Still,” which was a huge worldwide hit and scored the band Best Pop Duo/Group Performance Grammy.

This June, the group will return with a new album, and on Wednesday its lead single was shared to the masses. Titled “What, Me Worry?”, the song is a concise blast of upbeat, funky psychedelia that doesn’t sound like much of Woodstock (or PTM’s vast catalog of earlier albums, either), indicating another intriguing new direction for the band:

The track was produced by Jeff Bhasker (Kanye West, Harry Styles) and Ryan Tedder (Adele, Beyoncé). Said Portugal. The Man lead singer/guitarist John Gourley of its inspiration:

“While recording this album and hanging in LA, we got into a conversation with Jeff Bhasker and Ryan Tedder about how much we missed laughter. The last few years it’s been so easy to forget the fun in what we do. We talked about childhood memories of laughing at the world and ourselves while flipping through Mad Magazine. We missed those days and remembered that we all make music. So we took that afternoon to make a song about it.”

Mad Magazine has always has a strong influence on us, the way they were able to make humor out of just about anything was something that really resonated with us over the past few years making this record. It feels good to have fun and keep your sense of humor about things.

— Portugal The Man (@portugaltheman) February 9, 2022

“What, Me Worry?” lands ahead of a big arena tour with alt-j and special guest Sir Chloe (2/25-3/20) and Cherry Glazerr (3/23-4/17) beginning in late February.

Catch a show:

February 25, 2022 – Pittsburgh PA – Petersen Events Center
February 26, 2022 – Washington DC – The Anthem
March 1, 2022 – Nashville TN – Nashville Municipal Auditorium
March 2, 2022 – Atlanta GA – State Farm Arena
March 4, 2022 – Tampa FL – Yuengling Center
March 5, 2022 – Hollywood FL – Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood
March 6, 2022 – Orlando FL – Orlando Amphitheater
March 9, 2022 – Dallas TX – The Factory in Deep Ellum
March 12, 2022 – Austin TX – Germania Insurance Amphitheater
March 13, 2022 – Houston TX – White Oak Music Hall
March 15, 2022 – St Louis MO – Chaifetz Arena
March 16, 2022 – Detroit MI – Masonic Temple Detroit
March 19, 2022 – Chicago IL – Credit Union 1 Arena
March 20, 2022 – Minneapolis MN – The Armory
March 23, 2022 – Denver CO – 1STBANK Center
March 25, 2022 – San Diego CA – Pechanga Arena San Diego
March 26, 2022 – Santa Barbara CA – Santa Barbara Bowl
March 27, 2022 – Los Angeles CA – STAPLES Center
March 29, 2022 – Seattle WA – WAMU Theatre
March 30, 2022 – Vancouver BC – Pacific Coliseum
April 1, 2022 – San Francisco CA – Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
April 3, 2022 – Las Vegas NV – The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas
April 5, 2022 – Salt Lake City UT – UCCU Center
April 7, 2022 – Kansas City MO – Cable Dahmer Arena
April 8, 2022 – Cincinnati OH – PromoWest Pavillion at Ovation
April 9, 2022 – Columbus OH – Schottenstein Center
April 11, 2022 – New York NY – Madison Square Garden
April 13, 2022 – Philadelphia PA – TD Pavilion at the Mann
April 14, 2022 – Boston MA – Agganis Arena
April 15, 2022 – Montreal QC – Place Bell
Apri 17, 2022 – Toronto ON – Coca-Cola Coliseum