Thirteen years ago, the music world was taken by storm when R&B crooner Aloe Blacc and DJ Avicii teamed up to release “Wake Me Up.” Thanks to pulsating, feel-good electronics from Avicii and a heartfelt, powerful vocal performance from Blacc, the song exploded, reaching No. 1 on charts all over the world, and earning multi-platinum status in multiple countries.
Today, the song is a staple of electronic music festivals while also commonly found in pop-music cover sets—and Aloe Blacc is celebrating this success.
Blacc is setting out on a three-city run of shows dubbed the “Wake Me Up Tour.” The artist will celebrate his biggest hits, revisit gems from earlier in his career, share some of his more recent songs, and work in a few covers. After a three-night residency at New York’s iconic Blue Note Jazz Club, followed by a weekend at Blue Note Los Angeles, Blacc will visit the Plaza Theatre in Palm Springs on Monday, Feb. 16.
During a recent phone interview, Blacc explained why this tour is focusing on the biggest hit of his career.
“It’s been a little over 10 years since I released ‘Wake Me Up,’ and it’s given me so much in my career,” Blacc said. “It’s given me an opportunity to be more present, and as an indie artist, I didn’t have that visibility. It’s kind of an homage to having that visibility and being able to make a living off of this music thing.”
Some artists have an inkling that a certain song could wind up being a hit—but Blacc said had “no idea” what “Wake Me Up” would become.
“I just knew that it felt good,” he said. “When we made it, the studio session was just an acoustic session, so it wasn’t a fully finished product yet with the kind of EDM mix that Avicii made. I had no concept of what could happen with it, because it just wasn’t in my world in terms of genre. I was pleasantly surprised.”
Why does Blacc’s celebratory run of shows include multi-date performances in New York and Los Angeles—and then a Monday show in Palm Springs?
“The Stand Together album (Blacc’s 2025 release) was executive produced and co-produced by one of my friends who lives in Palm Springs part of the year,” he said. “Jason Mendelson has an amazing, beautiful, midcentury modern house in Palm Springs, and he suggested, ‘Why don’t you come out and do a show?’ He had some connections to the venue, and we had the conversation, and said the best timing would be during Modernism Week, because a lot of folks will be in town, and it would be an opportunity to have a concert while there’s a lot of energy in Palm Springs.”
Even though the concert is not formally a part of Modernism Week’s programming, Blacc is excited to provide some old-school sounds for fans of midcentury modern culture and arts.
“The Good Things album (Blacc’s soul-heavy 2010 debut) is certainly a throwback, and Modernism Week is all about that nostalgia,” he said.
Over the past few years, Blacc has expanded his efforts beyond music, venturing into philanthropy, and even serving as the CEO of Major Inc., a biotech company dedicated to antiviral therapies and treating infections. In 2026, Blacc said, he is finding more time for music.
“I was lucky enough to find a CEO to help manage the biotech company, so I don’t have to do any of the day-to-day stuff anymore,” he said. “From a philanthropy standpoint, my wife generally is the family steward in terms of our giving, so I can focus on music way more than I was before. I’ve been writing and creating new stuff, but I have a lot of old stuff that I really want to get out, so right now, I’m prioritizing and organizing songs from the catalog that have yet to be released.”
While Blacc is making more time for music, he said a large-scale tour remains unlikely. In other interviews, Blacc has explained that he avoids lengthy stints on the road in an effort to watch his children grow up and spend time with his wife.
“I really do like the idea of making it around the world to present my music to as many of my fans as possible; I’m just trying to find crafty ways to do that,” he said. “L.A. is a destination for a lot of people around the country and around the world, so to the extent that I could just stay in L.A., and eventually everybody will get around to seeing me, that’d be awesome.”
Blacc said he’s unsure what a tour schedule could look like as his children grow up.
“(My children) can pack their own lunches at this point, which is great, but I want to be home, not just for them, but for my wife as well,” he said. “Thinking about being away for too long is—I don’t know; I’ve got to manage. What we did this past summer was we all went out to Europe, and I had shows here and there, but we were all together by the weekend in the same place for a few days.”
Blacc’s stops in New York and Los Angeles include multiple performances, leaving room for setlist shake-ups and fun, but he insisted that the one-off in Palm Springs will be just as special.
“While I have an album that is a bit throwback, and I have hit songs that I definitely cannot avoid doing in the show, I think just playing with the idea of nostalgia would be great, and (I’m considering) maybe even just throwing in more covers than usual on the Palm Springs show,” he said.
Blacc is no stranger to covers, releasing unique renditions of his favorite songs as album cuts, and even putting out 2 EPs of covers (Rock My Soul: Vol. I and II) in 2024. Even with a large repertoire of tributes, Blacc said his performance at the Plaza may venture into “possible uncharted territory.”
“I have a lot of ideas about things that I want to try out from the folk singer/songwriter era and classic rock era,” he said.
Aloe Blacc will perform at 7:30 p.m., Monday, Feb. 16, at the Plaza Theatre, at 128 S. Palm Canyon Drive, in Palm Springs. Tickets start at $64.90. For tickets and more information, visit www.palmspringsplazatheatre.com.