Kevin Barnes’ long-running art-pop project of Montreal has been through many incarnations over the years, but it started out as part of the famed Athens, Georgia psych-rock collective known as Elephant 6. Last week, the Elephant 6 co-founder and Olivia Tremor Control singer/guitarist Will Cullen Hart passed away at the age of 53. Many of Hart’s old comrades have offered up tributes, and Kevin Barnes is among them. Here’s what Barnes wrote on Instagram a few days ago:

Will Hart was one of the most brilliant artists I’ve ever known. I lived in a house with him in 1992, I was 18 years old and fresh from my parent’s house. He showed me that an artist can forge their own path without the meddling of major labels and managers. The E6 record label was just starting to come together at that point. I remember hanging out in the living room of our house at 210 Sunset Dr in Athens listening to a bootleg of Beach Boys Smile when a box of Always Red Society and Synthetic Flying Machine cassettes arrived. He always made me feel included/appreciated/supported during my fledgling early years of putting out music, and in my mind he is one of the greats: a complete original and a true artistic genius.

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As it happens, Kevin Barnes was already looking at their back pages. Next year, of Montreal will celebrate the 20th anniversary of their breakout album The Sunlandic Twins with an East Coast tour, with cumgirl8 on board as opener. Before that tour kicks off, of Montreal will open next week’s B-52’s arena show in Athens. Check out their itinerary below.

TOUR DATES:
12/14 – Athens, GA @ The Classic Center Arena #
12/15 – Austin, TX @ Radio/East – Holiday Hootenanny
3/21 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle %
3/22 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club %
3/23 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel %
3/24 – Portsmouth, VA @ 3S Artspace %
3/25 – Boston, MA @ Royale %
3/26 – Norwalk, CT @ District Music Hall %
3/27 – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts %
3/28 – Richmond, VA @ The Broadberry %
3/29 – Asheville, NC @ The Grey Eagle %

# with The B-52’s
% with cumgirl8