Kings of Leon Gallop Back With Raucous ‘Mustang’ Single

Kings of Leon stormed back after several years of silence on Thursday (Feb. 22) with the raucous single “Mustang.” The song is the first taste of the sibling group’s upcoming ninth studio album, Can We Please Have Fun (May 10), their first effort on new label Capitol Records and first full-length album since 2021’s When You See Yourself.

According to a statement announcing the 12-song album, Can We Please Have Fun is “a document of one of this era’s great rock & roll bands cutting loose, trying new things, and, yes, having some fun.” The collection was recorded at Nashville’s Dark Horse studio and produced by Kid Harpoon (Harry Styles, Florence + the Machine). It’s described as a return to the group’s “gritty origins while simultaneously finding new gears. It’s the sound of a band unified in vision and purpose, freed from any expectations, and the album the band says they’ve always wanted to make.”

The driving “Mustang” is a classic KOL burner, with singer Caleb Followill promising that love is all around over an insistent, thrumming bass line as he howls, “There’s a mustang in the city/ And it’s calling me out/ Are you a mustang or a kitty?/ What are you all about?” while the song slowly builds to one of the band’s signature radio-ready, shout-along choruses.

The Brook Linder-directed video for “Mustang” finds the band jamming out on rooftops and bridges amid a series of random images of a Roomba pulling a bunch of deflated balloons, an urban LARPing battle, EMTs attending to a patient on a city street and men wearing animal masks running through a park with mysterious satchels.

Caleb Followill said in a statement that the sessions for CWPHF were “the most enjoyable record I’ve ever been a part of,” with drummer Nathan Followill adding, “It’s like we allowed ourselves to be musically vulnerable. I love it when a rock band is not embarrassed to admit that every song doesn’t have to be on 11.”

KOL also announced the dates for their upcoming summer/fall Live Nation-produced 26-date North American tour, which will kick off on August 14 at the Moody Center in Austin, TX and keep them on the road through an Oct. 5 gig at the Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater in Bridgeport, CT.

The band cancelled the remaining four dates of their U.S. tour in support of When You See Yourself in Sept. 2021 following the death of their mother, Betty Ann; KOL is comprised of brothers Caleb, Nathan and bassist Jared Followill and cousin guitarist Matthew Followill.

Check out the track list for CWPHF, the “Mustang” video and the band’s 2024 tour dates below.

CWPHF:

2024 North American tour dates:

August 14 — Austin, TX @ Moody Center

August 16 — Houston, TX @ Toyota Center

August 17 — Fort Worth, TX @ Dickies Arena

August 20 — Phoenix, AZ @ Arizona Financial Theatre

August 22 — Inglewood, CA @ Kia Forum

August 23 — Palm Springs, CA @ Acrisure Arena

August 25 — Berkeley, CA @ Greek Theatre*

August 26 Santa Barbara, CA Santa Barbara Bowl*

August 28 — Portland, OR @ Moda Center

August 29 — Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena

August 31 — Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena

Sept. 2 — Edmonton, AB @ Rogers Place

Sept. 3 — Calgary, AB @ Scotiabank Saddledome

Sept. 5 — Winnipeg, MB @ Canada Life Centre

Sept. 13 — Huntsville, AL @ Orion Amphitheater

Sept. 14 — Cincinnati, OH @ The Andrew J Brady Music Center

Sept. 16 — Boston, MA @ MGM Music Hall at Fenway

Sept. 18 — New York, NY @ Forest Hills Stadium

Sept. 20 — Washington, DC @ The Anthem

Sept. 23 — Philadelphia, PA @ TD Pavilion at The Mann

Sept. 25 — Atlanta, GA @ State Farm Arena

Sept. 26 — Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena

Sept. 28 — Chicago, IL @ Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island 

Oct. 1 — Toronto, ON @ Budweiser Stage

Oct. 2 — Laval, QC @ Place Bell

Oct. 5 — Bridgeport, CT @ Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater

*Not a Live Nation Date