Zeds Dead may have been rained out in New York City this past weekend but the Canadian EDM duo isn’t done with the city just yet.
After thunderstorms forced Dylan Mamid and Zach Rapp-Rovan — better known as DC and Hooks — to postpone their Forest Hills Stadium show, the pair announced they’ll return to Queens on Friday, Aug. 14, as part of their ongoing ‘Journey of a Lifetime Tour.’
“It was a tough call,” Dylan told The Post in an exclusive interview after the original show was postponed. “We were going back and forth all day long, but it seems like all the major events in New York got canceled tonight.”
While disappointing, the situation did not abate their love for New York.
“Oh man, I love New York,” Zach said. “I just moved here actually. That’s how much I love New York.”
For more information about Zeds Dead’s 2026 ‘Journey of a Lifetime Tour’ our team has everything you need to know and more below.
Where is Zeds Dead performing live in 2026?
Zeds Dead will now play Forest Hills Stadium on Friday, Aug. 14, at 5:30 p.m.
A complete calendar including the Forest Hills date, start time and links to buy tickets can be found below
Who else is performing at the festivals Zeds Dead is booked on?
In addition to their tour, Zeds Dead is lending their talents to a pair of multi-day festivals. To make sure you’re in the loop, we’ve got the dates, locations and fellow headliners listed below.
| Zeds Dead 2026 festival dates |
|---|
| Bridge City Block Party Sept. 5-6 at the Tom McCall Waterfront Park in Portland, OR Subtronics, Zingara, Whethan, Dr. Fresch, Eprom |
| Dancefestopia Sept. 11-13 at the Wildwood Outdoor Education Center in LaCygne, KS Griz, Excision, LSDREAM, Ray Volpe, Sullivan King |
What songs does Zeds Dead perform live?
Although we can’t guarantee what they’ll take to the stage at the show you attend, here’s what the twosome rocked at a marathon concert at Denver’s Mission Ballroom on July 4, according to Set List FM.
01.) “Bullwinkle, Part II” (The Centurions cover)
02.) “The Rockafeller Skank” (Fatboy Slim cover)
03.) “Bongo Bong” (Manu Chao cover)
04.) “Step One” (LAXX cover)
05.) “Answer” (Klinical cover)
06.) “Rude Boy”
07.) “Log On” (Dennett cover)
08.) “Do It Like Me” (White Pony, Riko Dan & Flowdan cover)
09.) “Chonky Slonk”
10.) “Adrenaline”
11.) “Heartbeat”
12.) “Hadouken”
13.) “Reggae Jamboree” (The Gladiators cover)
14.) “Ratchet”
15.) “Militant Don” (Magugu & Mala cover)
16.) “Open Your Mind”
17.) “Perception Disorder” (Alix Perez cover)
18.) “In Your Head”
19.) “Blue (Da Ba Dee)” (Eiffel 65 cover)
20.) “Doom” (D:Form cover)
21.) “Xxplosive” (Dr. Dre cover)
22.) “Out of Time”
23.) “Set Me Free” (Champion, Bklava & Denham Audio cover)
24.) “Back To Basics” (Headie One ft. Skepta cover)
25.) “Rumble in the Jungle”
26.) “26 Basslines” (Benga cover)
27.) “Do It” (Phrva & Jiqui cover)
28.) “HOT” (Rhiannon Roze cover)
29.) “Eleanor Rigby” (The Beatles cover)
30.) “Kush” (Moody Good cover)
31.) “The Chain” (Fleetwood Mac cover)
32.) “Good Time” (STVSH cover)
33.) “What Is This” (4B cover)
34.) “Bass Cannon” (Flux Pavilion cover)
35.) “Take Out Your Team”
36.) “Head Crush” (BadKlaat cover)
37.) “Sweat” (snuffy cover)
38.) “6am” (rSUN cover)
39.) “Boston Cream” (16bit cover)
40.) “Eazy MF Finger”
41.) “Badman Sound” (Doctor P cover)
42.) “Hammertime” (Rusko cover)
43.) “BLAOWP” (BLAAP cover)
44.) “Divide & Conquer” (What So Not cover)
45.) “Down Low” (it’s murph & SORANA cover)
46.) “Badders” (PEEKABOO, Skrillex, Flowdan & G-Rex cover)
47.) “POWA” (PEEKABOO cover)
48.) “Full Send”
49.) “Grove St. Party” (Waka Flocka Flame & Kebo Gotti cover)
50.) “Monsoon” (Fly cover)
51.) “Innocence” (Taiki Nulight & NERO cover)
52.) “Pressure Dub” (Axel Boy cover)
53.) “Energy” (Flava D cover)
54.) “Long Goodbye” (MPH cover)
55.) “you’re a star” (Fred again.. feat. Amyl and the Sniffers cover)
56.) “l!isten” (Saka cover)
57.) “Again”
58.) “Rude Boy”
59.) “Blue Mile” (Of The Trees, Barclay Crenshaw & Strategy cover)
60.) “Eyes on Fire” (Blue Foundation cover)
Note: Zeds Dead performed 77 songs on July 4. We didn’t include the 17 songs that were listed as “Unknown” here.
Who are Zeds Dead’s opening acts?
Zeds Dead is bringing a number of opening acts along with them on the road. In the somewhat unlikely chance you’ve never spun their stuff, here’s each artists’ most-streamed songs on Spotify.
ALLEYCVT: “ONE FOR YOU”
Daily Bread: “Moreland Ave Blues”
DEATHPACT: “Chemical Bond”
Dr. Fresch: “Gangsta Gangsta”
Imanu: “I’m Fine”
Ivy Lab: “Orange”
Mary Droppinz: “Drop In”
Moody Good: “Fall In Love”
Whethan: “MONEY ON THE DASH”
A tour built like a movie
The New York stop is part of the Canadian duo’s “Journey of a Lifetime Tour,” a fitting name for a tour that spans more than 15 years of Zeds Dead’s artistry, surrounded by genre-blending electronic music.
They specifically wanted to choose outdoor venues and amphitheaters to bring their vision to life.
“We thought we’d try to go to the next level with this tour and do these outdoor amphitheaters,” Zach said.
There was a heavy focus on creating a cinematic atmosphere, where the concert felt like more than just a musical performance.
“The visual component of the show just kept getting bigger and bigger, and this sort of feels like the natural evolution,” Dylan said. “It’s almost like a movie and a music show in one.”
That movie-meets-music approach is tied directly to the world of their recent albums, “Return to the Spectrum of Intergalactic Happiness” and its surprise follow-up, “Return to the Return (of the Spectrum of Intergalactic Happiness).”
“The build of the show is essentially we created this sort of laboratory, and this large satellite dish where our focus is trying to hone in on this kind of signal,” Dylan said. “The spectrum of intergalactic happiness, in a way where we pull these clips and samples from and try to tune into this wavelength that we’ve been chasing through both the album and the show.”
Zach said the concept is interpreted through “scientific instruments” and sent back to the crowd through static, giving the show a dreamlike quality.
“It’s the whole thing, kind of like falling asleep while you are watching television,” Zach said.
That said, while there is a heavy focus on newer music on this run, fans can expect tracks spanning the duo’s entire career. In fact, eagle-eyed fans will notice that the title “Journey of a Lifetime” comes from one of the first tracks Zeds Dead released in 2009.
“In a lot of ways, in our sets, we’re always trying to represent many different eras of our catalog,” Zach said.
A lot of what they take to stage is also based on previous shows and performances, finding what resonates with their fans.
“I get excited when people are most excited,” Zach said. “‘One of These Mornings’ is always a pretty cool moment because I don’t think we expected that song to really connect like it has.”
Dylan added that they created a new spin on the song for the live show, and it has been getting “a really good reaction.”
Inside the albums
Finding that connection with the music and fans is what led Zeds Dead to take their time coming out with a new album. They knew they wanted to make another after 2017’s “Northern Lights,” but the duo was not looking to rush their process.
“We had been trying to make an album for years,” Zach said. “Before that, there had been different iterations of album ideas, but I think when we started going down this road of integrating a lot of vocal samples and snippets from old broadcasts, it really clicked with our hip-hop kind of roots and sampling.”
That sampling process became a major part of the project’s identity.
Zach described it as “collage making,” with the duo digging through old broadcasts, educational videos, documentaries and unexpected pieces of sound until something suddenly clicks.
“We like to throw a lot of darts at the board, and we try a lot of different stuff in the interim. And then it just kind of felt right when we decided to lock on this project,” adds Dylan.
Sometimes, they are searching for something specific. Other times, inspiration comes from watching a movie, hearing a line or stumbling onto an old-school narrator explaining how something works.
Both “Return to the Spectrum of Intergalactic Happiness” and “Return to the Return (of the Spectrum of Intergalactic Happiness)” have somewhat of the same feel. They both signified freedom for the duo, but the second even more so.
“This one, we didn’t start with anything that we had made for the show,” Zach said about the follow-up album. “I think there was more freedom. And we were just whatever excites us.”
Dylan described it as following a thread and seeing where it goes.
“You constantly feel like you are breaking new ground and then that opens it up to something else,” Dylan said. “That opens up to something else. So you feel like you can keep going down this rabbit hole; it almost feels endless.”
Why Zeds Dead is going on hiatus
Their creative process, and the time and investment it takes to make each track, is also why the duo is taking time off touring in 2027. Essentially, they wanted a break from touring so they can think more about the kind of music they want to make.
“[It’s] hard to make [these] projects when you’re always on the road and always putting stuff together for the live show,” Zach said. “We really think we like to make those kind of projects. So maybe there’ll be a fruitful time.”
Dylan joked that after six months off touring, fans may end up with “an instrumental jazz album.”
Deadbeats and the future of electronic music
A lot of their inspiration also comes from the artists they work with at Deadbeats, their own record label, which is a hub for electronic and bass artists.
“They give us ammo for our sets,” Zach said. “We play all the Deadbeats stuff, and then we give them exposure by playing it. So yeah, it’s cool to be able to be useful in someone else’s journey.”
As for where electronic music goes from here, Zach said dance music will always have a place because “people always want to dance.”
Dylan sees the scene moving in cycles, with sounds returning, getting harder, softening again and swinging back like a pendulum.
Why see Zeds Dead live?
And for anyone on the fence about checking them out, Dylan has a simple pitch.
“There is something for everyone in the show,” he said.
Zach put it another way.
“You should go back over the fence if you are on the fence,” he said. “You are uncomfortable if you think about it, because how can you be on a fence? That’s a weird phrase.”
His final answer was even simpler.
“So come see us or don’t, but don’t be on the fence,” Zach said.
Huge EDM artists on tour in 2026
We’re not done yet.
If you’re hoping to see the best in bliss, here are just five of our favorite iconic acts you won’t want to miss spin live these next few months.
Who else is out there? Take a look at this list of all the biggest artists on tour in 2026 to find the show for you.
This article was written by Matt Levy, New York Post live events reporter. Levy stays up-to-date on all the latest tour announcements from your favorite musical artists and comedians, as well as Broadway openings, sporting events and more live shows – and finds great ticket prices online. Since he started his tenure at the Post in 2022, Levy has reviewed a Bruce Springsteen concert and interviewed Melissa Villaseñor of SNL fame, to name a few. Please note that deals can expire, and all prices are subject to change.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
