KALEO is embracing the popular “2016” social media trend.
This summer, the band stomp and clap Icelandic rockers are celebrating the tenth anniversary of their 2016 debut album “A/B” with their ‘Way Down We Go Tour’ that will send them to venues all over North America from June through August with special guests Dawes, Elle King, Darren Kiely and more.
“Our tour is going to be heavily ‘A/B’-focused” lead singer lead singer Jökull Júlíusson — aka JJ Julius Son — told The Post in an exclusive interview. “We’ll play every song off that album but put them in different costumes and change them just enough to keep it fresh…but we’ll also bring songs from our 2025 album ‘Mixed Emotions’ into the fold. I don’t like listening to or playing the same kind of song over and over.”
However, that’s not the only way the group is paying tribute to the mid-’10s.
Júlíusson, 36, is also releasing his own brand of wines with very fair 2016 prices (that also happens to be available in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania).
“Price-wise, we’ll have bottles going for $15-$17,” the mystical frontman smiled.
“We’re fighting to keep the price low because I want it to be available to everybody. This is not just me putting my name on a product. It’s a passion project.”
If you’d like to rock out with JJ (and maybe try his exquisite Hot Blood and White Raven vinos), you can catch him live when KALEO drops into New York City’s The Rooftop at Pier 17 on Friday, Aug. 7.
“The Rooftop at Pier 17 is a magical place with its 360° view of the city,” the Reykjavík native gushed. “Being able to see the Brooklyn Bridge while performing is pretty special. It’s become one of my favorite venues in the U.S.”
Sounds as peaceful as the halcyon days of 2016.
For more information, our team has everything you need to know and more about the ‘Way Down We Go Tour,’ Júlíusson’s wine label, opening for The Rolling Stones and his surprising take on American tourists in Iceland.
KALEO tickets
Inventory to see KALEO live is available on all verified ticketing sites.
We recommend checking out StubHub, Ticketmaster and Vivid Seats to find the seats that makes the most sense for you.
KALEO tour schedule 2026
A complete calendar including all North American tour dates, venues and links to buy tickets can be found below.
KALEO set list
Although they’ll likely mix things up on this run, here’s what KALEO played at their most recent gig in Minneapolis, according to Set List FM.
01.) “Bloodline”
02.) “Break My Baby”
03.) “Broken Bones”
04.) “I Can’t Go On Without You”
05.) “All the Pretty Girls”
06.) “Automobile”
07.) “Hey Gringo”
08.) “Hot Blood”
09.) “Lonely Cowboy”
10.) “Run No More”
11.) “USA Today”
12.) “Skinny”
13.) “Way Down We Go”
14.) “No Good”
Encore
15.) “Back Door”
16.) “Rock ‘n’ Roller”
KALEO new music
On May 9, 2025, KALEO released their fourth studio album “Mixed Emotions.”
As Júlíusson told me, they really embrace a number of sounds on the sonically-adventurous, ten-track record.
Things get underway with the muscly “Bloodline,” which bleeds garage rock and blues. Sensitive yet brash, this three-minute bop sets the tone: this is grown-up music that also happens to irresistibly catchy.
“USA Today” — my personal favorite track on the record — is a real musical feat. At first, the song sounds like a vulnerable confessional ballad before exploding into foot-stompin’ electro-funk. Prepare for your hair to stand on end.
Other highlights here include the feel-good anthem “Rock N Roller,” twangy, heavy singalong “Backdoor” and soulful, strummy ‘Memoir” thats’s borderline tropical.
The record closes with “Sofðu unga ástin mín,” KALEO’s stunning cover of an Icelandic lullaby. Good luck not getting choked up listening to this one…until the thunderous climax. What a trip.
To hear for yourself, you can find the always gritty, never boring “Mixed Emotions” here.
KALEO special guests
At all gigs, KALEO is bringing along a special guest or two. To make sure you’re acqauinted with their sounds, you can find each of their most-streamed songs on Spotify here:
Dawes: “Things Happen”
Elle King: “Ex’s & Oh’s”
Darren Kiely: “Sunrise”
Vincent Lima: “Orpheus”
Geoffroy: “When Everything Is Gone”
Jökull Júlíusson interview
As noted above, we spoke to JJ at length about KALEO, The Rolling Stones, Iceland, wine and so much more. Below, you’ll find our wide-ranging chat.
Will there be any set list surprises on this tour?
A medley has come to mind.
This is the first time in my career I have enough music that I just don’t have to play my catalog. I have to narrow it down because I can’t fit all the songs into a 90-minute show. It’s a good challenge.
What was the experience after “Way Down We Go” broke?
It didn’t feel like an overnight thing. Although the song quickly went to number one in Europe, “Way Down We Go” took awhile to gain traction in the U.S.
But then the song started showing up on TV shows and has become its own thing. My favorite moment was when it got included in FIFA because I’m a soccer fan.
Which artists inspired KALEO?
I started playing classical music on the piano as a young kid. So, that was big for me.
Ray Charles was a real inspiration, too.
The standards for me though are The Beatles, Bob Dylan, The Doors, Zeppelin and Hendrix. Throughout my teen years, I went through classic rock but then you just keep exploring and chase ’50s blues back to the thirties with Robert Johnson. These days, I’m in love with Irish music. I love traditional music.
So, when I go to new places, I ask if people can show me traditional music so I can take as much inspiration as possible.
What was opening for the Stones like?
It’s the best and the worst. Crowds of up to 120,000 people and everybody’s there to see The Stones. So, it’s hard to to get a momentum going throughout your set. But at the same time, it’s inspiring to see one of the biggest rock and roll bands of all time still going strong. Just getting a glimpse of that and meeting Mick and Keith is unbelievable. It’s something you can’t say no to.
Is there anything that annoys you about American tourists in Iceland?
They’re not the worst at all. We’re happy to have them. Americans are polite.
It has been interesting living through the tourism boom though because there’s only 400,000 of us and we have about two million tourists a year now. It’s a different country than I grew up in but it is a beautiful country to visit, so I get it.
Where’s your favorite place to play in Iceland?
There are a few. We hadn’t played Iceland in a decade but last year we did a show in the forest that our Icelandic song is about. We also performed on an iceberg, the Glacier Lagoon and the volcano when it erupted in 2021.
Performing live there is performance art.
What inspired you to get involved wine and cigars?
One of my best friends was a waiter at the best steakhouse we had in Iceland. Argentina Steakhouse. Unfortunately, it’s not around anymore. Anyway, at a super early age, we were going with him and doing the wine and dine thing and good food, good wine, cigars.
That’s stayed with me and grown as I’ve matured. But wine and cigars are the same thing as music for me. It’s a great way to bring people together.
Fill me in on the four wines on your label.
We make the wine in Bergerac, a beautiful commune in the south of France. I go to the harvest every October and help with the blending.
Our white Hot Blood (based on an “A/B” track) comes from Limoux. They make some of the best chardonnay. It’s oak-y and buttery but fresh and smooth. It pairs well with fish.
The red Hot Blood is a blend cabernet-merlot. Really smooth but with a little more body.
Then, there’s the white Raven. This one is a bit oakier because it sits on the oak for ten months. Last is the red Raven which is also very smooth and earthy. This one’s very much my style.
Tell me about the unreleased track fans can hear if they buy a bottle of your wine.
The song is called “One More Glass of Wine” and I’ve had it fermenting for many years. It’s just a song I play when we’re having friends over. I never recorded it and everybody was like “when are you going to record?” I think it’s romantic not to record it but I did a teaser of the song, which you can hear if you put your camera up to the QR Code on the bottle. It’ll take you to the SoundCloud and you can listen to it.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Huge artists on tour in 2026
To close our interview, we asked Júlíusson who he likes to see live. Of course, he skewed toward classic rock.
Paul McCartney. I saw him last November. He’s my favorite, of course.
Bob Dylan. I caught him at the Beacon Theatre.
When I was very young, I saw Roger Waters with Pink Floyd. That was one of my first concerts and he played “The Dark Side of the Moon” in its entirety.
I go to Vegas to see Santana.
Rolling Stones. They still sound amazing.
Need even more options? We recommend checking out our 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]
