Medium Build Releases KING OF HAVING FUN, Headline Tour to Launch Oct. 4
Nick Carpenter's 14-track record follows Newport Folk Festival and Mumford & Sons tour dates.
King of Having Fun, the new album from Medium Build—a.k.A. Singer-songwriter Nick Carpenter—is out now on slowplay/Island Records.
'This album is maybe the best and most important thing I've ever made. I got all my favorite people in a room and we had fun,' notes Carpenter, adding, 'It's a celebration of life.'
On the heels of the album release Carpenter makes his official debut at Nashville's Grand Ole Opry tomorrow, September 5, as part of the 'Opry 100' celebration. The Grand Ole Opry appearance follows an in-store performance at Nashville's Grimey's, also on the 5th.
Medium Build recently wrapped a run of tour dates opening for Mumford & Sons in addition to his performance at Newport Folk Festival in late July, during which Carpenter sat in on performances by Hayley Williams and Tiny Habits. This fall Carpenter takes the record on the road for a headline tour beginning on October 4; a list of dates appears below.
King of Having Fun was recorded live in-studio with Carpenter's closest friends and collaborators, including musical director Paul Rogers, engineer Jimmy Mansfield, 'atmospheric moodmaker' Laiko, a.k.a Jake LiBassi, and more, often approaching each song from a perspective of playing live in bigger rooms and focusing on 'rock and roll moments.' This 14-track record explores multiple genres with country, rock, indie and more, and is Carpenter's first full length album since 2024's Country, which saw critical acclaim from Rolling Stone, Paper, Billboard, The Tennessean, NME and others.
Carpenter previously shared the album's first three singles, 'Armor,' 'In My Gut' and 'Home Depot,' the latter of which is currently climbing the charts at AAA radio. He also recently featured on Evan Honer's latest single, 'pull me out.'
Of the album's newest single, 'It's Not Easy (Falling In Love),' Carpenter notes, ''It's Not Easy' came early in the album process. I was newly sober and fresh on a breakup brought on by my drinking. I got in the room with Julien Bunetta who had written so many of my favorite pop bangers over the years. I asked him what a washed up 30 something could add to the zeitgeist and he said, 'You can talk about pain. You can talk about experience and the lessons you've learned the hard way.''
Carpenter continues, 'This song is about what not to do if you wanna find real love. The cautionary tale about never being satisfied or treating yourself like a human business card. Sonically it's a big swing for us towards pop. We recorded this song 5 different ways trying to get the feeling to match the sounds. I certainly drove everyone insane obsessing over this one, all to end up releasing the 'roughest' and least toiled-over version. I love this song and I hope people enjoy screaming it in their cars.'
Born and raised in Georgia, Carpenter now splits his time between hometowns in Nashville, Tennessee and Anchorage, Alaska. Creating Medium Build in 2015, Carpenter has gone on to release five studio albums to date. He has become a favorite across the creative community, with artists including John Mayer, Zach Bryan, Elton John, boygenius and more counting themselves amongst his fans. He has toured with the likes of Role Model, Tyler Childers, FINNEAS, Holly Humberstone and Briston Maroney, and found himself in a highly coveted slot on Zane Lowe's Artists to Watch 2024 list. In 2025, he was nominated for Emerging Act of the Year at the 24th Annual Americana Honors & Awards.
Tracklist
1. Every Noise Is You
2. Do Something Productive
3. Perceived
4. Bird Woman
5. Home Depot
6. It's Not Easy (Falling In Love)
7. Cone Off
8. Feed the Boys
9. In My Gut
10. Chill
11. Downpour
12. Armor
13. King of Having Fun
14. Thank You, Cook
Tour Dates
September 5 — Nashville, TN — Grand Ole Opry
October 4 — Washington, DC — 9:30 Club*
October 5 — Pittsburgh, PA — Mr. Smalls Theater*
October 6 — Philadelphia, PA — Theatre of the Living Arts*
October 8 — Asbury Park, NJ — The Stone Pony*
October 9 — New York, NY — Webster Hall*
October 10 — Cambridge, MA — Royale*
October 12 — Toronto, ON — The Concert Hall
October 13 — Detroit, MI — St. Andrews†
October 15 — Milwaukee, WI — Turner Hall Ballroom†
October 16 — Chicago, IL — Metro†
October 17 — Madison, WI — Majestic Theatre†
October 18 — Minneapolis, MN — First Avenue†
October 20 — Kansas City, MO — Madrid†
October 21 — Oklahoma City, OK — Tower Theater†
October 23 — Englewood, CO — Gothic†
October 24 — Salt Lake City, UT — Soundwell†
October 26 — Vancouver, BC — Vogue‡
October 27 — Spokane, WA — Knitting Factory‡
October 28 — Seattle, WA — The Showbox‡
October 29 — Portland, OR — Roseland Theatre‡
October 31 — San Francisco, CA — The Regency Ballroom§
November 2 — San Diego, CA — The Observatory§
November 5 — Los Angeles, CA — The Bellwether§
November 6 — Phoenix, AZ — The Van Buren§
November 9 — Dallas, TX — Studio at the Bomb Factory§
November 10 — Austin, TX — Emo's§
November 12 — Memphis, TN — Satellite Music Hall**
November 13 — Louisville, KY — Mercury Ballroom**
November 14 — Atlanta, GA — The Eastern**
November 16 — Columbus, OH — Newport Music Hall**
November 17 — Indianapolis, IN — Deluxe**
November 20 — Nashville, TN — Brooklyn Bowl**
*with Ken Yates †with Bella White ‡with Merle Law §with The Scratch
Photo Credit: Beth Garrabrant
Photo Credit: Beth Garrabrant
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