James Blake has shared a romantic waltz called ‘I Had A Dream She Took My Hand’, and announced details of a 2026 North American tour.
READ MORE: James Blake live in London: hometown hero celebrates longevity with a career-spanning set
The new material marks the latest single to be shared from the Grammy-winning artist and producer’s upcoming album ‘Trying Times’. News of the new record – which will mark his seventh studio LP – was first shared last month, alongside the lead single ‘Death Of Love’.
Opening with a stripped-back, slightly melancholic melody, the track is led by the haunting vocals of Blake. “I had a dream she took my hand/I feel higher than storms, lighter than sand (It was only a dream),” he sings in the opening verse, slowly moving towards the sombre chorus: “Oh, this is love/ Let’s stay up/ Can we stay here?/ She didn’t know.”
The emotional motif is one that is carried through to the album as a whole, which strikes a balance between optimism and unease, and holds onto the fragments of solitude that come in times of uncertainty.
Check out the live performance video, directed by Harrison and Adair below, as well as the official lyric video.
‘Trying Times’ is Blake’s first independent studio album, and will arrive two years after he parted ways with Republic Records. It comes out on March 13 via Good Boy Records, and is available to pre-order here.
As well as sharing a new single, the artist has also shared details of a new US tour, which kicks off in Atlanta on May 27, and continue with two stops at the Brooklyn Paramount venue in New York on May 29 and 30.
Other shows include stops in Boston, Washington, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and more, and a press release states that more live dates will be confirmed soon.
Tickets go on sale next Friday (February 20) at 10am local time. Visit here for tickets.
James Blake 2026 live dates are:
MAY:
27 – Atlanta, GA – The Tabernacle
29 – New York, NY – Brooklyn Paramount
30 – New York, NY – Brooklyn Paramount
31 – Boston, MA – Roadrunner
JUNE
2 – Washington, DC – The Anthem
4 – Philadelphia, PA – Franklin Music Hall
6 – Toronto, ON – HISTORY
8 – Chicago, IL – The Salt Shed
11 – Berkeley, CA – Greek Theatre
12 – Los Angeles, CA – The Greek Theatre
The new announcements from Blake came as he began teasing new music at the start of the year, posting a mysterious video on his Instagram page, under the title, “I think we might be sleeping”.
The new album will be his first since 2023’s ‘Playing Robots Into Heaven’. Since then, he put out both the collaborative record called ‘Bad Cameo’ with Lil Yachty and the ‘CMYK 002’ EP in 2024.
In 2025, the musician and producer played piano on Saturday Night Live to accompany Timothee Chalamet’s performance of Bob Dylan’s ‘Three Angels’, and he also played at London’s Field Day, Brian Eno’s ‘Together For Palestine’ show, and the Choose Love 10th anniversary show.
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