After a seven‑year absence from the road, Radiohead have returned in emphatic fashion with a new European tour. Their opening show took place on 4 November 2025 in Madrid, kicking off what appears to be a tightly scheduled run of around 20 concerts across major European cities including London, Berlin, Bologna and Copenhagen.
For loyal fans, this tour is more than just a comeback—it’s a statement. The setlist for the night ran to 25 songs, opening with “Let Down” and weaving together landmark tracks such as “2 + 2 = 5”, “Bloom”, “Lucky”, “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi” and the encore staple “Paranoid Android”. The breadth of the selection underscores the band’s willingness to revisit all eras of their catalog rather than stay anchored in one particular album cycle.
Behind the scenes, bassist Colin Greenwood revealed that Radiohead took an unusually fluid approach to this tour’s planning, narrowing down an initial pool of approximately 70 songs and embracing what he described as a “busking attitude”. The implication is that each night could bring changes in song order, surprises and possibly even new material—a departure from the more rigid theatrical setlists of many arena acts.
This tour is particularly significant because it marks the band’s first live performances since their 2018 dates supporting A Moon Shaped Pool. In the intervening years, members pursued side‑projects: Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood focused on their band The Smile and film work, Ed O’Brien and Phil Selway released solo albums, and the rhythm section kept busy with other endeavors. Their return to the stage now feels less like a commercial cycle and more like a recalibrated artistic move.
From the concert’s vantage, beginning the show in the round at Madrid’s Movistar Arena reflects the band’s desire to re‑engage with fans in a more immersive way. The setlist spanning multiple generations of material underscores that this is not a nostalgia trip—it’s a living catalogue of a band still questioning, evolving and engaging.
For attendees, the expectation is high: no guarantee of the same show twice, and an implied readiness by the band to shift gears. For the broader music world, Radiohead’s return reminds us why they’ve been a reference point for innovation in alternative rock for decades.