Arlo Parks plays Vancouver's Orpheum Theatre on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, doors leading to a 7 p.m. start, on the North American leg of her Desire Tour behind third album Ambiguous Desire. Tickets are on sale now.
Key details
- Date: Tuesday, September 22, 2026
- Artist: Arlo Parks - Desire Tour
- Venue: Orpheum Theatre, 601 Smithe Street, Vancouver
- Album: Ambiguous Desire, released April 3, 2026 on Transgressive Records
- Tickets: Ticketmaster
- Status: On sale
Full tour dates
The North American leg of the Desire Tour runs from August 29 to October 1, 2026.
- Aug 29 - Washington, DC - Howard Theatre
- Aug 31 - Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer
- Sep 1 - Boston, MA - Royale
- Sep 3 - Montreal, QC - MTELUS
- Sep 4 - Toronto, ON - HISTORY
- Sep 5 - Detroit, MI - The Lincoln Factory
- Sep 9 - Dallas, TX - Granada Theater
- Sep 10 - Austin, TX - Mohawk
- Sep 14 - San Diego, CA - The Observatory North Park
- Sep 15 - Pioneertown, CA - Pappy + Harriet's
- Sep 18 - Los Angeles, CA - The Bellwether
- Sep 19 - San Francisco, CA - The Warfield
- Sep 21 - Seattle, WA - Showbox SoDo
- Sep 22 - Vancouver, BC - Orpheum Theatre
- Sep 23 - Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom
- Sep 25 - Salt Lake City, UT - Metro Music Hall
- Sep 26 - Denver, CO - Gothic Theatre
- Sep 29 - Chicago, IL - Thalia Hall
- Oct 1 - New York, NY - Knockdown Center
A dancefloor record, and a room built for detail
The Arlo Parks who arrives at the Orpheum this September is not quite the one Vancouver saw at the Commodore Ballroom in March 2024. Ambiguous Desire, her third album and the reason this tour exists, was written in the aftermath of a breakup and largely in the orbit of club culture. The lead single "2Sided" landed in January, followed by "Heaven" in February, "Get Go" in March and "Beams" at the end of that month. Between them they sketch out a record that leans on house and UK garage rhythms far more than the hushed bedroom-poet arrangements that made Collapsed in Sunbeams a Mercury Prize winner in 2021.
What has not changed is the writing. Parks came up as a poet first, and the specificity that earned her that early acclaim survives the tempo change intact. The album's producers include Baird, Paul Epworth, Romil Hemnani and Buddy Ross, with David Wrench handling the mix, and the result is a set of songs that move without losing the plainspoken observational detail Parks built her name on. "Senses" features Sampha. Critics largely came along: Ambiguous Desire holds a 76 on Metacritic across thirteen reviews, which the site classes as generally favourable.
The venue choice matters here. The Orpheum is a 1927 vaudeville palace with a fully seated bowl and the kind of acoustics that reward a singer who spends as much time near a whisper as she does at full voice. It is a different proposition from the Commodore's sprung dance floor, and it puts the emphasis on the songs rather than the room. For a record built partly around nightlife, that tension is the interesting part: how a set of house-inflected tracks reads in a plush theatre where nobody is standing.
The North American leg opened in Washington, D.C. on August 29 and runs through the West Coast into early October before Parks heads to the UK and Ireland, where the run includes London's O2 Academy Brixton on October 20. Vancouver's September 22 date is one of a small handful of Canadian stops on the itinerary, which makes it a rarer booking than her festival appearances of recent summers.
Frequently asked questions
When is Arlo Parks playing in Vancouver?
Tuesday, September 22, 2026 at the Orpheum Theatre, 601 Smithe Street. The listed start time is 7 p.m.
Are tickets still available for Arlo Parks at the Orpheum?
Yes. The show is listed as on sale through Ticketmaster as of publication. Availability can change quickly on theatre-sized rooms, so check the official listing for current inventory.
What album is the Desire Tour supporting?
Ambiguous Desire, Parks' third studio album, released April 3, 2026 through Transgressive Records. Expect a set weighted toward that record alongside material from Collapsed in Sunbeams and My Soft Machine.
Is this a seated show?
The Orpheum is a fully seated theatre. Check your ticket for your section and row, and see our Orpheum Theatre venue guide for transit and entry details.
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Scene in the Dark has covered Vancouver's live-music scene since 2010.
