Before there was Ministry, the iconic industrial metal band, there was Ministry, the synth pop duo featuring Al Jourgensen and drummer Stephen George that released With Sympathy in 1983. Jourgensen famously hates the record, has refused to perform any of its songs live for quite some time, and and even charged $1,000 to have the album signed at one point (which he donated to charity).
Then all of a sudden earlier this year, Jourgensen announced that he'd like to re-record With Sympathy as one of the final Ministry releases. Ministry even played "Revenge" a few times live – the first performances of the song since 1984 – and has released a whole new line of With Sympathy merch in their store.
Now Ministry is taking things one step further and has announced they'll be playing a set of songs from With Sympathy and Twitch (the 1986 follow-up to With Sympathy) at the upcoming Cruel World 2024 festival. So if you've been dying to hear these songs live, or just wish With Sympathy got acknowledged, here's your chance. The festival will take place on May 11 in Pasadena, CA, and you can get your tickets here.
"Ministry will be at CRUEL WORLD May 11, 2024 at Brookside at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA!" wrote Ministry of the performance. "Performing songs from With Sympathy and Twitch!! Register now for access to passes starting Friday, December 8th at noon PT."
Ministry also has a tour with Gary Numan and Front Line Assembly lined up for early 2024. Get your tickets here.
2/27 San Francisco, CA @ The Warfield
2/29 Eugene, OR @ McDonald Theatre
3/1 Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater
3/2 Seattle, WA @ Showbox SoDo
3/3 Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
3/5 Calgary, AB @ Palace Theatre
3/6 Edmonton, AB @ Midway Music Hall
3/8 Winnipeg, MB @ Burton Cummings Theatre
3/9 Minneapolis, MN @ The Fillmore
3/10 Madison, WI @ The Sylvee
3/12 Columbus, OH @ Kemba Live
3/13 Detroit, MI @ Royal Oak Music Theater
3/14 Chicago, IL @ Aragon Ballroom
3/16 Toronto, ON @ History
3/17 Montreal, QC @ MTelus
3/18 Boston, MA @ Roadrunner
3/19 New York, NY @ Terminal 5
3/20 Bethlehem, PA @ Wind Creek Casino
3/22 Cherokee, NC @ Harrah’s Cherokee
3/23 Orlando, FL @ Hard Rock Live
3/24 Tampa, FL @ Jannus Landing
3/26 Birmingham, AL @ Avondale
3/27 Biloxi, MS @ Hard Rock Casino Biloxi (no Front Line Assembly)
3/29 Houston, TX @ House of Blues
3/30 Dallas, TX @ The Factory
3/31 Tulsa, OK @ Tulsa Theater
4/2 Denver, CO @ Mission Ballroom
4/4 Las Vegas, NV @ The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas
4/5 Tucson, AZ @ Rialto Theatre
