Better Than Ezra Release "Mystified," First New Single Since 2018

Download Single Art // Credit: Bret Pelizzari

The wait is finally over! For the first time since 2018, Alt-Rock icons Better Than Ezra (BTE) have released a brand-new single, “Mystified.” Produced by BTE singer-guitarist Kevin Griffin, alongside Emery Dobyns, “Mystified” — all slashing guitar and urgent vocals — marks the band’s first offering from their forthcoming, highly-anticipated ninth studio album (Round Hill Music). Fans were treated to an early listen of “Mystified” courtesy of American Songwriter, who premiered the song written by Griffin and Henry John Joseph Brill here yesterday (7/17).

Griffin shared with American Songwriter how the song was inspired by a conversation he had with his wife Erica Krusen about growing up in Topeka, Kansas, and later moving to San Francisco, California, after her father got a new job. “That was the seed of the lyrics, taking this wholesome upbringing and then bringing in the seediness and the craziness of the Tenderloin area of San Francisco,” explains Griffin. “Then taking the archetype of the prom queen, the head cheerleader and the football captain and what happens to them. That it’s always not unicorns and rainbows, and then leaving a lot of that up to the imagination of the listener.”

Accompanying the anthemic new single is an equal-parts wild and hilarious new music video. Directed by Grant Claire, the “Mystified” video finds Better Than Ezra throwing it back to an earlier era, with a decidedly vintage feel to the proceedings.

Watch Better Than Ezra’s “Mystified” Music Video

Better Than Ezra are gearing up for a massive 2023: not only does the band kick off its monumental summer tour tonight at Los Angeles’ famed El Rey Theatre, but tickets are also now on-sale for the band’s RETURN OF LEGENDS OF THE FALL 2023 TOUR. For all Better Than Ezra touring details and to purchase tickets, click here.

Announced dates, cities, and venues of the RETURN OF LEGENDS OF THE FALL 2023 TOUR:

November 3 – Beverly, MA – The Cabot
November 4 – Patchogue, NY – Patchogue Theatre
November 5 – Washington, DC – Lincoln Theatre
November 8 – Atlanta, GA – Buckhead Theatre
November 10 – Baton Rouge, LA – L’Auberge Casino & Hotel
November 11 – Dallas, TX – House of Blues
November 12 – Houston, TX – House of Blues
November 14 – Oklahoma City, OK – The Jones Assembly
November 16 – Chicago, IL – House of Blues
November 17 – Milwaukee, WI – Turner Hall Ballroom

Better Than Ezra are certainly keeping busy this summer: their summer trek (which includes dates with Train) finds the four-piece band (Kevin Griffin – vocals, guitar, keyboards; Tom Drummond – bass guitar; Michael Jerome Moore – percussion; James “Jim” Arthur Payne Jr. – guitar, keyboards) gracing some of the nation’s most cherished stages, touching down at Denver’s Bluebird Theater on August 1, before heading East and putting an exclamation point on their summer by wrapping things up at Connecticut’s Mohegan Sun Arena on August 19 alongside Train.

Announced dates, cities, and venues of Better Than Ezra’s summer tour:

July

August 1 – Denver, CO – Bluebird Theater
August 2 – Fort Collins, CO – Washington’s
August 4 – Lincoln, NE – Pinewood Bowl Theater*
August 5 – Moorhead, MN – Bluestem Center for the Arts*
August 6 – Oshkosh, WI – Leach Amphitheater*
August 8 – Cincinnati, OH – Bogart’s
August 9 – Fort Wayne, IN – Foellinger Theatre*
August 11 – Middletown, PA – Vineyard & Brewery at Hershey
August 12 – Richmond, VA – Virginia Credit Union LIVE!*
August 13 – Bethlehem, PA – Musikfest*
August 15 – Homer, NY – Center for the Arts of Homer
August 17 – Derry, NH – Tupelo Music Hall
August 18 – Bangor, ME – Maine Savings Amphitheater*
August 19 – Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena*

*With Train

Since forming in 1988 at Louisiana State University, Better Than Ezra have been on a rocket ride through the Rock world, definitively making their presence felt at every turn. The band exists in rare air among their peers having occupied spots on Billboard’s “100 Greatest Alternative Songs of All Time” and “100 Greatest Alternative Artists of All Time.” Better Than Ezra was a prominent fixture on radio and MTV in the Nineties, thanks in large part to the monumental success of their cherished 1993 independent album, DELUXE, which included standout fan-favorite “Good,” a multi-platinum selling #1 hit on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks Chart.

About Better Than Ezra:
Songs, albums, live performances – some are simply timeless. From their early roots, circa 1988, playing house parties at Louisiana State University, Better Than Ezra have made their mark on the music world in a major way. Yes, the New Orleans quartet, founded by Kevin Griffin [lead vocals, guitar, piano] and Tom Drummond [bass, backing vocals], who unleash hummable melodies, unshakable guitar riffs, and confessional lyrics, have stood the test of time – from 1995’s #1 hit “Good” all the way to Taylor Swift’s famous 2010 cover of the Better Than Ezra classic “Breathless.” And they’re still going strong: the Alt-Rock icons are headlining monumental live shows all year long. Named one of the “100 Greatest Alternative Artists of All Time” by Billboard – and even inspiring a classic Saturday Night Live skit – Better Than Ezra are currently in the studio working on new music for their forthcoming, highly-anticipated ninth studio album set to be released via Round Hill Music.