Soul/R&B singer-songwriter Leon Bridges announced 30 North American dates Thursday (Oct 8) for the Happiness Anytime Tour, a run from April through September 2027. The trek includes his first headlining show at Madison Square Garden on May 1, plus arena nights at Scotiabank in Toronto and Dickies in his hometown of Fort Worth. The acts booked to support him come almost entirely from soul's independent circuit, including Daptone Records' The Womack Sisters, Big Crown's El Michels Affair and the London band Kokoroko.

The tour supports Happiness Anytime, his fifth solo album, a 12-song Columbia release that arrived Sept. 25. The rollout began July 17 with "Light The Way," "Tears of Joy," "Illusion" and "Your Love Is Electric." Bridges cut the record in Los Angeles with J Lloyd-Watson and Lydia Kitto of Jungle. Pino Palladino played bass on sessions at Chaplin Recording Studios, details HitsCulture laid out in New Music Friday for Sept. 25.

The Fort Worth show on April 23 carries the most family history of any night on the run. BG, Zeimani and Kucha Womack are the daughters of Cecil Womack and Linda Cooke, the married duo behind Womack & Womack. That makes Sam Cooke their grandfather and Bobby Womack their uncle. Daptone announced their deal in February with the single "You Went Away Too Long," and their self-titled debut followed Aug. 14. Zeimani told Spin the sisters are "doing it for them and carrying on their journey."

Bridges built his 2015 debut Coming Home on clean electric guitar, brushed drums and a tenor that stays inside the melody. Cooke worked with the same restraint on his early-1960s singles, so the hometown bill puts the source material on the same stage as the student. Singer Mari Froes also plays that night and the other early arena dates.

The Garden show on May 1 pairs Froes with El Michels Affair, the band led by Leon Michels. The multi-instrumentalist played in the early Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings lineup before co-founding Big Crown Records in New York. In recent years he has produced well outside the retro lane, with credits on Norah Jones' Visions and Clairo's Charm. A Garden crowd waiting on a Columbia headliner will hear a Big Crown band first.

Daptone and Big Crown belong to a small group of independents that still press full-length soul records for buyers who want them on vinyl. Colemine Records works the same tier, and it put out Thee Sinseers and Joey Quiñones' Love Stories last month, which HitsCulture covered in New Music Friday for Sept. 18.

Toronto on April 27 adds British singer-songwriter Rachel Chinouriri to the bill with Froes. The tour breaks after the spring dates and resumes July 16 in Charlotte. From there Kokoroko, the London octet led by trumpeter Sheila Maurice-Grey, holds the opening slot for July and August. That stretch covers Atlanta, Boston, Philadelphia and Red Rocks outside Denver, then two nights in Calgary and stops in Montana, Iowa and Indianapolis.

Peter Cat Recording Co., the New Delhi band, opens the September dates through the Midwest and South. Nashville, Austin and Houston are among the last stops before the Sept. 29 closer in Phoenix. The North American run opens April 7 at The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, after Bridges plays festival dates in South America in March.

One dollar from every ticket sold for the headlining concerts goes to The Big Good, the nonprofit Bridges co-founded with former TCU football coach Gary Patterson. The organization supports groups serving North Texas. The artist presale opens Tuesday, Oct. 13, at 10 a.m. local time, and venue and local presales follow Wednesday, Oct. 14. The general on-sale starts Friday, Oct. 16, through Ticketmaster and AXS.

Bridges spent his first decade being compared to soul singers who were gone before he was born. The 2027 bill reads as his answer, a list of working bands that are making that music now. New York gets the clearest version of it on May 1, when a Big Crown band opens the biggest room he has ever headlined.

Happiness Anytime Tour Dates:

April 7: Las Vegas, NV, The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan

April 23: Fort Worth, TX, Dickies Arena (with The Womack Sisters and Mari Froes)

April 27: Toronto, ON, Scotiabank Arena (with Rachel Chinouriri and Mari Froes)

May 1: New York, NY, Madison Square Garden (with El Michels Affair and Mari Froes)

July 16: Charlotte, NC, Skyla Credit Union Amphitheatre (with Kokoroko)

July 17: Atlanta, GA, Ameris Bank Amphitheatre (with Kokoroko)

July 18: St. Augustine, FL, The Saint Augustine Amphitheatre (with Kokoroko)

July 21: Wilmington, NC, Live Oak Bank Pavilion (with Kokoroko)

July 23: Columbia, MD, Merriweather Post Pavilion (with Kokoroko)

July 24: Boston, MA, MGM Music Hall at Fenway (with Kokoroko)

July 28: Philadelphia, PA, TD Pavilion at Highmark Mann (with Kokoroko)

Aug. 3: Morrison, CO, Red Rocks Amphitheatre (with Kokoroko)

Aug. 12: Bend, OR, Hayden Homes Amphitheater (with Kokoroko)

Aug. 13: Seattle, WA, Climate Pledge Arena (with Kokoroko)

Aug. 14: Vancouver, BC, Freedom Mobile Arch (with Kokoroko)

Aug. 17: Edmonton, AB, Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium (with Kokoroko)

Aug. 18: Calgary, AB, Event Centre at Grey Eagle Resort and Casino (with Kokoroko)

Aug. 19: Calgary, AB, Event Centre at Grey Eagle Resort and Casino (with Kokoroko)

Aug. 21: Bonner, MT, KettleHouse Amphitheater (with Kokoroko)

Aug. 25: Waukee, IA, Vibrant Music Hall (with Kokoroko)

Aug. 26: Indianapolis, IN, Everwise Amphitheater (with Kokoroko)

Sept. 14: Columbus, OH, KEMBA Live! Outdoor (with Peter Cat Recording Co.)

Sept. 15: Milwaukee, WI, Landmark Credit Union Live (with Peter Cat Recording Co.)

Sept. 17: Minneapolis, MN, The Armory (with Peter Cat Recording Co.)

Sept. 21: Nashville, TN, Ascend Federal Credit Union Amphitheater (with Peter Cat Recording Co.)

Sept. 23: Rogers, AR, Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion (with Peter Cat Recording Co.)

Sept. 24: Austin, TX, Moody Center (with Peter Cat Recording Co.)

Sept. 25: Houston, TX, 713 Music Hall (with Peter Cat Recording Co.)

Sept. 29: Phoenix, AZ, Arizona Financial Theatre (with Peter Cat Recording Co.)