photo credit: Kalle Gustafsson
Today José González has shared a hypnotic new rework of his classic track “Crosses” by English musician and producer Bibio, a fresh take on one of his most iconic songs and the opening installment in a series of new reworks celebrating the final chapter of the 20th anniversary of González’s acclaimed debut album, Veneer.
The series features contributions from a small group of carefully-selected artists reimagining tracks from his debut album.
Speaking on the Bibio rework, José says: “Love what Bibio did with Crosses! Casting the vocals into a different set of chords and adding his dreamy soundscapes makes it sound like a different song - while maintaining the vocals intact. Great work!“
José will soon embark on a European tour (starting in June 18th in Oslo) that will carry throughout the summer and into early Fall.
Additionally, José’s October 2024 US tour, which he was unfortunately forced to cancel due to illness in the family, has been rescheduled and will start in November 2025. If you had tickets for the October 2024 tour, they will be valid for the rescheduled 2025 show in your city. The tour will see González visit many cities that he has not performed in for over a decade and will span his entire career and catalog. Full dates are listed below.
The anniversary celebrations began in 2023 with the deluxe reissue of Veneer and a string of intimate solo shows, in which José performed the album in full to sold-out crowds across Europe and North America - including special performances at the Royal Albert Hall, Elbphilharmonie, and Walt Disney Concert Hall. Now, the story comes full circle with a new series of remixes, each one offering a fresh perspective on the songs that helped define José’s singular sound.
Veneer had a lasting impact on a generation of artists by channeling the emotional authenticity of folk music through a more modern, rhythmic, and less purist lens. Everything about it felt quietly radical, from its stark, minimalist artwork, to the reverse-engineered brilliance of José’s cover of The Knife’s “Heartbeats.” It was fresh and forward-thinking, despite being built almost entirely around a single classical guitar and one voice.
In a 2024 interview for the Life of the Record podcast, which explored the making of Veneer, José spoke about wanting “to do something more repetitive and linear, inspired from, sort of dance music.” He was consciously drawing from electronic and minimal influences, inspired to write songs that could be “really easy for someone to do a remix [of] by just adding a house beat underneath.” The crossover potential was further highlighted in 2006, when Ministry of Sound included “Heartbeats” on Volume 9 of their acclaimed Chillout Sessions compilation series. This move - along with endorsements and collaborations with the likes of DJ Tiësto, Zero 7, and British tastemaker Giles Peterson - helped place José in the unlikely position of being both a revered figure in the folk/alternative world and a genre-crossing outlier, soundtracking both late-night DJ sets and the post-club drift of the early hours. His music anticipated the genre-fluid listening habits that platforms like Pitchfork began to champion in the early 2010s, as the boundaries between indie, electronic, and R&B worlds began to dissolve.
Listening to Bibio’s reimagining of “Crosses” in 2025, one is struck by how organically their musical identities weave together - two distinct voices in quiet conversation. Rather than overburdening the track with unnecessary ornamentation, Bibio subtly draws out and highlights the melodic depth of the original, without losing any of its intimacy or restraint. It’s a masterclass in dynamics and texture, and a fitting tribute to a track that redefined what folk music could be in a post-digital era.
José is currently in the studio working on new material for what will become his fifth studio album, his first full-length collection of original songs since Local Valley in 2021. 2025 TOUR DATES:
EUROPEAN TOUR DATES:
6/18/2025 - Oslo, NO - OverOslo
6/26/2025 - Lund, SE - Park Live
6/27/2025 - Lausanne, CH - Les Docks
6/28/2025 - Boyle, IE - Lough Key Forest Park
6/29/2025 - Wiltz, LU - Festival de Wiltz
6/30/2025 - Oeiras, PT - Festival Jardins do Marquês
7/11/2025 - Barcelona, ES - Poble Espanyol
7/12/2025 - Fiesole, IT - Estate Fiesolana
7/13/2025 - Cologne, DE - Even Flow Festival
8/2/2025 - Helsinki, FI - À la Park
8/15/2025 - Bodø, NO - Parkenfestivalen
9/25/2025 - Istanbul, TR - Zorlu PSM
NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES:
11/10/2025 - Oklahoma City, OK - Tower Theatre
11/11/2025 - Little Rock, AR - Robinson Performance Hall
11/13/2025 - Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium
11/14/2025 - Asheville, NC - The Orange Peel
11/15/2025 - Durham, NC - The Carolina Theatre
11/16/2025 - Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse
11/18/2025 - St. Louis, MO - The Hawthorn
11/19/2025 - Cleveland, OH - Agora Theatre and Ballroom
11/20/2025 - Royal Oak, MI - Royal Oak Music Theatre
Tickets can be found HERE.
“Crosses (Bibio Rework)” art
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