MusicDream Theater: James LaBrie promises 3-hour shows on reunion tour with Mike PortnoyIn an interview with Rolling Stone Brasil, James LaBrie spoke about the band’s next studio album, Mike Portoy’s return and shows in Latin Americatoday at 06:28

Just over two years after arriving in Brazil for shows at Rock in Rio 2022 and in Tokyo Marine Hallin São Paulo, Dream Theater will return triumphantly to the country, with dates in five different cities (Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Curitiba and Porto Alegre), in addition to the return of the drummer Mike Portnoywhich left in 2010 after some disagreements.

Furthermore, next to Portnoythe memorable formation with James LaBrie, John Myung, John Petrucci and Jordan Rudess returned to the stage for the first time in 14 years. The musicians will perform on the 10th (BeFly Hall), 13 (Vivo Rio), 15 (Vibra São Paulo), 16 (Live Curitiba) and December 17 (Araújo Vianna Auditorium). Tickets are available for purchase on the website FasTix (BH), Ticket Club (RJ, SP and CWB) and Sympla (POA).

In an interview with Rolling Stone Brazil before the tour starts An Evening With Dream Theater, LaBrie revealed how he was preparing to record the vocals for the band’s next studio album, the successor to A View from the Top of the World (2021). Entitled Parasomnia and scheduled to hit streaming services on February 7, 2025, the group’s sixteenth album has gained two singles to date: “Night Terror” and “The Broken Man.”

Furthermore, the vocalist explained how the setlistassembled mainly by Mike Portnoylasts three hours, has almost 20 songs and includes a good part of the discography of the Dream Theaterknown for epic and long-lasting songs. Normally, a program with this number of tracks is around two hours. The band’s nights in Brazil were etched in fans’ memories.

“We have a pretty extensive catalog of songs for you to choose from. [Portnoy] He’s always done an excellent job when it comes to the setlist the entire time he’s been in Dream Theater,” he said. “Now he’s back and it’s really exciting. It always tends to match exactly…”

If I were a fan going to a concert Dream Theaterthese are the songs I would like to see. So he’s already put together a setlist that I think is killer. It’s killer, yes!

Asked if the current tour impacted, in any way, the production of Parasomnia, James LaBrie assured that the band does not work on two projects simultaneously. In other words, with the current series of shows, the new album is already resolved.

“We want to be locked away somewhere and be able to just focus on our ideas and bring them to fruition,” he said. “Dream Theater I couldn’t do ourselves justice if we were distracted by being on the road from town to town and playing a show almost every night. I don’t think it would work well at all. So it’s better – and I think a lot of musicians and artists would agree – to be in that environment and leave everything else aside, right?”

New with an air of déjà-vu

As LaBrie explained, the return of Mike Portnoy brought a lot of familiarity to the band. Since meeting in the studio for the next studio album, the musicians have noticed the return of that old chemistry, connection and flow.

“When you walk away from something, you tend to forget all those little, tiny details that really describe and make up who we are,” he said. “He was one of the original members, and for him to go back there, it’s like putting on a pair of your favorite running shoes, getting back on the track and running. It’s all a good feeling and we’re all feeling great.”