In a rehearsal space deep in the San Fernando Valley on the outskirts of Los Angeles, Miguel stands tall on top of an overturned police cruiser with a fist in the air and a microphone to his lips. Above his head, suspended from the rafters, a colossal sculpture in the style of an ancient Olmec head watches over him like an observant god. It’s a powerful image, a man caught between righteous defiance on the streets and the legacy of his ancestral history, and one that’s at the heart of the Grammy-winning R&B star’s electrifying new tour.

Last October, on the same day he turned 40, Miguel released his first album in eight years. Caos was born out of a transformative period in his personal life, during which he became a father for the first time and composed some of the most intimate and introspective music of his career. When he began planning exactly how he would take Caos on the road, he knew the live show would have to feel just as significant.

‘Last year was one of the most important years of my life, and this album is my most important album thus far,’ says Miguel, taking a seat on a black couch during a brief respite from a day spent fine-tuning his performance. ‘I knew I couldn’t come back with a tour where we just come out and do the songs everybody knows. The same amount of thought and consideration had to go into the stage.’

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