Josh Groban ready to 'smell the roses' on his 'Harmony' tour this year 2022

After he "outran it for so long," COVID-19 finally came for Josh Groban. 

The Grammy-winning singer told the Journal Sentinel in an interview Monday that he and his family tested positive five days prior, after being "so hyper careful" since the pandemic began. 

"It hit me hard, and then I said, 'Take a hike,'" Groban, 41, said from his home over the phone as he prepared some tea. "I've got more of a chest cold. ... I've been singing in my apartment and have no issues with breath control." 

Groban's family, too, is OK, he said. And fortunately for Groban and his fans, the COVID case didn't happen in the midst of a tour. He'll be all clear and ready to go for a 27-city North American run, his first since 2018, that kicks off Friday in the Detroit area. 

Milwaukee is the third stop, at the American Family Insurance Amphitheater on June 21.

"It's something we've all been looking forward to for a really, really long time, for our mental health, for our connectivity," Groban said. "People need to get out and experience music and art and experience each other. ... I feel like everywhere you go people are on edge, like they have lost their vitality. It'll be a slow climb getting back to that." 

When routing the tour, Groban and his team opted for outdoor venues, because the COVID-19 situation "felt like a moving target." 

"My lungs are my job and my parents are in their seventies," said Groban, who still wears a mask to shows and museums. He is vaccinated and boosted. "It's vitally important to make the most educated risks as possible to make sure we can all still thrive as a society." 

"And some of the best times we've had on the road have been at beautiful outdoor sheds," Groban said. "There's nothing better than music under the stars." 

'Milwaukee is just a cool town'  

The chance to play live is especially sweet for Groban, because he wasn't sure if he'd have the chance to tour behind his latest album, "Harmony," released in November 2020.

"These are songs that I've wanted to sing my entire life," Groban said of his ninth studio album, which includes his interpretations of songs from Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Bonnie Raitt, Sting, Joni Mitchell and others. "Some of the songs had such a poignant meaning.

"These were the songs we were recording, the soundtrack that was keeping my head sane, during these awful months. To be out in beautiful settings, singing songs I didn't know would be sung at all (live), is really cathartic." 

Beyond playing selections from "Harmony," Groban is looking forward to sharing stages with local orchestras and opening acts Eleri Ward ("an incredible singer-songwriter") and pride of New Orleans the Preservation Hall Jazz Band ("a soul recharge in a band"). The "Harmony Tour" also will feature the return of singer and violinist Lucia Micarelli, who hasn't toured with Groban since the "Awake Tour" in 2007.

He's also looking forward to hitting some ballparks for the first time on the road — including, he hopes, for the first time, American Family Field to catch a Brewers game. (The Brewers return home June 20 for a seven-game stretch after a three-city, 10-day road trip.) 

"Milwaukee is just a cool town," said Groban, who said he's been able to spend days off on past tours in the city. "If I can just drown myself in beer and cheese. I would absolutely break every singing rule." 

But even if the beer and cheese splurge doesn't take place, Groban said he's determined to "let myself smell the roses even more" on this tour.

"As somebody who has been really having to hit my marks since I was 17 years old and having definite objectives I need to accomplish … I'm trying to have a little bit of an out-of-body experience."

"You don't know how you're going to feel until it's taken away," he continued. "To have a chance to make music again for fans takes on a deeper meaning"