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The late, legendary musician David Bowie will have his 80th birthday celebrated with a series of events, exhibits, releases, collaborations and experiences beginning in November and spanning 2027, his estate announced
on Monday. Details will be announced on the new website bowie80.davidbowie.com; initial projects are listed below.
One of the most influential musicians of the rock era, Bowie was born David Jones in London on Jan. 8, 1947 (sharing a birthday with Elvis Presley, who was born 12 years earlier) and died of cancer on Jan. 10, 2016, just two days after his 69th birthday and the release of his remarkable final album, “Blackstar.” His estate has issued a series of excellent reissues, planned by Bowie himself, in the years since his death.
*The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland is planning a Bowie80 celebration anchored by a dedicated retail pop-up running mid-November. The Rock Hall will also host fan activations throughout David’s birthday weekend, including Bowie-themed educational presentations, trivia, music, and photo ops, alongside an exhibition featuring the work of photographers, some of which has never been displayed or published. Exhibit and programming details will be announced in the coming months.
*The estate has struck an exclusive partnership with Nordstrom, celebrating Bowie’s enduring influence on fashion through three immersive shops in their Seattle, New York, and Chicago flagships, featuring exclusive and limited-edition collections created specifically to launch the Bowie campaign. The shops will include clothing and accessories from designers and brands such as Undercover, Marc Jacobs, Paul Smith, AllSaints, and more.
*Morrison Hotel Gallery will mark David Bowie’s 80th year with “Strange Fascination,” a major photography exhibition. The exhibition will open early February 2027 in New York City and West Hollywood, bringing together career-defining and previously unreleased photographs from the celebrated archives of Morrison Hotel Gallery and the David Bowie estate. The exhibition will be presented in six eras, identities and reinventions that helped define his influence on music, fashion, art and culture. Additional details will be announced in January.
*BOWIE (breaking) GLASS is a new live symphonic concert production, developed by Schirmer Theatrical together with Østre Gasværk Teater, bringing David Bowie’s songs and voice into “a new musical and visual dialogue” with Philip Glass. Featuring Bowie’s original recordings alongside live vocalists, musicians and orchestra, this official concert experience will have its world premiere in Copenhagen in Spring 2027.
*Perryscope Productions, longtime merchandising representatives for David Bowie, will be launching exclusive Bowie80 merchandise, effective immediately. Additionally, new and longtime David Bowie apparel and accessories licensees including Phix, Rockoff, Rowdy Sprout, Roots of Fight, Stoned Immaculate, Girl Skateboards and more will be rolling out fresh Bowie & Bowie80 themed products throughout the anniversary year.
*The show “David Bowie: You’re Not Alone,” which opened at London’s Lightroom this year, will reach new audiences in 2027, with runs in Manchester and Brighton, as well as its first European venue, Port des Lumières in Hamburg. The show uses large screens and high-fidelity audio to explore the artist’s life and career.
*The V&A’s “David Bowie: On Tour” will display artefacts from Bowie’s 90,000-item archive touring the U.K., starting in Dundee before moving on to Blackpool in 2027, before visiting further venues in 2028 and 2029.
More projects will be released in the coming months.
