Medium Build brings King of Having Fun to Newport Music Hall on Nov. 16

Nick Carpenter's project plays the Newport on a Monday night with Eden Joel, touring a sixth album released in September.

Mondays in Columbus rarely get a show at a room this size. Next week is different. Medium Build plays Newport Music Hall on Monday, Nov. 16, with Eden Joel opening and the show starting at 8 p.m. Tickets are through AXS.

Medium Build is the project of songwriter Nick Carpenter, and he arrives with a new record. King of Having Fun, his sixth studio album, came out Sept. 4 on slowplay/Island Records, as Melodic Magazine reported when it was announced. It's a 14-track LP that includes the single "Armor," and it follows Country, the 2024 album that Universal Music billed as his debut full-length on slowplay/Island.

That's the reason to go on a Monday. Two months on from release, the songs from King of Having Fun have had time to settle in with listeners, and the band has had a full tour's worth of nights to settle into them.

Two months on from release, the new songs have had time to settle in with listeners, and the band has had a full tour's worth of nights to settle into them.

The run, billed as The King of Having Fun on Tour, began at Washington's 9:30 Club on Oct. 4, after Carpenter spent time opening for Mumford & Sons, according to Melodic. Supporting acts across the tour have included Ken Yates, Bella White, Merle Law, The Scratch and Eden Joel. It reached Chicago's Metro in October, and this month it has worked through San Diego (Nov. 2), Los Angeles (Nov. 5), Phoenix (Nov. 6), Dallas (Nov. 9), Austin (Nov. 10) and Memphis (Nov. 12) on the way to Columbus. After the U.S. dates, Medium Build is set to take King of Having Fun to Australia in January 2027.

Newport Music Hall holds 1,700, which says something about where this project is now. For a songwriter who has built an audience album by album, a room this size in a college town is a marker of how far that audience has come. Eden Joel opens, and it's worth arriving in time for that set.

Practical notes for a Monday show: the listed start is 8 p.m., which means a reasonable night even with work on Tuesday. High Street parking near campus can get tight, so give yourself extra time. Buy through the official AXS link rather than a reseller, and check the event page for the venue's bag and entry policies before you leave.

It's a Monday in November. Go anyway; a new record and a room this size is a good way to start a week.

Sources: Medium Build Announces sixth studio album, 'King of Having Fun' and North American Tour (Melodic Magazine) (melodicmag.com); Armor, Medium Build (Dork) (readdork.com); Medium Build's debut full length album Country out now on slowplay/Island Records (Universal Music Canada) (universalmusic.ca); Medium Build: The King of Having Fun on Tour (Metro Chicago) (metrochicago.com); Medium Build tickets (AXS) (axs.com); Medium Build at Newport Music Hall (JamBase) (jambase.com)