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鈥淥ne of those nights鈥� involves a lot of making it up as he goes along, the rapper said.

鈥淪ometimes I change the setlist during the show, like after the first (song) I change the next five or six songs,鈥� Franti said during an interview in late June to talk about his band Michael Franti & Spearhead鈥檚 Rialto Theatre concert. 鈥淢y crew looks at me and is like, 鈥楿h-oh, this is one of those nights鈥�. Those are usually the best nights.鈥�

The Oakland, California, artist, in his first Tucson concert since he played the Rialto Theatre in 2018, said his show criss-crosses his 36-year career including his just released album 鈥淔ollow Your Heart.鈥�

鈥淭o be honest, every night I just go with my mood and go with what I feel like playing,鈥� he explained. 鈥淚t always feels fresh to me.鈥�

You can picture him smiling as he talks about being back on the scene after two complicated years during which he was forced to play far from his beloved fans.

鈥淚 went from being a musician who, for the last 30 years, traveled the world, to an unemployed musician,鈥� Franti said. 鈥淩ight when the pandemic hit, I got a call from my manager saying, 鈥榊ou know Michael, the tour is going to be postponed for 30 days.鈥� And I was like, 鈥楢re you kidding me? Thirty days? What are we going to do?鈥� And very quickly we realized the whole tour was going to be canceled. I was sad for 24 hours and then the next day I woke up and I was like, 鈥�(Expletive), this, let鈥檚 just do it online.鈥� We started with just one camera and by the end of it we had a team of five cameras and lights. I enjoyed it.鈥�

Now Franti can鈥檛 wait to embrace real people once again, although the pandemic hit him and his family pretty hard.

鈥淢y wife and I own a hotel in Bali and we always thought, you know, if touring ever goes bad, at least we have the hotel to rely on. But then, of course, no one came to the hotel,鈥� Franti said. 鈥淚n the middle of it, my father had COVID for a couple of months and then passed away.鈥�

That terrible event inspired Franti in writing 鈥淔ollow your heart,鈥� which came out on June 3. In 鈥淏righter Day鈥� he sings 鈥淒on鈥檛 give up when your heart is weary, don鈥檛 give up when your eyes are teary, don鈥檛 give up when your voice is trembling, when your life needs mending,鈥� a hymn that aims to be a house light against the dark moments in life.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been a challenging time the last couple of years, but through it all, I found beauty in it,鈥� he said. 鈥淓veryone in the world had to stop for a moment and ask why am I living? Is there anything I can do to feel more fulfilled in life? So all the songs in the album are cheerful songs, but they speak also about a complexity of what the world is going through.鈥�

鈥淏righter Day鈥� fully represents how music has a healing effect on him.

鈥淭hroughout my whole life I had to fight depression and anxiety and I had to find ways to counter that,鈥� Franti said. 鈥淢usic changes my mood. My writing is a way to process whatever is happening in my life.鈥�

Not just the pandemic, but also the war in Ukraine touched Franti deeply, and inspired the songwriter in his new body of work.

鈥淭he war has eaten my soul,鈥� said Franti, who headlined the Oro Valley Music Festival in 2017. 鈥�... In my mind, somehow, I felt we were past that 鈥榦ne nation invading another nation,鈥� but we are not, and the reminder makes me very sad and angry.鈥�

鈥淔ollow your heart鈥� has debuted well on the charts, with lead single 鈥淕ood Day For A Good Day鈥� marking the band鈥檚 10th Top-25 hit.

Franti can鈥檛 wait to be back in Tucson, a place with which he goes really far back in time.

鈥淚 remember playing at Rialto many, many years ago and there was nothing around there, just a Greyhound bus station,鈥� he said. 鈥淣ow it鈥檚 grown up so much, there are so many amazing restaurants, shops, stores, bars 鈥� The thing that I like the most is driving in the city. Seeing the desert, the beauty of the nature. I remember when I was a kid we were driving through Arizona with my family. My adopted father was driving the car. And I said, 鈥業鈥檓 bored.鈥� And he was like, 鈥榃hy?鈥� I said, 鈥楾here鈥檚 nothing to look at out of the window.鈥� He pulled over and he said, 鈥楥ome with me.鈥� He showed me cacti, rocks, the nature. He showed me there鈥檚 another way to look at things and appreciate the beauty of it.鈥�

Tickets for the 8 p.m. Rialto show, 318 E. Congress St., are $48-$53 through .