Apple announced a small tour in Spring 2012 prompting speculation over a new album.

[3] Apple kicked off the tour with two performances at the South By Southwest Festival where she debuted three new songs from The Idler Wheel....[4][5] Apple's first date at the Lincoln Hall sold out quickly and caused the Lincoln Hall's servers to crash.

[7] On June 19, the same date The Idler Wheel... released, Apple began the second leg of the tour.

The second leg of the tour kicked off in Ithaca, New York, and wrapped on July 29 at the Hollywood Palladium, and made stops at iconic venues like Nashville's Ryman Auditorium, historic opera houses, and the New York's Governors Ball festival on Randalls Island with Modest Mouse and Beck among the other acts performing.

[9] On November 20, 2012, Apple posted a handwritten letter addressed to her fans on her Facebook page, in which she announced the cancellation of her South American tour due to the failing health of her dog, Janet.