Fuse Fest: Bonnaroo 2009 Lineup Announced

June 16, 2009 by Willis  
Filed under Music News

Catch Bruce Springsteen, Beastie Boys, Phish, Coheed and Cambria, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Snoop Dogg this Saturday, June 20th, at 9pm ET only on Fuse from the 2009 Bonnaroo Festival!  All this week Fuse is presenting the original Fuse Fest programming (June 15-19) in anticipation of Fuse Fest: Bonnaroo 2009 this Saturday.  Fuse Fest programming will include live performances, backstage interviews, and documentary footage from various Bonnaroo artists.  Online at http://fuse.tv, music lovers can also download free music from this year’s Bonnaroo bands including Grizzly Bear, Bon Iver, Elvis Costello, Phoenix, as well as view photos and videos from the 2009 and 2008 event.

More Information at Fuse.tv: http://www.fuse.tv/tours/bonnaroo

Facebook Event Invite: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=88326798067

Bonnaroo Nabbr Widget: http://media.nabbr.com/fuse_bonnaroo_2009.html

Bonnaroo Promo Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YR6kjTok2J4

MySpace: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=382900358

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/fusevids

Fuse Twitter: http://twitter.com/fusetv

This June Fuse was back in the fields of Manchester, TN covering the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival from all angles as the exclusive television partner. The eighth annual festival was held on June 11-14 with this year’s lineup including Bruce Springsteen and Phish, as well as, The Beastie Boys, Snoop Dogg and Nine Inch Nails. Fuse will bring viewers live hits, backstage interviews, documentaries featuring Bonnaroo artists and highlights from Bonnaroo 2008 all leading up to “Fuse Fest: Bonnaroo 2009” highlight show of this year’s greatest performances, premiering June 20th at 9:00pm ET.

Tune-in to Fuse and watch Fuse Fest for a front row seat at this year’s biggest and best music festivals including Vans Warped Tour coming in July and the Voodoo Experience Halloween weekend.

Bonnaroo programming includes:

“NO. 1 COUNTDOWN: BONNAROO ALL STARS”

MONDAY, JUNE 15TH FROM 4:00PM – 5:00PM ET

Tune-in to this special edition of “No. 1 Countdown” featuring past and present Bonnaroo artists including Bruce Springsteen, Kanye West and many more.

“FUSE FEST: BONNAROO 2008”

MONDAY, JUNE 15TH FROM 5:00PM – 6:00PM ET

Get ready for Bonnaroo 2009 with the best performances from Fuse’s coverage of Bonnaroo 2008.  Don’t miss performances by Metallica, Pearl Jam, Jack Johnson, Mastadon, and The Raconteurs in this one-hour special.

“BEASTIE BOYS: AWESOME, I SHOT THAT!”

MONDAY, JUNE 15TH FROM 6:00PM – 7:00PM ET

50 fans were given the opportunity to shoot the Beastie Boys live concert on October 9, 2004 at Madison Square Garden and what they shot became “Beastie Boys: Awesome, I Shot That!” Featuring hits from all six of their albums, this concert special is like no other.

“FUSE FEST:  BONNAROO 2009”

SATURDAY, JUNE 20TH AT 9:00PM – 10:00PM ET

Fuse is front and center at Bonnaroo 2009 with this year’s biggest artists in a Fuse exclusive concert special.  Don’t miss the best performances by Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, Phish, Beastie Boys, Snoop Dogg and the best moments from this year’s festival.

CHANNEL NUMBER:     DirecTV 339 / EchoStar 158; cable subscribers, check local listing

WEBSITE:                    www.fuse.tv/tours/bonnaroo

PRESS SITE:                jpgs, bios, press releases and more at http://press.fuse.tv

Buckcherry Supporting Kiss On Summer Tour

May 27, 2009 by Willis  
Filed under Music News

Buckcherry Supporting Kiss On Summer Tour

Buckcherry Supporting Kiss On Summer Tour

Buckcherry will support Kiss on all dates for the band’s upcoming North American tour, Billboard has learned. The tour, which begins in September, made headlines last month when it was announced that Kiss had partnered with live music social networking site Eventful to route the tour through the top-voted North American markets as determined by demand on the Eventful website.

Voting will continue until June 30 and Buckcherry fans are expected to enter the fray. According to the Kiss camp, more than 8,000 cities and towns are already represented on the fan-submitted list. By voting, fans have the opportunity to purchase pre-sale tickets prior to the general on-sale and will also receive merch discounts and other perks. Fans are also encouraged to create their own viral videos online, motivating their fellow residents to participate in casting votes for a Kiss show in their city. City-specific “best-of” compilation reels of these videos will be shown on jumbo screens at venues before each concert.

Interestingly, the top 10 markets in Eventful’s Kiss demand, and 15 of the top 20, currently are Canadian cities. “Canada is a great environment for rock ‘n roll, they’re rabid for it, they turn out, and they love their rock and roll, so the fact that it’s going over well in Canada does not surprise me at all,” Buckcherry guitarist Keith Nelson tells Billboard.com.

Buckcherry has made great strides in establishing itself as a consistent headliner over the last few years.  In 2008-09, the band grossed $9.4 million from 54 shows reported to Billboard Boxscore, many co-headlining with Avenged Sevenfold. That’s an average gross of $174,226 per show, quite healthy indeed on conservative ticket price of $35-$40.

So why veer off that headlining path to open for Kiss for 50 plus shows? “It’s Kiss,” Nelson says. “They’re the biggest band in the world. They’re legends.”

Nelson does believe that, to a degree, Kiss would like to tap into Buckcherry’s younger demo. “I also think on some level they want to take a band out that doesn’t suck,” he adds. “They have a lot of choices of bands to take out, and we’re truly one of the last rock ‘n roll bands out there. And I think they recognize that.”

In conjunction with joining the tour, Buckcherry will run a “Talk To Me” promotion to support their latest single. Fans can call the Buckcherry hotline at 213-784-4536 and enter by leaving the band a message and voting on the Eventful widget on the band’s website Buckcherry.com. Fans all over North America can enter and Josh Todd or Keith Nelson from Buckcherry will call one winner in each of the chosen markets to advise that they are coming to their city with Kiss and that they have won the first pair of tickets to the show in their town.  The contest ends June 30 at 11:59pm EST. The single impacts at active and mainstream rock radio on June 15.

Kiss, which recently wrapped a sold-out tour of South America, is currently recording its first new studio album in 11 years. The band will release news about the album, which is being produced by Paul Stanley, at KISSonline.com.

’80s and ’90s bands a big part of summer tours

May 27, 2009 by Willis  
Filed under Music News

'80s and '90s bands a big part of summer tours

’80s and ’90s bands a big part of summer tours

If you missed some of your favorite ’80s and ’90s bands the first time around, there’s a good chance you can catch them on the reunion trail this summer.

Reunions, packaging and pricing are key this year as artists and promoters try to fill seats in a soft economy.

No Doubt and Phish may be most anticipated, but Blink-182, Creed, Jane’s Addiction and Fleetwood Mac also are back after breakups or long spells away.

Blink-182 singer Tom DeLonge says the California punk band is wiser than they were when they last toured in 2005.

“In the past we seemed to get bigger every time out, and we didn’t care. We’d cancel shows or show up without rehearsing,” DeLonge said recently. “Now everyone is taking it very seriously.”

There’s no dearth of blockbusters to choose from this summer. Coldplay, Green Day, Dave Matthews, Keith Urban, Jonas Brothers, Taylor Swift, Kid Rock, Rascal Flatts and AC/DC will be out. What may be the year’s biggest tour, U2, crank up in September.

The summer festivals are also hot tickets. Bruce Springsteen and Phish head Tennessee’s Bonnaroo in June. Bob Dylan, the Dead and Willie Nelson play Michigan’s Rothbury in July. Kings of Leon, Beastie Boys and Tool will be at Chicago’s Lollapalooza in August. Black Eyed Peas, Pearl Jam and Matthews top Outside Lands in San Francisco the same month.

A number of double and triple bills are making the rounds: Nine Inch Nails with Jane’s Addiction; Aerosmith with ZZ Top; Eric Clapton with Steve Winwood; Elton John with Billy Joel; Def Leppard with Poison and Cheap Trick; and Dylan with Nelson and John Mellencamp.

“I think the packaging is an outgrowth of the recession,” said Gary Bongiovanni, editor-in-chief of the concert industry publication Pollstar. “You can lower the ticket prices some, but another way is stronger support acts or co-bills. You may have already seen Eric Clapton, but if he’s with Steve Winwood, it may be a reason to go see him again.”

Artists and promoters are extra sensitive about prices this year. Swift, Urban, Blink-182, Nine Inch Nails and Crosby, Stills and Nash are all offering at least some tickets for about $20. Several others start prices at about $30.

Tickets for the Vans Warped Tour with Bad Religion and NOFX begin at $23, while the basement price for the Mayhem Festival with Marilyn Manson and Slayer is only $12.

Summer is the most important season for the concert industry. Even with the recession, 2009 is shaping up to be a good year.

“Normally, promoters are quick to cry when things are not going well, and we’re not hearing that,” said Pollstar’s Bongiovanni.

Jason Garner, CEO for global music for Live Nation, the world’s largest promoter, explains the industry’s resiliency, using a hypothetical Nickelback fan in Omaha.

While that fan might put off an expensive vacation to Hawaii, Garner said, he won’t miss that one-time show in Omaha.

“That Nickelback show … is the Kodak moment of that fan’s life,” he said.

Creed Promises New Album This Summer, Plenty Of Pyro On Tour

May 21, 2009 by Willis  
Filed under Music News

Creed Promises New Album This Summer, Plenty Of Pyro On Tour

Creed Promises New Album This Summer, Plenty Of Pyro On Tour

Creed frontman Scott Stapp says the reunited group is about “a week and a half away” from pre-production for its new album, tentatively titled “Full Circle.” And he promises that “we’re gonna have an album mixed and mastered in the next five weeks” — hopefully for an August release.

“We’re excited to share (the new music) with our fans, and we really have a lot we want to prove” after a five-year hiatus, Stapp tells Billboard.com. He says Creed — which hits the road Aug. 6 for a 10-week tour — has “13, 14 songs that we would consider as album keepers” for the group’s first set of new material since 2001’s “Weathered.” We’ve written more than that, but we’ve got this many that are fighting for a spot on the record. So we’re in a good place.” The group plans to record in Nashville with producer Howard Benson.

Stapp says Creed came up with the song “Full Circle” during its first session playing together and hope to release that track as the album’s first single, perhaps by late June. Other pending song titles include “A Thousand Faces,” “Slow Suicide” and “Don’t Give Up,” and the frontman says there’s “a lot of reflection” in the new material, much of which focuses on the “resolution” Stapp and his bandmates have found between each other and in their own lives.

“It’s not a hopeless, complaining record,” Stapp says. “It’s telling stories, but it’s also rocking out, man. We’re rocking harder now with some of the songs than we ever have. It’s from a different place and a different type of reflection and a different level of maturity, but we’re a rock band, so there’s still that brashness. There’s a confidence and a swagger that I think we only feel collectively. Our music is fresh and still very connected to who we are and the sound we have, but it’s also taken a natural evolution.”

While preparing to record, Creed has also been focusing on its tour, with a repertoire that will include “all the Creed songs people want to hear” as well as the new material, plus plenty of pyrotechnics.

“We’re working on putting on the biggest rock show we’ve ever done,” Stapp reports. “We’re all better performers and entertainers now, and real confident in the songs. We’re really excited to present where we are today and just be able to stand up and feel that we’re relevant now as a band.”

Blink-182 Announces Summer Tour Plans

May 15, 2009 by Willis  
Filed under Music News

Blink-182 Announces Summer Tour Plans

Blink-182 Announces Summer Tour Plans

If it hadn’t been for drummer Travis Barker’s near-fatal airplane crash last year, Blink-182 might not be touring this summer.

But after a five-year hiatus, Blink-182 members Mark Hoppus, Travis Barker and Tom DeLonge will embark on a nearly 50-date North American arena and amphitheater tour, beginning July 24 at the Joint in Las Vegas, and wrapping Oct. 3 at the Borgata Events Center in Atlantic City, N.J.

The Live Nation-produced trek will feature support on various dates from Weezer, Fall Out Boy, Panic at the Disco, All-American Rejects, Taking Back Sunday, Asher Roth and Chester French.

“My goal was to have name-brand acts all the way,” Blink-182 manager Rick Devoe tells Billboard.com.

The rock act has also tapped stage designer Martin Phillips to help create “the most ridiculous display of lights and images we can imagine,” Hoppus said in a statement. Phillips has worked on tours stage designs for such artists as Kanye West, Daft Punk and Nine Inch Nails, among others.

Rumors that Blink-182 could reunite after its messy split in 2005 started last year after Hoppus posted a blog saying that Barker’s survival and the death of Blink-182 producer Jerry Finn put the band members back in touch.

“Unfortunately it took something catastrophic to do it, but sometimes that’s how life is,” Devoe says. “These guys got together for the right reasons.”

Although Blink-182 confirms it is writing new songs, “the word on the street is that this tour is about the hits,” says Devoe, who couldn’t say when a new album might be released. “As the rehearsals go by, we’re hoping to have at least one new song in the repertoire.”

The manager adds that Blink-182 fans who are short on cash this summer will be happy to learn that amphitheater lawn tickets will be available for $20. “If you have $20, you get in. No fees or anything,” he says.

Tickets for the tour go on sale May 30 at livenation.com. Presenting sponsors of trek include T-Mobile Sidekick LX, State Farm Insurance and MySpace.

Beyond October, Blink-182 has offers to play Australia’s Big Day Out and other European music festivals in 2010, according to Devoe. “That’s what I’m hoping is going to happen,” the manager says. “And in between these tours is when they’re going to be working on an album.”

Blink-182 doesn’t plan to route another North American tour until the band releases a new album, Devoe says. He notes that Blink-182 can’t work as quickly as it used to because the band members have family obligations and some live in different cities.

“Everyone has got full lives,” the manager says. “It’s a different Blink, in the sense that you have to pick your kids up after school, and one of your kids has dance class and the other kid has this.”

Blink-182’s last tour in 2004 grossed $14.4 million from 42 concerts that drew more than 421,000 fans, according to Billboard Boxscore. The trio’s self-titled album in 2003 has sold 2.2 million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Here are Blink-182’s upcoming tour dates:

July 24: Las Vegas (the Joint)
July 28: Vancouver (GM Place)
July 30: Calgary, AB (Saddledome)
July 31: Edmonton, AB (Rexall Place)
Aug. 1: Saskatoon, SK (Credit Union Center)
Aug. 2: Winnipeg, MB (MTS Centre)
Aug. 4: Milwaukee (Marcus Amphitheater)
Aug. 6: Boston (Comcast Center)
Aug. 7 Quebec City, QC (Colisee Pepsi)
Aug. 8: Montreal (Bell Centre)
Aug. 9: Wantagh, N.Y. (Nikon Theater at Jones Beach)
Aug. 12: Hershey, Pa. (the Star Pavilion)
Aug. 13: Cincinnati (Riverbend Music Center)
Aug. 14: Pittsburgh (Post Gazette Pavilion)
Aug. 15: Chicago (First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre)
Aug. 16: Omaha, Neb. (Westfair Amphitheater)
Aug. 18: Minneapolis (Xcel Energy Center)
Aug. 20: Indianapolis (Verizon Wireless Amphitheater)
Aug. 21: Buffalo, N.Y. (Darien Lakes Performing Arts Center)
Aug. 22: Detroit (DTE Energy Music Theatre)
Aug. 23: Toronto (Molson Amphitheater)
Aug. 25: Holmdel, N.J. (PNC Bank Arts Center)
Aug. 27: Saratoga, N.Y. (Saratoga Performing Arts Center)
Aug. 28: Camden, Pa. (Susquehanna Bank Center)
Aug. 29: Hartford, Conn. (New England Dodge Music Center)
Aug. 30: Washington, D.C. (TBD)
Aug. 31: Wantagh, N.Y. (Nikon Theater at Jones Beach)
Sept. 2: Cleveland (Blossom Music Center)
Sept. 3: St. Louis (Verizon Wireless Amphitheater)
Sept. 4: Kansas City, Kan. (Capitol Federal Park at Sandstone)
Sept. 6: Denver (Fiddlers Green Amphitheater)
Sept. 7: Salt Lake City (David O. McKay Events Center)
Sept. 10: Seattle (White River Amphitheater)
Sept. 12: Sacramento, Calif. (Sleep Train Amphitheater)
Sept. 13: Mountain View, Calif. (Shoreline Amphitheater)
Sept. 14: Santa Barbara, Calif. (Santa Barbara Bowl)
Sept. 16: San Diego (Cricket Wireless Amphitheater)
Sept. 17: Irvine, Calif. (Verizon Wireless Amphitheater)
Sept. 19: Phoenix (Tempe Beach Park)
Sept. 21: Albuquerque, N.M. (Journal Pavilion)
Sept. 23: Dallas (Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion)
Sept. 24: Houston (Superpages.com Center)
Sept. 26: West Palm Beach, Fla. (Cruzan Amphitheater)
Sept. 27: Tampa, Fla. (Ford Amphitheater)
Sept. 29: Atlanta (Lakewood Amphitheater)
Oct. 1: Charlotte, N.C. (Verizon Wireless Amphitheater)
Oct. 2: Virginia Beach, Va. (Verizon Wireless Amphitheater)
Oct. 3: Atlantic City, N.J. (Borgata Events Center)

The-Dream, Keyshia Cole Plan Tour

May 1, 2009 by Willis  
Filed under Music News

The-Dream, Keyshia Cole Plan Tour

The-Dream, Keyshia Cole Plan Tour

Singer/songwriter The-Dream has announced a 21-city tour with R&B artist Keyshia Cole that will take off on May 13 at the Aronoff Center in Cincinnati and will conclude at the Pearl in Las Vegas on June 21.

The-Dream will be touring in support of his sophomore album, “Love Vs. Money” (Radio Killa/Def Jam) which peaked at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart with 331,000 units sold in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Earlier this week, The-Dream released his third single, “Walkin’ On The Moon,” featuring labelmate Kanye West. The video for “Moon” was directed by Hype Williams and will premiere in coming days.

The first two singles off “Love Vs. Money,” “Rockin’ That Thang” and “My Love,” featuring Mariah Carey, reached No. 3 and No. 36 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop songs chart, respectively. The-Dream also released a remix of “Rockin’ That Thang” featuring the ‘Def Jam All-Stars’ lineup consisting of Fabolous, Juelz Santana, Rick Ross and Ludacris.

“Love Vs. Money” follow’s The-Dream’s 2007 debut, “Love Hate,” which sold 552,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen Soundscan. The-Dream’s first tour was as an opening act for Mary J. Blige and Jay-Z’s “Heart Of The City” trek last year.

Here are The-Dream and Keyshia Cole’s tour dates:

May 13: Cincinnati, OH (Aronoff Center)
May 14: Milwaukee, WI (Riverside Theater)
May 15: Chicago, IL (Chicago Theater)
May 16: Detroit, MI (Fox Theater)
May 17: Indianapolis, IN (The Vogue)
May 19: New Orleans (House Of Blues)
May 21: Atlanta, GA (Fox Theater)
May 22: Greenbsboro, NC (Special Events Center)
May 23: Atlantic City, NJ (Mark Etess Arena)
May 24: New York, NY (WAMU Theater at Madison Sq. Garden)
May 26: Boston, MA (House Of Blues)
May 28: Washington, DC (Constitution Hall)
May 29: Richmond VA (Landmark Theater)
May 30: Norfolk, VA (Ntelos Pavilion — WOWI)
May 31: Columbia, SC (Township Auditorium)
June 2: Newark, NJ (NJPAC)
June 3: Cleveland, OH (State Theater)
June 5: Atlantic City, NJ (Borgata with Mary J. Blige)
June 6: Baltimore, MD (Pier Six Pavilion)
June 7: New York, NY (Summerjam)
June 11: St. Louis, MO (Fox Theater)
June 12: Southhave, MS (DeSoto Civic Center)
June 13: Dallas, TX (Nokia)
June 14: Houston, TX (Reliant Arena)
June 20: Los Angeles, CA (Nokia Theater)
June 21: Oakland, CA (Paramount Theater)

The Tragically Hip Kicks Off ‘Same’ Tour

April 27, 2009 by Willis  
Filed under Music News

Tragically Hip Kicks Off 'Same' Tour

Tragically Hip Kicks Off ‘Same’ Tour

Inspired by the wide sonic sweep of its new album, “We Are the Same,” the Tragically Hip plans to play a lot of music during its upcoming North American tour, which starts today (April 27) in Kitchener, Ont., and currently has dates booked into September.

Frontman Gordon Downie tells Billboard.com that the Canadian quintet plans to play lengthy shows with an intermission. “We did that once, about 10 years ago,” he recalls. “I think we decided with this (album), we needed to do something where we could expand the margins and really work on the dynamics, from a pindrop to blow the doors off.”

He says the Hip’s audiences can expect “lots of songs” from the new album but also a generous selection of older music to provide context for the fresh material. “I just think our list of songs has grown to the point where we need to incorporate a lot of songs from our past,” Downey explains. “We’ve been rehearsing pretty hard; we’ve got 90-odd songs we’re going to touch on at least once [during the tour]. So hopefully it’ll keep people on their toes a little bit. It definitely keeps us on our toes. We just want to do something different, somehow, and that’s what we’re doing.”

The presence of an extra utility musician, playing keyboards and providing background vocals, will also help the Hip “touch a lot on the rest of our sound,” according to Downey. “It’s making a lot of songs sound brand new again. Like ‘Gift Shop;’ there’s an intro to that that’s pretty atmospheric that we couldn’t really touch before. It’s certainly making us better, ultimately, all the way across.”

Downey says the band will likely document the tour in some way, either by recording or filming, though he notes that promotional activities such as a closed-circuit movie theater broadcast in Canada and a series of short films on the Hip’s official web site “command all my psychic energy. But I imagine we will be doing something over the next 10 months.”

“We Are the Same’s” 12 songs were culled from roughly 40 ideas the Hip came up with and pored over with producer Bob Rock. But Downey isn’t sure what will come up with the unused material.

“Ultimately you always vow you’ll put them on the next record, but you never do,” he says with a laugh. “When you start winnowing them for [the album] you don’t work on the other ones much, so they stay in an uncompleted state as you move forward with the ones you’re interested in. They all have titles. They have melodies. They’re still there, but what we’ll do with them I can’t say.”

Green Day Announces Summer Tour

April 20, 2009 by Willis  
Filed under Music News

Green Day Announces Summer Tour

Green Day Announces Summer Tour

Green Day has announced a slate of 38 summer dates that begins July 3 in Seattle and marks the chart-topping rock band’s first full North American tour in more than three years.

The summer trek, which will support the trio’s May 15 album “21st Century Breakdown” (Reprise Records), heads clockwise through Canada and the U.S. The band plays Midwest, East Coast and southern dates before finishing up in Los Angeles on Aug. 25. Venues will be announced at a later date.

The new album, which follows 2004’s Billboard 200-topping “American Idiot,” was produced by Butch Vig (Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins); the first single, “Know Your Enemy,” was released to radio April 16. As Billboard previously reported, Green Day will celebrate the release with a show at New York’s Bowery Ballroom on May 18.

Here are Green Day’s tour dates:

July 3: Seattle, Wash.
July 4: Vancouver, British Columbia
July 6: Edmonton, Alberta
July 7: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
July 9: Winnipeg, Manitoba
July 10: Fargo, ND
July 11: Minneapolis, Minn.
July 13: Chicago, Ill.
July 14: Detroit, Mich.
July 16: Hamilton, Ont.
July 17: Ottawa, Ont.
July 18: Montreal, Quebec
July 20: Boston, Mass.
July 21: Philadelphia, Penn.
July 22: Pittsburgh, Penn.
July 24: Hartford, Conn.
July 25: Albany, NY
July 27: New York, NY
July 29: Washington, DC
July 31: Nashville, Tenn.
Aug. 1: Atlanta, GA
Aug. 3: Tampa, Fla.
Aug. 4: Miami, Fla.
Aug. 5: Orlando, Fla.
Aug. 7: New Orleans, LA
Aug. 8: Houston, TX
Aug. 9: San Antonio, TX
Aug. 11: St. Louis, MO
Aug. 12: Kansas City, MO
Aug. 13: Omaha, Neb.
Aug. 15: Denver, Colo.
Aug. 16: Salt Lake City, Utah
Aug. 18: San Jose, Calif.
Aug. 20: San Diego, Calif.
Aug. 21: Las Vegas, Nev.
Aug. 22: Phoenix, Ariz.
Aug. 24: Sacramento, Calif.
Aug. 25: Los Angeles, Calif.

Aerosmith, ZZ Top Announce Tour Dates

April 13, 2009 by Willis  
Filed under Music News

Aerosmith, ZZ Top Announce Tour Dates

Aerosmith, ZZ Top Announce Tour Dates

Aerosmith and ZZ Top have announced the first dates for their summer North American tour.

As first tipped by Billboard.com last week, the trek, sponsored by Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, begins June 10 in St. Louis and runs through Sept. 16 in Detroit. Some 33 shows (but not venues) have already been announced, with a few more dates expected to be added. ZZ Top will not play the first two shows, in St. Louis and on June 13 in East Troy, Wisc., and a third act will be announced for the Aug. 28 Chicago date.

Tickets will begin going on sale Friday.

Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry told Billboard.com that he’s psyched about being on the road with ZZ Top. “To have to follow them is gonna be a mouthful every night,” Perry said, “and I know it’s gonna kick us into overdrive. That sounds like a cliche, but when you play with a band like that…we’ll be out listening a lot ’cause I love them. I always have. And I love Billy (Gibbon)’s playing.

“So we’ve got our work cut out for us, and the audience gets the benefit.”

Perry said that the groups “have 40 dates kind of on the books right now, and we’ll see how it goes from there.” He held out the possibility of Aerosmith at least continuing into South America and possibly Europe and Japan, but with no firm details. “That’s how we book most of the tours: we kind of take them leg by leg, continent by continent,” he explains.

Aerosmith, which last toured in 2007, has been working on its next album: the group’s first since 2004’s “Honkin’ On Bobo,” but has put it aside in order to concentrate on the tour. Perry is also working on a solo album that he predicted could be ready before the Aerosmith release.

The Aerosmith / ZZ Top tour’s announced itinerary so far includes:

June 10: St. Louis (without ZZ Top)
June 13: East Troy, Wisc. (without ZZ Top)
June 16: Boston
June 21: Washington, D.C.
June 24: Pittsburgh
June 26: Wantagh, N.Y.
June 28: Uncasville, Conn.
July 1: Cincinnati
July 3: Hershey, Pa.
July 5: Virginia Beach, Va.
July 7: Raleigh, N.C.
July 9: Charlotte, N.C.
July 11: Tampa,
July 13: Ft. Lauderdale
July 15: Atlanta
July 17: Houston
July 19: Dallas
July 25: Las Vegas
July 27: Phoenix
July 30: Tulsa
Aug 1: Denver
Aug 17: Seattle
Aug 19: Concord, Calif.
Aug 23: Irvine, Calif.
Aug 28: Chicago
Aug 30: Indianapolis
Sept 1: Kansas City, Mo.
Sept 3: Toronto
Sept 5: Ottawa
Sept 8: St. Paul, Minn.
Sept 10: Cleveland
Sept 12: Holmdel, N.J.
Sept 16: Detroit

AC/DC Adds Summer Stadium Shows

April 7, 2009 by Willis  
Filed under Music News

AC/DC Adds Summer Stadium Shows

AC/DC Adds Summer Stadium Shows

Following a successful run of North American arenas earlier this year, AC/DC will bring its Black Ice tour back to the United States this summer. New dates begin July 28 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., and are currently scheduled through Sept. 8 in Anaheim, Calif.

Nine new U.S. dates were confirmed at deadline, and more will be announced shortly. AC/DC is currently touring in Europe through late June.

Tickets for summer concerts in Foxborough; East Rutherford, N.J.; Detroit; Grand Rapids, Mich.; and Tacoma, Wash.; go on sale Saturday (April 11) through ticketmaster.com and the band’s Web site, acdc.com. Tickets for the San Diego show go on sale April 18, and the Los Angeles concert goes on sale April 25.

Since starting its tour in late October, most of AC/DC’s North America dates sold out. From October 2008 through March 2009, the band grossed $49.1 million from 36 concerts that drew nearly 561,000 fans, according to Billboard Boxscore.

AC/DC’s ongoing Black Ice world tour — its first outing since 2001, when it grossed $28.5 million from 52 shows, according to Boxscore — is in support of the rock act’s latest album release “Black Ice.” The Columbia set, released exclusively through Wal-mart, Sam’s Club and AC/DC’s Web site last October, has moved 2 million copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Here are AC/DC’s new U.S. tour dates:

July 28: Foxborough, Mass. (Gillette Stadium)
July 31: East Rutherford, N.J. (Giants Stadium)
Aug. 16: Detroit (Palace of Auburn Hills)
Aug. 18: Grand Rapids, Mich. (Van Andel Arena)
Aug. 30: Tacoma, Wash. (Tacoma Dome)
Sept. 2: San Jose, Calif. (HP Pavillion)
Sept. 4: Los Angeles (Staples Center)
Sept. 6: San Diego, Calif. (Sports Arena)
Sept. 8: Anaheim, Calif. (Honda Center)

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