Two-Month Cross-Country Trek to Also Feature One Republic & Carolina Liar

Thomas’ New Album in Stores and Online June 30th

Tickets are available here

NEW YORK, New York –(Marketwire) – Multiple Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Rob Thomas has announced dates for his full-scale tour of North America in support of his new release “cradlesong” and companion DVD “Live at Red Rocks.” The two-month itinerary is slated to kick off on September 23rd at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida and end with a multi-night stand at the famed Beacon Theater in New York beginning on November 12th. (See below for full listing of dates.) The tour will include special guests One Republic and Carolina Liar.

The new tour, dubbed “cradlesong tour ’09,” is Thomas’s second full-fledged solo tour and the first in support of his new Emblem/Atlantic Records release “cradlesong” which hits stores and digital retailers nationwide on June 30th. “cradlesong” is the follow-up to Thomas’s record-setting solo album “…Something to Be” which debuted at #1 on the Billboard chart and marked the first time a male artist from a rock or pop group debuted at #1 with his first solo album. The first single off “cradlesong,” “Her Diamonds,” already gave the multi-platinum singer songwriter his best Hot 100 start in his 16th overall trip to the Billboard chart and continues to grow at radio. The entire album is currently streaming free of charge through Rhapsody (www.rhapsody.com/vh1) and VH1′s “The Leak” (http://theleak.vh1.com) as part of a unique and multi-faceted, multi-platform initiative whose centerpiece is a robust television advertising campaign featuring Thomas and visual clues that fans will recognize as references to his decade-long career, set to the music of “Her Diamonds.”

Rob Thomas is one of the most distinctive vocalists and accomplished songwriters in contemporary music, garnering a string of accolades — both for his work as lead singer and primary composer with matchbox twenty as well as for his solo work and collaborations with other artists. In 2004, the Songwriters Hall of Fame presented Thomas with its premiere “Starlight Award” — created to recognize a songwriter in the early years of his or her career who has already made a lasting impact. He has won numerous BMI and ASCAP Awards, and has earned the Songwriter of the Year crown from both Billboard and BMI, two years in a row.

Thomas has written and performed a remarkable string of hits, including matchbox twenty’s #1-charting “Push,” “3AM,” “If You’re Gone,” “Bent,” “Disease,” and “Unwell,” plus such favorites as “Real World,” “Back 2 Good,” “Mad Season,” and “Bright Lights.” His smash collaboration with Santana, the Thomas-penned “Smooth,” earned Rob three Grammy Awards and ranks #1 on Billboard’s “Top Hot 100 Rock Songs” chart and #2 on the magazine’s “Hot 100 All-Time Top Songs.” He has also worked with the likes of Willie Nelson, Mick Jagger, Marc Anthony and Bernie Taupin. Combining all of his projects, Thomas has contributed to sales of more than 80 million records.

Rob Thomas Fall 2009 Tour Dates

9/23 Hollywood, FL
9/25 Orlando, FL
9/26 Clearwater, FL
9/28 Raleigh, NC
9/29 Charlotte, SC
9/30 Atlanta, GA
10/4 Houston, TX
10/5 Grand Prairie, TX
10/7 Oklahoma City, OK
10/9 Council Bluffs, IA
10/10 Milwaukee, WI
10/11 St Paul, MN
10/14 Vancouver, BC
10/15 Seattle, WA
10/17 Reno, NV
10/18 San Francisco, CA
10/20 Los Angeles, CA
10/21 San Diego, CA
10/23 Temecula, CA
10/24 Las Vegas, NV
10/25 Tucson, AZ
10/27 Denver, CO
10/29 Kansas City, KS
10/30 Hammond, IN
10/31 St Louis, MO
11/2 Detroit, MI
11/4 Toronto, ONT
11/6 Atlantic City, NJ
11/7 Uncasville, CT
11/9 Boston, MA
11/10 Washington, DC
11/12 & 13 New York, NY

SOURCE: Atlantic Records

Tickets are available here

NEW YORK, New York –(Marketwire) – Atlantic recording group Skillet has announced the forthcoming release of their eagerly awaited new album. “AWAKE” — which features the tracks “Hero” and “Monster” — arrives in stores and at all online retailers on August 25th.

Produced by Howard Benson (Three Days Grace, Daughtry, Flyleaf), “AWAKE” is available now for pre-order via the rock outfit’s official website, located at http://skillet.com. A variety of packages are being offered, pairing the album with such bonuses as an exclusive Skillet t-shirt, an autographed VIP pass, and membership in Skillet’s official fan club. All pre-orders of “AWAKE” come with an immediate download of “Hero.”

The release of “AWAKE” will be preceded by the electrifying new single, “Monster.” The track is slated to impact at Active Rock and Mainstream Rock outlets nationwide on July 14th, while a companion video is currently in pre-production.

One of America’s hardest working live acts, Skillet will herald “AWAKE” with an exhaustive tour schedule, kicking off a full-scale headlining tour at Fort Wayne, Indiana’s Embassy Theater on September 24th.

In other news, Skillet frontman John Cooper and producer Brian Howes recently collected two BMI Music Awards for “The Last Night” and “The Older I Get,” both featured on 2006′s Grammy Award-nominated “COMATOSE.”

“COMATOSE” proved Skillet’s most popular work to date, with sales now approaching RIAA gold certification. The album followed the band’s 2003 label debut, “COLLIDE,” which launched Skillet into the mainstream while also garnering their first Grammy Award nomination.

Founded in 1996, Skillet has earned ecstatic praise for their inspirational and intense approach to hard-edged alternative rock. Hit Parader celebrated Skillet for “(bringing) to mind the kind of slick, studio-savvy work that made vintage Aerosmith and Bon Jovi so much fun to listen to.” “Skillet… continually push their musical muscle with soaring guitar work interspersed with their take on 80′s hair-metal ballads,” declared Mix.

(TOUR ITINERARY BELOW)

SKILLET
On Tour 2009

SEPTEMBER
24 Fort Wayne, IN Embassy Theater
27 Atlanta, GA The Tabernacle
29 Johnson City, TN Freedom Hall

OCTOBER
1 Albany, NY Washington Avenue Armory
2 New York, NY Manhattan Center Studios
6 Salem, VA Salem Civic Center
8 Memphis, TN Minglewood Hall
9 Little Rock, AR Riverfest Amphitheater
10 Cullman, AL Youthquake @ Cullman County Fairgrounds
11 Mobile, AL Mobile Civic Center
15 Tulsa, OK Spirit Bank Event Center
16 Lubbock, TX South Plains Fair Coliseum
17 El Paso, TX Abraham Chavez Theater
18 Albuquerque, NM Kiva Theater
20 Farmington, NM McGee Park-Memorial Coliseum
22 Phoenix, AZ Celebrity Theater
23 Los Angeles, CA Club Nokia
25 Fresno, CA Warnors Theater
27 Redding, CA Redding Convention Center Auditorium
29 Central Point, OR Medford Armory
30 Salem, OR OST Pavilion
31 Seattle, WA SPU Gym/Showare Center

NOVEMBER
1 Spokane, WA INB PAC
3 Kennewick, WA Toyota Center
5 Boise, ID Qwest Arena
7 Denver, CO Paramount Theater
13 Ames, IA Stephens Auditorium – ISU
14 Minneapolis, MN Convention Center Auditorium
15 Chicago, IL House of Blues
19 Longview, TX Maude Cobb Center
20 Dallas, TX Palladium Ballroom
21 Cypress, TX The Berry Center
22 Abilene, TX Abilene Civic Center
27 Springfield, MO Remington’s
28 Davenport, IA Adler Theater
29 Duluth, MN Duluth Entertainment Convention Center

DECEMBER
3 Chattanooga, TN Memorial Auditorium
4 Troy, OH Hobart Arena
5 Cleveland, OH Agora Theater
6 Grand Rapids, MI Deltaplex

SOURCE: Atlantic Records

Tickets are available here

NEW YORK, NY–(Marketwire) – Elektra recording artist Tracy Chapman has unveiled an extensive slate of summer concert dates, her first full-scale North American itinerary in over three years. The tour — which celebrates the multi-platinum, four-time Grammy-winner’s acclaimed 2008 release, “OUR BRIGHT FUTURE” — will hit the road on July 31st at Boston’s House of Blues. From there, Chapman will cross the continent, wrapping up with an eagerly awaited show at The Fillmore in her adopted hometown of San Francisco (see below itinerary).

The North American dates will be preceded by a major trek across Europe, with multiple performances set for Ireland, England, France, Denmark, Poland, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Switzerland, and The Netherlands. Chapman will be accompanied on both her European and North American tours by her band, which includes guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Joe Gore (Tom Waits, PJ Harvey, Aimee Mann), keyboardist Patrick Warren (Fiona Apple, Bruce Springsteen, Ani DiFranco), and drummer Dawn Richardson (4 Non Blondes, Penelope Houston).

Beginning with the 1988 release of her eponymous, 6x-platinum certified debut, Chapman has created a body of work that has been as consistently compelling as it is honest and uncompromising. “OUR BRIGHT FUTURE” — Tracy’s eighth studio album and first new release since 2005′s acclaimed “WHERE YOU LIVE” — gathers 11 new songs co-produced with fellow Grammy Award winner Larry Klein (Herbie Hancock, Joni Mitchell, Madeleine Peyroux).

The album received a rapturous critical response upon its release last November. The Boston Globe hailed Chapman’s “emotional intensity and clarity of vision,” and then went on to laud tracks such as the first single, “Sing For You,” as “tuneful and soul-baring, a rare and beautiful combination.” The New York Times’ Jon Pareles praised the album’s “delicacy,” noting that “it draws listeners closer to what (Chapman) does best.” “Tracy Chapman remains true to her musical calling,” extolled Billboard, “soul-rich folk melodies around a voice of honesty and nuance that nails ambivalence like no other.”

(TOUR ITINERARY BELOW)

TRACY CHAPMAN
North American Tour 2009

JULY
31 Boston, MA House of Blues
AUGUST
1 Northampton, MA Calvin Theatre
3 Philadelphia, PA Keswick Theatre
5 Edmonton, AB Edmonton Folk Music Festival
7 New York, NY Hammerstein Ballroom
8 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
9 Baltimore, MD Ram’s Head Live
11 Ann Arbor, MI Michigan Theatre
12 Chicago, IL Park West
14 Milwaukee, WI Pabst Theatre
15 Minneapolis, MN O’Shaughnessy
18 San Diego, CA Humphrey’s
19 Los Angeles, CA Wiltern Theatre
21 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore

SOURCE: Atlantic Records