Dave Matthews Band will supports its new studio album on tour this summer in North America, beginning June 1 in Maryland Heights, Mo., and running through a Sept. 7 finale in Bonner Springs, Kan. Members of the band’s Warehouse fan organization will get first crack at tickets through March 14; most shows go on-sale April 2 to the general public.
Beyond multiple-night stands at such familiar venues as Camden, N.J.’s Tweeter Center and the Verizon Wireless Music Center just outside Indianapolis, DMB will play an Aug. 12-13 stand at the 41,000-capacity SBC Park in San Francisco and an Aug. 19-21 run at the Gorge Amphitheatre just outside Seattle.
The band’s as-yet-untitled RCA set is expected in May and will likely feature such tracks as “Hello Again,” “Joy Ride,” “Die Trying” and “Old Dirt Road.” Working with producer Mark Batson, DMB has built songs from ideas generated by each member, prior to Matthews adding his vocals.
“It’s amazing that we really never thought to work this way before,” violinist Boyd Tinsley says in a video clip on the band’s new album-dedicated Web site. “The result is pretty amazing; pretty mind-blowing for all of us. It’s really groovin’, really up music. It’s funky. It’s fun.”
DMB began road-testing some of the material last year, but even these perennial box-office barons experienced first-hand the treacherous touring environment of 2004. After five straight years among the top 10 touring acts, the quintet came in 12th last year, grossing $37.5 million and drawing 881,730 fans to 43 shows reported to Billboard Boxscore.
Before the summer tour, DMB will play the first Australian shows of its career later this month, as well as appear at the annual New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in late April. A visit to the Bonnaroo festival is slotted in for mid-June.
Here are Dave Matthews Band’s summer tour dates:
June 1: Maryland Heights, Mo. (UMB Bank Pavilion)
June 2: Tinley Park, Ill. (Tweeter Center)
June 4-5: Burgettstown, Pa. (Post-Gazette Pavilion)
June 7-8: Columbus, Ohio (Germain Amphitheatre)
June 12-13: Noblesville, Ind. (Verizon Wireless Music Center)
June 15: Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio (Blossom Music Center)
June 18-19: Hartford, Conn. (ctnow.com Meadows Music Theater)
June 22: Scranton, Pa. (Montage Mountain)
June 23: Virginia Beach, Va. (Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre)
June 25: Hershey, Pa. (Hersheypark Stadium)
June 26: Bristow, Va. (Nissan Pavilion)
June 28: Charlotte, N.C. (Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre)
June 29: Raleigh, N.C. (Alltel Pavilion)
July 1-2: Saratoga Springs, N.Y. (SPAC)
July 5-6: Camden, N.J. (Tweeter Center)
July 14: Tampa, Fla. (Ford Amphitheatre)
July 16-17: West Palm Beach, Fla. (Sound Advice Amphitheatre)
July 20: Antioch, Tenn. (Starwood Amphitheatre)
July 21: Cincinnati (Riverbend Music Center)
July 23-24: East Troy, Wis. (Alpine Valley)
July 27: Darien Center, N.Y. (Six Flags Darien Lake)
Aug. 12-13: San Francisco (SBC Park)
Aug. 16: Marysville, Calif. (Sleep Train Amphitheatre)
Aug. 19-21: George, Wash. (Gorge Amphitheatre)
Aug. 25: Chula Vista, Calif. (Coors Amphitheatre)
Aug. 27-28: Carson, Calif. (Home Depot Center)
Aug. 30: Phoenix (Cricket Pavilion)
Aug. 31: Albuquerque, N.M. (Journal Pavilion)
Sept. 2: Selma, Texas (Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre)
Sept. 5: Woodlands, Texas (Mitchell Pavilion)
Sept. 7: Bonner Springs, Kan. (Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre)
