Bette Midler has set the first leg of her cheekily titled Kiss My Brass tour in support of her new album, “Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook.” The jaunt will kick off Dec. 10 in Chicago and stretch through mid-February, with more dates to be added.
The Columbia set, released Tuesday, features Midler and pianist/arranger/producer Barry Manilow tackling 11 tunes popularized by the late singer Clooney, including “Come On-a My House,” “Mambo Italiano” and “In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening.” Midler will perform selections from the disc on the trek, as well as mining her catalog of hits and reprising characters and other material from her acting and comedy careers.
In addition to the 21 dates set so far — including a two-night New Year’s stand at the Mohegan Sun casino in Uncasville, Conn. — further engagements are expected to be announced for cities including Washington, D.C., Dallas, San Diego, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Miami, Seattle, Tampa, Fla., Atlantic City, N.J., and Portland, Ore.
Midler is slated to appear in the upcoming remake of “The Stepford Wives,” which co-stars Faith Hill, Nicole Kidman and Matthew Broderick. The film is due for release next summer.
Here are Bette Midler’s tour dates:
Dec. 10: Chicago (United Center)
Dec. 13: Columbus, Ohio (Nationwide Arena)
Dec. 15: St. Louis (Savvis Center)
Dec. 17: Milwaukee (Bradley Center)
Dec. 19: St. Paul, Minn. (Xcel Energy Center)
Dec. 27: Columbia, S.C. (Carolina Coliseum)
Dec. 29: Greensboro, N.C. (Greensboro Coliseum)
Dec. 31-Jan. 1: Uncasville, Conn. (Mohegan Sun)
Jan. 3: Uniondale, N.Y. (Nassau Coliseum)
Jan. 5: Cleveland (Gund Arena)
Jan. 8: Detroit (Palace of Auburn Hills)
Jan. 12: Toronto (Air Canada Centre)
Jan. 15: Philadelphia (Wachovia Center)
Jan. 17-18: New York (Madison Square Garden)
Jan. 20: Boston (Fleet Center)
Jan. 25: Atlanta (Philips Arena)
Jan. 31: Denver (Pepsi Center)
Feb. 10: Oakland, Calif. (Arena)
Feb. 12: Phoenix (Glendale Arena)