It looks like the Music As A Weapon tour is taking the place of the cancelled touring version of the Musink Tattoo & Music Festival.
For the first time, Music As A Weapon tour, created by the Grammy-nominated hard-rock band Disturbed in 2001, is being expanded into a traveling lifestyle festival that in addition to hard rocking music will now include tattoo artists, extreme sports, a tech and gaming zone, and vendor village.
Kicking of March 20 in Madison, WI, and finishing up May 16 in Chicago, IL, Disturbed will be joined on the 38-city, nine-week trek, by Killswitch Engage on the main-stage, as well as Lacuna Coil, Chimaira, and other acts to be announced on the second stage.
Tattoo artists include the world-famous Oliver Peck (seen on Miami Ink and Bam’s Unholy Union on MTV) and Las Vegas’ Hart & Huntington Tattoo Company (founded by freestyle motocross legend Carey Hart). The extreme sports complex will feature freestyle motocross, BMX, and skate teams performances.
“We really wanted to make sure fans attending Music As a Weapon this year got the most bang for their buck,” said Disturbed frontman David Draiman, in a statement, “so we decided to bring in the tattoo artists, the extreme sports complex, the gaming, and the vendor village to go beyond the usual live music experience and give the concerts the feel of a true event. Our feeling in expanding the festival was to give people maximum entertainment value. If they are going to part with their hard-earned money, we need to honor that and give them our all in return.”
In addition to being produced by Disturbed and their manager Jeff Battaglia, co-producers include the same industry veterans behind the nixed Musink Tatoo & Music Festival: John Reese (president of Freeze Artist Management and co-founder and co-producer of Rockstar Taste Of Chaos Tour, Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival and the Collegiate Get A Life Tour), CAA booking agent Darryl Eaton (co-producer of the Vans Warped Tour, Rockstar Taste Of Chaos Tour, Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival) and Bill Hardie (producer and founder of Hootenanny, Musink and Spare The Air Festivals).
Music As A Weapon IV Tour is being presented by Samsung Mobile and powered by Sprint.
Music As A Weapon IV itinerary:
(Dates are subject to change.)
| March 20 | Madison, WI | Alliant Energy Center Memorial Coliseum |
| March 21 | Waterloo, IA | McElroy Auditorium |
| March 23 | Oklahoma City, OK | Ford Center |
| March 25 | Denver, CO | Fillmore Auditorium |
| March 28 | Glendale, AZ | Jobing.com Arena |
| March 29 | Albuquerque, NM | Tingley Col. @ New Mexico St. Fair |
| March 31 | Grand Prairie, TX | Nokia Theatre at Grand Prairie |
| April 1 | Wichita, KS | Hartman Arena |
| April 3 | Bossier City, LA | CenturyTel Center |
| April 4 | Little Rock, AR | Riverfest Amphitheatre |
| April 5 | New Orleans, LA | Lakefront Arena |
| April 7 | Pensacola, FL | Pensacola Civic Center |
| April 8 | Duluth, GA | The Arena At Gwinnett Center |
| April 11 | Orlando, FL | Amway Arena |
| April 13 | Charlotte, NC | Bojangles’ Coliseum |
| April 14 | Baltimore, MD | 1st Mariner Arena |
| April 15 | Lowell, MA | Paul E. Tsongas Arena |
| April 17 | University Park, PA | Bryce Jordan Center |
| April 18 | Portland, ME | Cumberland Co. Civic Center |
| April 20 | Erie, PA | Erie Civic Center Complex |
| April 21 | Bridgeport, CT | Arena At Harbor Yard |
| April 22 | East Rutherford, NJ | Izod Center |
| April 24 | Fayetteville, NC | Crown Coliseum |
| April 25 | Reading, PA | Sovereign Center |
| April 27 | Glens Falls, NY | Glens Falls Civic Ctr. |
| April 28 | Pittsburgh, PA | Petersen Events Center |
| April 30 | Battle Creek, MI | Kellogg Arena |
| May 2 | Detroit, MI | Cobo Arena |
| May 3 | Cleveland, OH | Wolstein Ctr. / Cleveland St. Univ. |
| May 5 | Columbus, OH | Schottenstein Center |
| May 6 | Peoria, IL | Peoria Civic Center Arena |
| May 8 | Minneapolis, MN | Target Center |
| May 9 | Indianola, IA | Balloon Classic Launch Field |
| May 10 | Green Bay, WI | Resch Center |
| May 12 | La Crosse, WI | La Crosse Center Arena |
| May 13 | Evansville, IN | Roberts Stadium |
| May 15 | Council Bluffs, IA | Mid-America Center |
| May 16 | Chicago, IL | Charter One Pav. @ Northerly Isl. |
