By Alfred Branch, Jr.
Hot on the heels of their electrifying performance of “Roxanne” at the 2007 Grammy Awards, ‘80s New Wave darlings the Police have announced cities and dates for a summer tour of North America beginning May 28 in Vancouver, BC.
The super group consisting of Sting, Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers will play 14 confirmed dates from May into August, but in a few weeks, the band expects to announce additional dates in 13 extra cities in North America. Among the highlights are two scheduled dates in New York in August at Madison Square Garden, a stop at famed Fenway Park in Boston and a headlining gig at the Bonnaroo Festival in Manchester, TN, in June. Best Buy and Live Nation are presenting the North American shows.
During its six-year run in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Police scored five number one albums and five Grammy awards, and is considered one of the seminal bands of that era. The band broke up acrimoniously in the mid-1980s and had not played together since, potentially making this one of the most lucrative tours of the year.
Cities and venues for the first 14 dates are: May 28, GM Place, Vancouver BC; June 6, Key Arena, Seattle WA; June 9, Pepsi Center, Denver CO; June 15, MGM Grand Garden, Las Vegas, NV; June 16, Bonnaroo Festival, Manchester, TN; June 18, US Airways Arena, Phoenix, AZ; June 26, American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX; June 30, New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, LA; July 2, Scottrade Center, St. Louis, MO; July 22, Air Canada Centre, Toronto, ON; July 25, Bell Centre, Montreal, PQ; July 28, Fenway Park, Boston, MA; and August 1 and 3, Madison Square Garden, New York, NY. Tickets for the Canadian shows will go on sale Feb. 17, and Feb. 20 for the New York and Boston shows. The band will announce at a later date when tickets will go on sale for the remaining shows.
The 13 additional cities include Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Miami and Hartford. Besides North America, the group also plans to play shows in the fall in England, Holland, Germany, Mexico, Japan, Australia and Italy, among others.
Exact pricing information was not yet available, but there will be a four-ticket limit per person for arena shows and a six-ticket limit per person for stadium shows. A portion of the proceeds from the shows will be donated to the international charity WaterAid, a non-governmental organization dedicated to helping impoverished regions secure safe water.