Ben Kweller books 24-date tour with Whitley 

Singer/songwriter Ben Kweller has confirmed a 24-date tour with Whitley for the fall. The tour will kick off in Dallas, TX, on September 25 and come to a closing on November 2 in Austin, TX. He will be previewing new material from his highly anticipated fourth album, “Changing Horses,” tentatively scheduled for a January 2009 release.

When Kweller was just 15 years old, he signed his first major record contract as a member of the Texas-based band Radish. The Dallas-born, New York-based rocker went solo a few years later and released “Sha Sha” in 2002, “On My Way” in 2004 and “Ben Kweller” in 2006. During that time, Kweller toured with rockers Ben Folds and Ben Lee under the moniker The Bens. The trio released a four-song EP under the same name.

Aussie singer/songwriter Whitley will accompany Kweller on all dates of the tour. After almost two years of touring in support of his debut album “The Submarine,” Whitley has spent the summer preparing material for a new album. While he has not announced a deadline for his sophomore release, he has hinted that his new songs would be ready in time for his tour with Kweller. In June, Whitley wrote on his official MySpace blog that his band was “not going to be playing the music we have been playing for the last two years” and that future tours would feature “newer, better” material.

The venues featured on the Kweller/Whitley tour will be intimate, club settings. In preparation for the tour, Kweller plans to release an EP titled “How Ya Lookin’, Southbound? Comein…” The album, available only on the tour, will include outtakes and demos, as well as three songs from “Horses,” according to a statement on Kweller’s website.

Ben Kweller itinerary:
(Dates subject to change.)