After a summer spent writing new material and performing their album “Blue Skies, Broken Hearts” live on tour, The Ataris are heading out on some newly announced U.S. dates before taking the act overseas. So far, the pop-punk rockers have dates booked from their September 7 start in Lafayette, IN, through October 10 in San Jose, CA.
The U.S. tour includes three acoustic performances of 1999’s “Blue Skies, Broken Hearts,” including the opening show and California concerts on October 8 in Anaheim and October 9 in La Jolla. Most of The Ataris’ performances this year have been focused on the material from that record, the group’s second studio effort.
“I have been playing [“Blue Skies”] from start to finish on most shows, and then I play a handful of songs from our other records at the end,” frontman Kristopher Roe said in an interview on the group’s MySpace blog. “I think that was the album that, other than ‘So Long, Astoria,’ got most of our core fan base into our band.”
Though most of The Ataris’ pervious tours this year focused on older material, Roe has been recording demo tracks in preparation for studio sessions later in the year. Roe noted in a June 27 blog entry that the band has “about 10-15 new songs” and more lyrics in the works. He explained that they “have a lot written, but just need to piece [the lyrics] all together now.”
Following the U.S. itinerary, The Ataris will head across the pond for a string of acoustic “Blue Skies” concerts in the UK The band currently has one date announced for the October shows overseas — an October 24 performance in Newport, Wales.
Roe has been scheduling the tour itinerary for this years’ shows personally, requesting on his blog that individuals wishing to book a show contact him via e-mail.
The Ataris itinerary:
(Dates are subject to change.)
| September 7 | Lafayette, IN | Turn Indiana Blue Festival * |
| September 12 | Elwood, IN | Sam’s Wonder Bar |
| September 13 | Blufton, IN | 4-H Fairgrounds |
| September 18 | Tempe, AZ | Tempe Marketplace |
| September 24 | Scranton, PA | Tink’s Entertainment Complex |
| September 25 | Allentown, PA | Crocodile Rock Cafe |
| September 26 | Hoboken, NJ | Maxwell’s |
| September 27 | Gwynedd Valley, PA | Gwynedd-Mercy College |
| September 28 | State College, PA | The SoZo |
| September 29 | Cleveland, OH | Agora Ballroom |
| October 1 | Bowling Green, OH | Howard’s |
| October 2 | Park, MI | Days Hotel Hazel |
| October 3 | Chicago, IL | Beat Kitchen |
| October 4 | Muncie, IN | The Launching Pad |
| October 8 | Anaheim, CA | Chain Reaction * |
| October 9 | La Jolla, CA | Porter’s Pub * |
| October 10 | San Jose, CA | San Jose Skate |
| October 24 | Newport, UK | TJ’s |
* acoustic shows
