American Idol tour takes finalists on the road for summer 2009 concerts

Reality television hit American Idol has narrowed its contestant pool down to 10 finalists. But while the show’s eighth season is still on-going, the chosen 10 are already guaranteed at least one major tour of the country. The American Idol 2009 Summer Tour will feature performances by each finalist as they visit 50 cities across the United States and Canada.

The summer-long venture begins July 5 at Rose Garden in Portland, OR, and wraps September 15 at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, NH. Highlights of the tour are a July 16 performance at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA, an August 4 show at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC, an August 18 concert at the TD Banknorth Garden (soon to be renamed the TD Garden) in Boston, MA, and a September 5 event at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN.

The Idol troupe will strike Canada just twice: July 8 at General Motors Place in Vancouver, BC, and August 14 at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, ON. Public on-sales for all dates of the tour will begin on May 9.

This year’s American Idol finalists and tour performers are Adam Lambert, Allison Iraheta, Anoop Desai, Danny Gokey, Kris Allen, Lil Rounds, Matt Giraud, Megan Joy, Michael Sarver and Scott MacIntyre.

Previous years of the American Idol tour featured similar 50-city summer itineraries, beginning in early July and stretching through mid- to late September. Quick sell-outs during on-sales for the 2008 trek prompted the addition of second shows in a handful of cities. Ticket sales also pushed the tour into TicketNews’s exclusive weekly rankings for top-selling events.

American Idol 2009 Summer Tour itinerary:
(Dates are subject to change.)