Today’s recap includes tour announcements, venue updates and more, as compiled by TicketNews on April 13, 2009.
Country musician Toby Keith has new tour plans for 2009 coming in the form of the summer America’s Toughest Tour. Veteran rocker Billy Squier has his own summer tour booked for June through September. Meanwhile, Underground rapper Tech N9ne launches his spring tour this week, with dates booked through mid-June.
In venue news, comedian Jon Lovitz is opening his own California comedy club this year. The 400-seat Jon Lovitz Comedy Club will open May 28 in Universal City, CA. On the East Coast, Live Nation has added two recently constructed venues to its roster of Charlotte, NC, sites: the Fillmore and Uptown Amphitheatre.
Those are the complete reports for this Monday. To get up to date on more artists’ live performance plans, read on for concert and tour itineraries in brief:
Boz Scaggs will launch a tour next week that will take him through the summer with about 30 concerts booked. Scaggs will split the tour between blocks of solo dates and shows with Michael McDonald. Concerts pick up April 22 at Snoqualmie Casino in Snoqualmie, WA, and continue through a July 16-17 stand at The Mountain Winery in Saratoga, CA. Among other dates, shows are also lined up for April 24-25 at Chinook Winds Casino in Lincoln City, OR; May 9 at Isleta Casino & Resort in Albuquerque, NM; May 16 at Paramount Theatre in Austin, TX; June 27 at Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom in Hampton Beach, NH; and July 6 at Paramount Theatre in Denver, CO.
Cheech & Chong are currently touring Down Under, but the comedic duo will be back in the U.S. for another leg of their 2008-2009 Light Up America Tour. The next stage of the trek has 13 shows booked at the moment, from May 15 at Abraham Chavez Theatre in El Paso, TX, through September 27 at The Mountain Winery in Saratoga, CA. Performances are scheduled along the way for May 22 at Sandia Casino Amphitheater in Albuquerque, NM; May 23 at Pearl Concert Theater in Las Vegas, NV; June 4 at the Providence Performing Arts Center in Providence, RI; and June 6 at the Borgata Event Center in Atlantic City, NJ, among other dates.
Josh Gracin, former American Idol contestant, has a lengthy tour in the works for the next five months. Concerts pick up April 17 at the Harv/Mountaineer Race Track in Chester, WV, and end September 19 at Lincoln Park Pool in Grand Junction, CO. Select gig stops on the road are set for May 10 at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, CT; May 17 at Hersheypark Amphitheatre in Hershey, PA; June 20 at Villages Amphitheater in Fayetteville, GA; July 24 at Barnstable County Fairgrounds in East Falmouth, MA; and August 28-30 at South Point Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, NV.
The Decemberists have added a second leg of dates to the books for their North American summer tour. The first leg begins May 19 at Hollywood Palladium in Hollywood, CA, and continues through June 20 at Walker Arts Center in Minneapolis, MN. The new round of shows picks up July 17 at Marymoor Amphitheatre in Redmond, WA, and concludes August 11 at Royal Oak Music Theatre in Royal Oak, MI. Highlights of the outing include a July 18-19 run at McMenamins Edgefield Amphitheater in Troutdale, OR, a July 21-22 stand at Vogue Theatre in Vancouver, BC, and an August 3 show at Kool Haus in Toronto, ON.