The Roots cultivate extensive tour
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With a new album right around the corner, hip-hop trailblazers The Roots have added a slew of dates to their North American tour, including a hometown festival gig in Philadelphia.
The trek, which launched last month, now includes a full run supporting Erykah Badu , as well as several major music festival appearances including Washington, DC's Green Apple Festival, Memphis' Beale Street, New Orleans' Jazz & Heritage Festival and Milwaukee's Summerfest.
The band will host its own Roots Picnic festival June 7 in Philly with special guests Gnarls Barkley, Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, Santogold, Deerhoof, J*Davey, Diplo, Esperanza and The Cool Kids.
The tour continues tonight (4/11) in Killington, VT, and will visit cities from coast to coast through Aug. 8, when The Roots are scheduled to play Jersey City, NJ's All Points West Festival. The group's full itinerary is listed below.
The Grammy-winning band is expected to be on the road all year supporting its 10th album, "Rising Down," which is due April 29.
"This is probably our most political album to date dealing with addiction, nihilism, hypocritical double standards in the prison system and overall life in Philadelphia," Roots co-founder/drummer Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson said in a statement. "I'd say it's more mature and intense than all of our efforts but not a 'downer' as most people expect us to do."
A few songs from the record, including lead single "Birthday Girl" featuring Fall Out Boy frontman Patrick Stump, are streaming at The Roots' MySpace page. Other guests on the album include Common, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Saigon, Dice Raw and Chrisette Michele.
The Roots will also have a chance to plug their new album during a string of small-screen appearances this month. They'll be featured on Comedy Central shows "Night of Too Many Stars" Sunday (4/13) and "The Colbert Report" April 15, and will drop by CBS-TV's "Late Show with David Letterman" April 28.
April 2008
11 - Killington, VT - Pickel Barrel Nightclub
12 - Boston, MA - Northeastern University
16 - West Lafayette, IN - Purdue University
17 - Pittsburgh, PA - Carnegie Mellon University
18 - St. Louis, MO - Webster University
20 - Washington, DC - Green Apple Festival @ National Mall
23 - Raleigh, NC - Duke University
24 - Myrtle Beach, SC - House of Blues
25 - Charlotte, NC - Amos' Southend Music Hall
26 - Towson, MD - Tigerfest @ Towson University
29 - New Haven, CT - Yale University
May 2008
2 - Memphis, TN - Beale Street Music Festival
3 - New Orleans, LA - Jazz & Heritage Festival
4 - Detroit, MI - Fox Theater*
6 - Montreal, Quebec - Cepsum @ University of Montreal*
8 - Boston, MA - Orpheum Theater*
9 - New York City, NY - Radio City Music Hall*
10 - Baltimore, MD - Pier Six Concert Pavilion*
11 - Allentown, PA - Crocodile Rock
14-15 - Washington, DC - DAR Constitution Hall*
16 - Norfolk, VA - Chrysler Hall*
17 - Richmond, VA - Landmark Theater*
20 - Boca Raton, FL - Mizner Park*
23 - Atlanta, GA - Fox Theater*
24 - Chillicothe, IL - Summer Camp Music Festival
25 - Los Angeles, CA - UCLA Jazz and Reggae Festival
27 - Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium*
29 - St. Louis, MO - Fox Theater*
30-31 - Chicago, IL - Chicago Theater*
June 2008
2 - Denver, CO - The Fillmore*
4 - Eugene, OR - Cuthbert Amphitheater
5 - Seattle, WA - Marymoor Park*
7 - Philadelphia, PA - The Roots Picnic @ Festival Pier
8 - Oakland, CA - Paramount Theater*
10 - San Diego, CA - Humphrey's*
12 - Los Angeles, CA - Greek Theater*
13 - Birmingham, AL - City Stages Festival
14 - Phoenix, AZ - Mesa Amphitheatre*
17 - Houston, TX - Verizon Wireless Theater
18 - Dallas, TX - Nokia Theater
19 - New Orleans, LA - House of Blues
22 - Rochester, NY - Rochester International Jazz Festival
July 2008
4 - Milwaukee, WI - Summerfest 2008
20 - Commerce City, CO - Dick's Sporting Goods Park
August 2008
8 - Jersey City, NJ - All Points West Festival @ Liberty State Park
* dates supporting Erykah Badu
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