
David Bowie --whose 26th studio album, "Reality," hits stores on Tuesday (9/16)--heads to North America this winter as part of his world tour behind the set.
Dubbed "A Reality Tour," Bowie's North American run kicks off in early December and so far stretches into February of next year. Tickets for shows in Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago and New York hit the box office during the coming week, and subsequent on-sales are scheduled for most remaining confirmed dates. Details appear in the itinerary below.
Membership to BowieNet, Bowie's online fan club, is included with every ticket sold for the tour. Each ticket will bear a special code that can be submitted to BowieNet for a free 3-month membership, according to a press release. Current members of BowieNet, meanwhile, will have a shot at tickets before the general public.
Bowie and his band have rehearsed more than 50 songs culled from every era of his career, and will change the set list from "night to night" during the tour, according to a press release.
Backing Bowie during the tour is the band with whom he recorded "Reality": vocalist/bassist Gail Ann Dorsey, pianist Mike Garson, drummer Sterling Campbell and guitarists Earl Slick and Gerry Leonard. The same lineup also worked with Bowie on last year's "Heathen," and toured with him behind that set.
"My band is playing at the top of its form right now and it would be foolish not to play a tour this year while we're in such good spirits about the live show aspects of our work," Bowie said in a statement.
Bowie wrote and recorded "Reality" in New York City, and co-produced the set with longtime collaborator Tony Visconti. Visconti also contributed bass parts on the album, while Bowie--in addition to singing--played keyboards, guitar and sax.
The album features nine original cuts, as well as cover versions of "Pablo Picasso"--a Jonathan Richman -penned song that Richman originally recorded with The Modern Lovers--and "Try Some, Buy Some," a lesser-known song by the late George Harrison .
Samples of all of the album's tracks are streaming via an online jukebox housed at Bowie's website.