March 27, 2003
New York, NY -- R.E.M. won't release a new album this year, but they will tour for the first time in four years. A European tour is scheduled to begin with a June 27th stop at the Glastonbury Festival in the U.K. The group plans to visit Europe through July before returning to the U.S. After a short break, a twenty-six-date North American tour will launch with a September 1st appearance at the Bumbershoot Festival in Seattle.
"My kids have been asking me for the past couple of years, 'When do we get to go back on the tour bus?'" guitarist Peter Buck said. "So I am really excited about next summer and fall."
Wilco will open five dates (September 3-13), while Ed Harcourt will open September 14-20 and Sparklehorse will open September 23-30 and October 4th. Openers for all other dates will be announced later.
R.E.M. -- Buck, singer Michael Stipe, and bassist/keyboardist Mike Mills -- began work on an album last October and according to Buck have recorded "four albums of stuff" with multi-instrumentalists Scott McCaughey and Ken Stringfellow. Among the songs recorded so far is "Final Straw," an anti-war tune, which the band placed on its Web site (remhq.com) for streaming. The album will be the band's follow-up to 2001's Reveal.
"I always like to leave a demo sound, so we're trying to pretend we're making demos, and it's working really well," Buck told Rolling Stone earlier this year. "And everyone's just willing to try anything new. It's also me, Mike and Michael, who have played together for twenty-three years, so, there's certain things that we can do without even thinking about it."
Also in the works for R.E.M. is a best-of collection that spans the group's Warner Bros. years, running from 1988's Green to the present.
R.E.M. tour dates:
9/1: Seattle, Bumbershoot Festival
9/3: Portland, OR, New Amphitheater
9/6: San Francisco, Shoreline Amphitheater
9/7: San Diego, San Diego Street Scene
9/10: Los Angeles, The Hollywood Bowl
9/11: Las Vegas, Thomas and Mack Center
9/13-14: Denver, Red Rocks Amphitheater
9/16: Minneapolis, Xcel Energy Center
9/17: Kansas City, MO, Starlight Theater
9/19: Dallas, NextStage at Grand Prarie
9/20: Houston, Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavillion
9/21: Austin, Austin City Limits Music Festival
9/23: New Orleans, Lakefront Arena
9/24: Birmingham, AL, Oak Mountain Amphitheater
9/26: Chicago, United Center
9/27: Cleveland, Blossom Music Centers
9/28: Detroit, Palace of Auburn Hills
9/30: Toronto, Air Canada Center
10/1: Philadelphia, Mann Center for the Performing Arts
10/3-4: New York, Liberty Park
10/5: Boston, Tweeter Center
10/8: Washington, DC, MCI Center
10/9: Chapel Hill, NC, Dean E. Smith Center
10/11: Atlanta, Philips Arena
Written by ANDREW DANSBY for RollingStone.com News
