Virgin Recommends artist Rufus Wainwright will begin his first-ever headlining tour with a full band beginning on Feb 8 at Boston’s Avalon Ballroom, and ending Mar 9 in San Francisco at the famed Fillmore. The coast-to-coast North American endeavor lies in the wake of the singer/songwriter/keyboardist/guitarist’s critically-hailed album, Poses (Dreamworks), appearing in the #1 spot on Billboard’s Heatseeker’s Chart. It also comes on the brink of a new emotive song, a Beatle’s cover featured on the I Am Sam soundtrack
, “Across The Universe,” where Sean Lennon accompanies him on guitar. Wainwright performed the song on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno on Jan 15.
Wainright, the son of singer-songwriter Loudon Wainright, hit the road as a solo performer and opening act for Roxy Music and Tori Amos in the last year, but he has never taken a full band on the road. Thus, making the upcoming tour the first time audiences will hear songs from Poses played by a full band. Joining Wainright on the tour will be his sister, Martha Wainwright, on guitar and vocals, bassist Jeff Hill, singer-songwriter Teddy Thompson on guitar and vocals, eels drummer/percussionist, Butch, and a guitarist/keyboardist not yet named.
Thompson will do double duty as Wainwright’s opening act for all shows except the Feb 14 gig at New York City’s Town Hall, where Antony Hegarty will be the opening act.
Dates Are As Follows:
- Feb 8 – Boston, MA, Avalon Ballroom
- Feb 9 – Albany, NY, Hart Theatre At The Egg
- Feb 10 – Toronto, Canada, Convocation Hall
- Feb 11 – Montreal, Canada, Le Spectrum De Montreal
- Feb 14, New York, NY, Town Hall
- Feb 15 – Philadelphia, PA, Electric Factory
- Feb 16 – Washington, D.C., 9:30 Club
- Feb 17 – Towson, MD, Recher Theatre
- Feb 19 – Pittsburgh, PA, Metropol
- Feb 20, Ann Arbor, MI, Michigan Theatre
- Feb 22 – Chicago, IL, Vic Theatre
- Feb 23 – Oberlin, OH, Finney Chapel
- Feb 24 – Greencastle, IN, Kresge Auditorium
- Feb 26 – Madison, WI, Barrymore Theatre
- Feb 27 – Minneapolis, MN, First Avenue
- Mar 1 – Aspen, CO, Double Diamond
- Mar 2 – Denver, CO, Gothic Theatre
- Mar 8, Los Angeles, CA, Wilshire Ebell Theatre
- Mar 9, San Francisco, CA, Fillmore
