If Usher brought all the people on the road who have been talking about opening for his Evolution Tour, the poor dude would barely have any time to perform himself. Artists from Ludacris to Fabolous have all talked about taking the city-to-city jaunt with the singer this spring, but Friday he finally announced who will kick things off.
Faith Evans, Mr. Cheeks and Nas, who won’t have to unpack from finishing his Stillmatic tour, have all made the cut. The trip starts May 8 at Seattle’s KeyArena.
A spokesperson for Usher was not aware of the singer’s mindset in choosing in his openers, but you can guess Evans had the inside track. She’s known Usher for years and doesn’t live too far from him on the outskirts of Atlanta.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” she said on Valentine’s Day about the possibility of touring with Usher. “I’ve only had one big tour experience and it was with Total and Dru Hill. We were all working together to make the show a great experience for the people that came out. That’s something that Usher and I both have in common. We go way back. Probably farther than anybody I’ve worked with.”
Some tour dates were announced a few weeks ago, but in order to accommodate everyone’s schedules the opening night has been switched and more dates will eventually be added, a spokesperson for Usher said.
Usher Tour Dates, According To His Spokesperson:
- 5/8 – Seattle, WA – KeyArena at Seattle Center
- 5/10 – Sacramento, CA – Sacramento Valley Amphitheater
- 5/11 – Concord, CA – Chronicle Pavilion
- 5/12 – San Diego, CA – San Diego Sports Arena
- 5/15 – Albuquerque, NM – Journal Pavilion
- 5/17 – Las Vegas, NV – Mandalay Bay
- 5/18 – Irvine, CA – Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
- 5/19 – Phoenix, AZ – Cricket Pavilion
- 5/23 – Minneapolis, MN – Target Center
- 5/24 – Tinley Park, IL – Tweeter Center
- 5/25 – Detroit, MI – DTE Energy Music Theatre
- 5/26 – Cleveland, OH – Gund Arena
- 5/27 – Milwaukee, WI – Marcus Amphitheater
- 5/30 – Nashville, TN – AmSouth Amphitheater
- 5/31 – Charlotte, NC – Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
- 6/1 – Raleigh, NC – Alltel Pavilion
- 6/2 – Virginia Beach, VA – Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
- 6/6 – Columbus, OH – Polaris Amphitheater
- 6/7 – Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center
- 6/8 – St. Louis, MO – UMB Bank Pavilion
- 6/9 – Kansas City, – Sandstone Amphitheater
- 6/12 – Toronto, Canada – TBA
- 6/13 – Scranton, PA – Montage Amphitheater
- 6/14 – New York, NY – Jones Beach
- 6/15 – Mansfield, MA – Tweeter Center
- 6/16 – Camden, NJ – Tweeter Center
- 6/20 – Albany, NY – Pepsi Arena
- 6/21 – Hartford, CT – Meadows Amphitheater
- 6/22 – Bristow, VA – Nissan Pavilion
- 6/23 – Pittsburgh, PA – Post Gazette Pavilion
- 6/27 – Indianapolis, IN – Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
- 6/28 – Hershey, PA – Hershey Stadium
- 6/29 – Holmdel, NJ – PNC Arts Center
- 6/30 – Buffalo, NY – TBA
- 7/4 – San Antonio, TX – Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
- 7/5 – Houston, TX – Cynthia Mitchell Woods Pavilion
- 7/6 – Dallas, TX – Smirnoff Music Center
- 7/11 – Orlando, FL – T.D. Waterhouse Arena
- 7/12 – Miami, FL – American Airlines Arena
- 7/13 – Tampa, FL – Ice Palace
- 7/14 – Atlanta, GA – Hi-Fi Buys Amphitheater