The second annual Virgin College Mega Tour (VCMT) will feature Cake as the headliner, with support from British rock quintet Gomez, Billboard.com has learned. The trek is set to begin in early April, with an official announcement expected on Monday (Jan. 31).
Presented by Dentyne Fire & Dentyne Ice, the 20-market tour also feature a daytime village on college campuses that will include an “emerging artist” stage, karaoke booth, contest give-a-ways and the latest games, new product demonstrations and gadgets for the college market.
Last year’s inaugural tour boasted Michelle Branch in the headline spot, with support from Rooney and Joe Firstman, as well as Gavin DeGraw on select dates.
On Monday, Cake will begin a European tour in Dublin that will end Feb. 15 in Tourcoing, France. The band is supporting its latest Columbia album, “Pressure Chief,” which debuted in October at No. 17 on The Billboard 200.
Gomez has just two other dates on its schedule: tomorrow (Jan. 29) in London and March 28 at the East Coast Blues & Roots Music Festival in Byron Bay, Australia. The band’s last Hut/Virgin album, “Split the Difference,” opened in June at No. 11 on Billboard’s Top Heatseekers tally.
Here are Cake’s confirmed tour dates:
Jan. 31: Dublin (Vicar Street)
Feb. 1: Glasgow (Garage)
Feb. 2: Manchester, England (Academy)
Feb. 4: London (Astoria)
Feb. 5: Brugge, Belgium (TBD)
Feb. 7: Copenhagen (Vega Musikkenshus)
Feb. 8: Dusseldorf (Zakk)
Feb. 9: Darmstadt, Germany (Central Station)
Feb. 10: Munich (Muffathalle)
Feb. 12: Zurich (X-Tra Limmathaus)
Feb. 13: Dijon, France (La Vapeur)
Feb. 15: Tourcoing, France (Le Grand Mix)
Source billboard.com.
Lou Reed, the Kinks’ Ray Davies and vocalist Antony have joined the lineup for the 15th annual Tibet House benefit concert, to be held Feb. 9 at New York’s Carnegie Hall. They join a bill that already includes the Black Keys, Patti Smith, Trey Anastasio, Nellie McKay, Chocolate Genius, the Drepung Gomang Monks and longtime artistic director/Tibet House VP, composer Philip Glass.
In other news, Reed has unveiled plans for a 21-date European tour, kicking off April 14 in Oporto, Portugal, and wrapping May 13 in Helsinki. The artist has also split with longtime label Reprise and signed a worldwide recording deal with Sanctuary. His final release for Reprise was the 2004 live set “Animal Serenade,” which featured material from his 2003 Edgar Allen Poe-inspired studio album “The Raven.”
Source billboard.com.
