Mercury Music Prize Nominee M.I.A. Headlines Fall Tour Kicking Off With Central Park Concert

NEW YORK (Interscope Records) - "Dancehall Superstar"? - Rolling Stone
"One tough, international groovebox enthusiast?" - Spin
"Mishmashed, electro-ragga grooves and conscious couplets?" - Vibe
"Grimy glitchy dancehall stomp?" - Blender
"Child-like and streetwise?" - URB
"A weapon of the future?" - Fader
"Good Shit" - Vice
"She's hard, boy. She's dope. I need to get with her bad. I'm into all that type of stuff. That brings something out of me." - Timbaland

Luckily M.I.A. is coming back Stateside September for a headline tour - so go and translate the tributes for yourself.
First up is New York's Central Park SummerStage, an open-air show free to the people Sunday afternoon August 7. Then the Sri Lankin-born artist takes her globe-spanning beats and critically-acclaimed ass on the road as the mane-shaking main attraction in September and October.

Check out a show and see for yourself why she is worthy of 2005's Mercury Music Prize nomination. The prestigious British award is handed out each year to one artist only and is based solely on artistic merit. MIA made the shortlist with 11 others (among them Kaiser Chiefs, Coldplay and Bloc Party). Previous winners have included Franz Ferdinand, Badly Drawn Boy and PJ Harvey; this year's winner will be announced in London September 6.

She stole the show at Coachella and Glastonbury and received rave reviews on her spring tour with LCD Soundsystem. The new run promises the catchy tunes we all know and love and many new surprises. She has sold out every show thus far so buy your tix early.

August
Sun 8/7 New York, NY, Central Park Summerstage

September
Mon 9/19 Athens, GA, 40 Watt Club
Wed 9/21 Washington, DC, 930 Club
Fri 9/23 Boston, MA, Paradise
Sat 9/24 Montreal, QUE, Spectrum
Mon 9/26 Toronto, ONT, Phoenix Concert Theatre
Tue 9/27 Detroit, MI, St. Andrews
Wed 9/28 Chicago, IL, Metro
Thu 9/29 Minneapolis, MN, Fineline

October
Sat 10/01 Denver, CO, Gothic Theatre
Tue 10/04 Los Angeles, CA, Henry Fonda
Wed 10/05 San Francisco, CA, Grand Ballroom
More to follow...