Folds to Rock the Cities

NY (AP) - In support of his forthcoming album, Rockin' the Suburbs, Ben Folds will kick off a national tour on September 7th in North Carolina. The album is his debut solo effort following last year's split of his former band, Ben Folds Five.
Produced by Ben Grosse, Rockin' offers a more sophisticated sound without straying far from Folds' favorite subjects: unrequited love and painful heartbreak. The record will hit stores September 11th through Sony 550 Music.

And though Folds himself played all of the instruments on the twelve new tracks -- a task that, he admits, is near impossible to do properly -- he will not be tackling the infinitely more difficult job of playing them all live. As a result, a touring band composed of old friends Snooz on guitar, keyboards and vocals and Millard on bass and vocals, as well as Jim Bogios (Sheryl Crow, Dixie Chicks) on drums, will accompany him on the road.

Ben Folds' American tour dates, excluding some brief stops in Europe and Asia, are as follows:

9/7-8: Carrboro, N.C., Cat's Cradle
9/9: Pittsburgh, Metropol
9/11: Washington, D.C., 9:30 Club
9/12: Philadelphia, Theatre of Living Arts
9/13: New York, Irving Plaza
9/15: Boston, Avalon
9/16: Providence, R.I., Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel
9/18: Charleston, S.C., Music Farm
9/21: New Orleans, House of Blues
9/27: Cincinnati, Bogart's
9/29: Salt Lake City, Utah, State Fairpark
9/30: Pontiac, Mich., Clutch Cargo's
10/3: Chicago, Vic Theatre
10/4: Minneapolis, First Avenue
10/6: Denver, Gothic Theatre
10/9: Vancouver, Commodore Ballroom
10/10: Seattle, Showbox
10/11: Portland, Ore., Roseland Theatre
10/15: Los Angeles, El Rey Theatre