Labelle Shines 'Like Rays From An Early Morning Sun' (Rolling Stone Online) Onstage

New York, NY. (Top40 Charts/ Shore Fire Media) - Labelle, the "original superstars of soulful, funky girl-group black rock " (LA Times Online, 1.30.09), is now halfway through their first national tour in over three decades, and the critical consensus is that seeing the sexagenarians' reunion was well worth the 30-year wait.

The 'Back To Now' Tour, featuring songs from Labelle's "fiercely soulful" (Entertainment Weekly, 10.24.08) 2008 Verve album by the same name, has stops scheduled in Washington, DC (2.13), Atlanta (2.14), Miami (2.15), New York (2.26) and Detroit (3.20): five more chances for fans to see the band's feathers, fanfare, and flair firsthand.

Here's what critics are saying about Labelle's 'Back To Now' Tour:

"Each song was its own drama, building slowly or charging into a groove, well-plotted with an improvisatory flourish. The three women were clearly exulting in their partnership and having fun." - Jon Pareles, New York Times (NY), 12.21.08

"Labelle's harmonies proved stunning, just has they had 30-odd years ago... the show offered chill upon chill." - Ann Powers, LA Times Online (CA), 1.30.09

"...the close and complex harmonies that poured out of Labelle shone like rays from an early morning sun." - Barry Walters, Rolling Stone Online, 2.2.09

"Enhanced by a nine-piece band, the vocalists' pioneering sounds were outshined only by their group chemistry and desire to have fun...Vibrant costumes reflected the trio's exuberance. Wearing feather-accented outfits and fancy wigs, the group looked like the fashionable envy of any self-respecting diva- male or female." - Bob Gendron, Chicago Tribune (IL), 1.12.09

"...too many thrilling vocal performances to count. [The band] got huge cheers just for walking onstage in futuristic diva costumes..." - Jay Lustig, Newark Star Ledger (NJ), 12.21.08

"[The band's] performance - a loose, playful, highly engaging revue of classics and worthy new material... - should be seen as nothing less than a smashing success." - Ben Wener, Orange County Register (CA), 1.30.09