STEVE MARTIN AND THE STEEP CANYON RANGERS
ANNOUNCE 2011 TOUR IN SUPPORT OF NEW RARE BIRD ALERT CD
Appearances on Ellen and Conan O’Brien Announced For May
“Steve Martin‘s 2009 collection, The Crow: New Songs for the Five String Banjo earned the veteran actor not only a Grammy but the respect of the close knit bluegrass community. On March 15, Martin returns with Rare Bird Alert, his second bluegrass album on Rounder Records. ‘I came in as an outsider, so I didn’t know what the reception would be like, but it was very warm. We reached a lot of bluegrass people, and I think we reached a lot of non-bluegrass people, too’ commented Martin.”
Billboard Magazine, March 12, 2011
LOS ANGELES, CA—March 10, 2011 – Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers (SCR) will be touring North America beginning with five New York City shows in support of their new CD, Rare Bird Alert. The CD will be issued in three formats: the standard CD, vinyl and a deluxe edition that will include specially created trading cards featuring performers on the album. During street week, Martin and SCR will perform on “Late Show with David Letterman” (March 16th), “The View” (March 17th) and “The Colbert Report” (March 21st.) The list of the first leg of the Rare Bird Alert tour is listed below. In addition to these tour dates, Martin and SCR will be performing on the Ellen DeGeneres Show (5/3 airdate) and the Conan O’Brien Show (5/3.) Martin will also be doing three Q & A non musical evenings indicated on the list and the Steep Canyon Rangers have a solo LA show.
Rare Bird Alert features 13 new Martin-penned tracks, including a live version of “King Tut,” and was produced by Tony Trischka. Paul McCartney and The Dixie Chicks also make special guest vocal appearances. Martin co-wrote two of the CD’s songs with the Steep Canyon Rangers.
Steve Martin is a four-time Grammy® winner, the latest for The Crow: New Songs for the Five-String Banjo, which won Best Bluegrass Album (2009), in addition he won for his collaboration with Earl Scruggs on Foggy Mountain Breakdown (2001) and two for comedy albums Wild and Crazy Guy (1978) and Let’s Get Small (1977.) After playing on the Grammy® Award winning Foggy Mountain Breakdown, Martin began writing a string of new banjo songs, some with lyrics and some as instrumentals which led to the making of, The Crow: New Songs for the Five-String Banjo.
New dates and TV appearances on the Rare Bird Alert tour:
March 14 Highline Ballroom, New York SOLD OUT
March 15-17 Joe’s Pub, New York SOLD OUT
March 19 Music Hall of Williamsburg, New York SOLD OUT
March 29 Hanover Theater, Worcester, MA (Q&A, no music)
March 30 Palace Theater, Albany, NY (Q&A, no music)
April 29 & 30 Mirage Hotel, Las Vegas, NV
May 1 Coronet, Los Angeles, CA *SCR only
May 3 Ellen DeGeneres Show, Los Angeles, CA (airdate)
May 3 Conan O’Brien Show, Los Angeles, CA
May 18 Merrill Auditorium, Portland, ME
May 19 Bergen Performing Arts Center, Englewood, NJ
May 20 Clay Center for the Arts & Sciences, Charleston, WV
May 21 Durham Performing Arts Center, Durham, NC
May 22 Ovens Auditorium, Charlotte, NC
May 24 Tennessee Theatre, Knoxville, TN
May 25 Providence Performing Arts Center, Providence, RI (Q&A, no music)
May 26 Memorial Auditorium, Chattanooga, TN
May 27 The Woods at Fontanel, White Creek, TN
May 28 Orpheum Theatre, Memphis, TN
May 29 Von Braun Center, Huntsville, AL
June 21 Lexington Opera House, Lexington, KY
June 22 Effingham Performance Center, Effingham, IL
June 23 ROMP – Bill Monroe Celebration, Owensboro, KY
June 28 Mayo Center PAC – community Theater, Morristown, NJ
June 30 The Warner Theatre, Torrington, CT
July 1 Chautaugua Instituiton Amphitheatre, Chautauqua, NY
More dates to be announced shortly.
For more information on Steve Martin, including message boards, tour dates and more, please visit www.stevemartin.com. A free download of the song “Rare Bird Alert” is also available from this website. Photos and video are available on request.