Melbourne’s finest genre-busting, multi-platinum collective THE CAT EMPIRE have today announced their biggest world tour to date, which will see them play almost 70 shows across three continents in celebration of the release of their fifth studio album “Steal The Light”.
Over the course of a decade, the band has gained an incredible international reputation, and has established themselves as one of Australia’s most unique musical exports.
When they jumped on a plane to the USA for their first overseas engagement in 2002 it was the first time some band members had cause for a passport. They have subsequently toured all over the world, performing almost 950 shows including headlining some of the worlds most prestigious festivals, and playing on entertainment shows such as Letterman and Leno.
With an outstanding new record and a live show to match, 2013 is set be another great year for The Cat Empire. “When we started out,” says The Cat Empire vocalist and trumpeter Harry Angus, “we were jazz musicians, but we wanted to play music that spoke to the whole world. I think with this record we’ve really come full circle, and we’re really embracing that concept again.”
The Steal The Light World Tour will get underway in North America in July, with the band headlining Canadian festivals and hitting the hot spots of the USA. The band will be supported by Blackalicious, as well as Australia’s own Tinpan Orange on some North American dates.
South America is in the bands sights this year for the first time following a huge online drive from fans in Rio, Sao Paulo and Buenes Aires who took it upon themselves to lobby the band for shows via pledge site Queremos. With over 500 fans pledging their attendance in less then one week, The Cat Empire re-routed their tour to respond to the demand, adding more cities each week as South Americans catch on and join the lobby group.
The band will be back in Australia in September to do a run through their favourite theatres, with special guests Hiatus Kaiyote sharing the stage, as well as The Empire Horns and new addition to the entertainment troupe - Lenny and The Ela Dancers – 4 amazing dancers to get the rooms moving.
The Cat Empire will be stepping up in venue sizes across Europe in October 2013, with London’s Brixton Academy set to sell out, and the band moving on from multiple nights in Amsterdam’s Paradiso to the famed Heineken Music Hall. With Melbourne band FLAP! opening all European shows, the boys are excited to get back to Barcelona for the first time since 2004. No doubt this announcement to follow next week will please the legion of Spaniards who have taken to bussing across the border into France en-masse in recent years in order to get to see the band.
The band’s first single from the new album, “Brighter Than Gold,” is already a crowd favourite, with high rotation on Triple J in Australia, “Mega Hit” status on 3FM in the Netherlands, heat building on it at radio in Germany and Belgium, and dipping into the Dutch iTunes chart in the top #20, peaking at #17 just two weeks after release.
“Brighter Than Gold” hints at great things to come on the new album, “Steal The Light”, the bands first worldwide independent release. It arrives ten years after they crashed onto the recording scene with a self-titled debut album that was gold in Australia within weeks, platinum two months later, and double platinum a year on from that. Followed by a No. 1 chart entry for the sophomore album Two Shoes in 2005, and 2 more award winning albums after that, there is every indication that THE CAT EMPIRE have no intention of slowing down.
“In many ways this record is a return to our original aesthetic, a very simple thing; that the music is for dancing and feeling good. The record and the shows should make people smile, make people dance. That's all we want,” muses Angus.
The Steal the Light World Tour goes on sale April 26. Dancing shoes essential.
Brighter Than Gold video clip...
THE CAT EMPIRE
STEAL THE LIGHT WORLD TOUR 2013
Pre-sale (where applicable) Wed 24 and Thurs 25 April General on sale: Friday 26th April
JUNE
Thurs 27 WASHINGTON DC – FILLMORE
Fri 28 PHILADELPHIA – WORLD LIVE CAFÉ
Sat 29 NEW YORK – BEST BUY THEATER
Sun 30 BOSTON – HOUSE OF BLUES
JULY
Thurs 4 OTTAWA – BLUESFEST
Fri 5 MONTREAL INTERNATIONAL FESITIVAL – THE METROPOLIS
Sun 7 TORONTO – GARRISON COMMON AT FORT YORK
Tues 9 CLEVELAND – BEACHLAND BALLROOM & TAVERN
Wed 10 CHICAGO – HOUSE OF BLUES
Fri 12 WINNIPEG FOLK FESTIVAL
Sat 13 WINNIPEG FOLK FESTIVAL
15/16/17 SAN FRAN, LA, SAN DIEGO to be confirmed
Fri 19 VICTORIA – PHILLIP’S BREWERY (Outdoors)
Sat 20 VANCOUVER – announcement to follow
Sun 21 VANCOUVER – announcement to follow
Tues 23 SEATTLE – NEUMOS
Wed 24 PORTLAND – DOUG FIR LOUNGE
Thurs 24 NELSON – THE HUME HOTEL
Fri 26 CALGARY – FOLK FESTIVAL
Sat 27 CALGARY – FOLK FESTIVAL
Sun 28 BAIE-SANT PAUL – LE FESTIF!
AUGUST
SOUTH AMERICA via pledge site Queremos
BUENOS AIRES & FORTALEZA to be confirmed
Fri 2 RIO – CIRCO VOADOR
Sat 3 SAO PAULO - JOIA
SEPTEMBER All Australian Shows with Special Guests Hiatus Kaiyote
Fri 6 ADELAIDE – THEBARTON
Sat 7 PERTH – RED HILL
Sun 8 DARWIN DISCOVERY
Thurs 12 MELBOURNE – FORUM
Fri 13 MELBOURNE – FORUM
Thurs 19 CANBERRA – UC REFECTORY
Fri 20 SYDNEY – ENMORE
Sat 21 SYDNEY – ENMORE
Fri 27 BRISBANE – TIVOLI
Sat 28 BRISBANE – TIVOLI
OCTOBER All European Shows with Special Guests FLAP! From Australia
4 - 6 Northern Qld to be confirmed
Thurs 17 UK, BIRMINGHAM – HMV INSTITUTE
Fri 18 UK, BOURNEMOUTH – O2 ACADEMY
Sun 20 UK, LONDON – BRIXTON ACADEMY
Tues 22 UK, BRISTOL – O2 ACADEMY
Wed 23 UK, OXFORD – O2 ACADEMY
Thurs 24 UK, MANCHESTER – RITZ
Sat 26 UK, GLASGOW – ABC
Sun 27 UK, SHEFFIELD – LEADMILL
Mon 28 UK, NORWICH – WATERFRONT
Wed 30 BELGIUM, BRUSSELS – AB
THURS 31 SWITZERLAND, ZURICH – show announcement coming soon
NOVEMBER
Sat 2 GERMANY, MUNICH – TOLHALLE
Sun 3 GERMANY, OFFENBACH – CAPITOL
Mon 4 GERMANY, BERLIN – COLUMBIAHALLE
Tues 5 GERMANY, HAMBURG – GROSSE FREIHEIT
Wed 6 GERMANY, COLOGNE – E-WERK
Fri 8 FRANCE, MARSEILLE – LE MOULIN
Sat 9 SPAIN, BARCELONA – show announcement coming soon
Sun 10 FRANCE, TOULOUSE – LE BIKINI
Ph:+33 892 392 192 (0,34 €/min)
Mon 11 FRANCE, LYON – LE TRANSBORDEUR
Ph:+33 892 392 192 (0,34 €/min)
Wed 13 HOLLAND, AMSTERDAM – HENEIKEN MUSIC HALL
Ph: 0900-3001250.
Sat 16 FRANCE, PARIS – LE TRIANON
Ph:+33 892 392 192 (0,34 €/min)
With more shows still to be added….
