Dave Matthews speaks out on care for troops

July 16, 2007 05:07 PM

LiveDaily Contributor

Dave Matthews has put his celebrity behind an effort urging Congress to ensure US troops traumatized in combat get the medical and psychiatric help they need.

"It just struck me as a profound injustice that someone who had given so much of themselves and clearly showed such a quality of personality that the gratitude we're showing them was basically a dishonorable discharge," Matthews said in an interview which aired Sunday (7/15) on ABC's "This Week" program.

Matthews said that a petition on the band's website has accumulated 23,000 signatures so far. The petition asks Congress to investigate reports that some returning soldiers' mental health problems have been misdiagnosed by the military as pre-existing conditions, rather than having been caused by service-related trauma.

A government task force recently found that at least one-third of returning combat veterans suffer from a variety of service-related problems, including traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder. The task force urged stronger leadership, more funding, and a greater emphasis on prevention and screening.

The Dave Matthews Band [ tickets ] is preparing to kick off a long summer tour, launching a two-month, 28-city outing with an Aug. 1-2 engagement in Mansfield, MA, a suburb 30 miles south of Boston. The trek includes a Matthews solo acoustic performance at the 2007 edition of Willie Nelson's Farm Aid festival, which is set to take place Sept. 9 in Randall's Island, NY.

DMB's complete tour schedule is included below.

[Note: The following tour dates have been provided by artist and/or tour sources, who verify its accuracy as of the publication time of this story. Changes may occur before tickets go on sale. Check with official artist websites, ticketing sources and venues for late updates.]

August 2007
1-2 - Mansfield, MA - Tweeter Center for the Performing Arts
4-5 - Hartford, CT - New England Dodge Music Center
7-8 - Camden, NJ - Tweeter Center at the Waterfront
10 - Burgettstown, PA - Post-Gazette Pavilion
11 - Bristow, VA - Nissan Pavilion at Stone Ridge
14 - Saratoga Springs, NY - Saratoga Performing Arts Center
15 - Virginia Beach, VA - Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach Amphitheater
17-18 - Noblesville, IN - Verizon Wireless Music Center
20 - Cuyahoga Falls, OH - Blossom Music Center
22 - Cincinnati, OH - Riverbend Music Center
23 - Clarkston, MI - DTE Energy Music Theatre
25-26 - East Troy, WI - Alpine Valley Music Theatre
28 - Bonner Springs, KS - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
31 - George, WA - Gorge Amphitheatre

September 2007
1-2 - George, WA - Gorge Amphitheatre
8 - Atlanta, GA - Piedmont Park
9 - Randall's Island, NY - Farm Aid (Dave Matthews solo set)
11 - Gainesville, FL - University of Florida/Stephen C. O'Connell Center
12 - Tampa, FL - Ford Amphitheatre
14-15 - West Palm Beach, FL - Sound Advice Amphitheatre
18 - Raleigh, NC - Alltel Pavilion at Walnut Creek
19 - Charlotte, NC - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
21 - The Woodlands, TX - Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
22 - Dallas, TX - Smirnoff Music Centre
25 - Phoenix, AZ - Cricket Pavilion
26 - Irvine, CA - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
28 - Chula Vista, CA - Coors Amphitheatre
29 - Mountain View, CA - Shoreline Amphitheatre

October 2007
1-2 - Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Bowl