Andrew Bird prepares to hatch 'Beast' on road trip

Singer/songwriter Andrew Bird will support his forthcoming new album, "Noble Beast," with a headlining tour over the first two weeks of 2009.

The Chicago-based performer kicks off the outing Jan. 28 in New York City. Swedish singer Emil Svanangen, who performs and records under the name Loney Dear, will offer opening support throughout the 17-city trek, except for the NYC stop, where the opening act will be multi-instrumentalist Martin Dosh, who is also a member of Bird's backing band. Details for the tour are included below.

Bird previewed material from his "Noble Beast" while on tour this summer. The set, slated for a late January release date, will be Bird's fifth solo effort.

"It was recorded completely differently than I usually record," Bird said earlier this year during an interview with New York radio station WNEW. "There is a lot more finger style, acoustic guitar, delicate textures, more like [Bird's 2003 release] 'Weather Systems.' I recorded it all with two acoustic guitars and vocals, and tried to make it better from there. It's something very, very simple."

The opening track from the new album, "Oh No," is streaming at Bird's website.

"Noble Beast" follows last year's "Armchair Apocrypha," which debuted at No. 76 on The Billboard 200 album chart after selling more than 11,000 copies during its first week, according to Bird's publicist.

[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.]
 tour dates and tickets
January 2009
28 - New York, NY - Carnegie Hall
30 - Boston, MA - Orpheum Theatre

February 2009
3 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
4 - Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse
6 - Orlando, FL - Plaza Theatre
7 - New Orleans, LA - House of Blues
12 - Austin, TX - Paramount Theater
13 - Albuquerque, NM - El Rey Theatre
14 - Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theatre
18 - Los Angeles, CA - Orpheum Theatre
19, 20 - San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore
21 - Portland, OR - Roseland Theatre
23 - Seattle, WA - Moore Theatre
24 - Boise, ID - Knitting Factory
25 - Murray, UT - Murray Theatre
26 - Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre
27 - Omaha, NE - Slowdown

 tour dates and tickets
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