News

Dave Stewart Announces Contest To Find Support Act

• 16th Aug 2012

Dave Stewart is looking for four solo artists to support him on his UK tour this September and is inviting musicians from the UK to enter the competition.

Four artists will be picked, one for each show on the tour, to perform a 30 minute set prior to Dave taking to the stage. As well as the opportunity of being Dave Stewart’s opening act, each winner will have a mentoring session with Dave in person before the show, which will continue via email afterwards. The competition is open only to solo singer/songwriters and all entries must be original material.

Competition entries can be submitted through davestewart.com for the individual dates

September 3rd – Sunderland Empire Theatre link

September 4th – Birmingham Symphony Hall link

September 5th – Manchester Bridgewater Hall link

September 7th – London Shepherds Bush Empire link

To celebrate this September’s release of his new solo album ‘The Ringmaster General’, singer, songwriter and guitarist Dave Stewart will perform four UK shows, including a special concert in his Sunderland hometown. The tour, which will be his first UK tur since 1996, kicks off on September 3rd with a special homecoming show at the Empire Theatre in Stewarts’s Sunderland hometown (the first time he will have played there on his own since the age of 16) and includes stops in Birmingham, Manchester and London.

The iconic artist, who has built a successful career in the U.S., will perform songs from his upcoming album as well as material from his critically acclaimed 2011 album ‘The Blackbird Diaries’ and other solo works. He will also perform some of his earlier hits with the Eurythmics and other artists. Stewart recently toured with Sugarland in America in April and will do so again in August.

“I’m excited to play live in England again,” Stewart says. “It’s been a long time, and to kick off in my hometown the day my new album is released will be a golden moment for me.”

On the upcoming ‘The Ringmaster General’, Stewart creates a potent and distinctive musical gumbo, mixing in rock, blues, country, rhythm & blues and psychedelia. His songs are alternately moving and wry; they are filled with twists and turns –both musical and lyrical– that constantly surprise with repeated listens. Stewart’s voice has an alluringly mysterious quality that guides the listener through these stories of, explains the ringmaster himself, “love, discovery, and ….”

The 2012 U.K. tour dates are as follows:

Sept 3 – Sunderland, Empire Theatre
Sept 4 – Birmingham, Symphony Hall
Sept 5 – Manchester, Bridgewater Hall
Sept 7 – London, Shepherds Bush Empire