Journey and Def Leppard Extend U.S. National Tour

Press release
Source: ABC Public Relations

In what is already one of summer's most successful and sought-after concerts, Def Leppard and Journey's rockin' US tour has been extended due to an overwhelming demand from music fans for tickets. Dates for the second leg have been announced today. The tour will kick off on June 23rd in Camden, NJ.

The bands--along with VH1 Classic and Live Nation-- had only announced a few short weeks ago that they were pairing up for a summer tour that would run from June until the end of August. Since then, the call for tickets has far surpassed all expectations, delighting and amazing promoters across the country.

Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen said, "This is what we were hoping for. We were thrilled with the initial ticket sales and now we can really get on it!"

"I'm looking forward to getting out there and kickin' ass," says Journey guitarist Neal Schon. "We're glad that our fans are excited about this tour, and I think both Journey and Def Leppard will gain some new fans. I'm especially looking forward to playing guitar with my good buddy Vivian Campbell."

"We're thrilled with the way music fans have embraced this tour," said Bruce Kapp Senior Vice President of Touring for Live Nation, the company producing the tour. "It's clear from the way these shows are selling that the Def Leppard and Journey package is going to be one of the stand out hits of the summer."
With more than 65 million albums sold worldwide, Def Leppard – Joe Elliott (vocals), Vivian Campbell (guitar), Phil Collen (guitar), Rick "Sav" Savage (bass) and Rick Allen (drums) – is one of the most continuously exciting and important forces in rock music. Over the course of their career, the band has produced a series of classic groundbreaking albums that set the sound for generations of music fans and artist, establishing them as Great Britain's premiere arena rock band. Their spectacular live shows filled with powerful melodic rock anthems have become synonymous with their name, and they are an institution in the touring industry as they continue to sell out arenas worldwide.

The band is hitting the road in support of Yeah! their 12th studio album, which is a clever tribute to the band's musical heroes of the late 60's and 70's –The Kinks, Badfinger, T. Rex, David Bowie, Sweet, Roxy Music, Mott the Hoople, Free, Faces and Thin Lizzy. Scheduled for release on May 23, 2006 from Island/Ume, the album's concept is one that the band had hoped to record for over 20 years and brilliantly merges the "Now" with the "Then." The release comes hot on the heels of their Platinum- certified 2-CD hits package, Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection.

In addition to the tour, Def Leppard will be performing on the Tonight Show's summer concert series on May 23rd and will be saluted on VH1's Rock Honors, airing on the channel on May 31st. Def Leppard was also recently honored in the U.S. by the RIAA with two prestigious Diamond Awards for their albums HYSTERIA and PYROMANIA. The Diamond Award recognizes sales of over 10 million, a feat not many bands and only a handful of British artists have been able to achieve (The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Elton John, Eric Clapton).

Journey's legacy has spanned over 30 years with 19 U.S. releases, most recently the critically acclaimed GENERATIONS (Sanctuary Records, 2005). Four albums landed in the Top Ten of Billboard's "Top 200 Albums" chart, including 1981's ESCAPE which reached #1. Overall they've sold over 75 million albums worldwide making them the 29th best-selling music group of all time. They were honored with a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame last year. The band was founded in 1973 in San Francisco by Santana members Neal Schon and Gregg Rolie, with the assistance of Ross Valory, George Tickner and Prairie Prince. The current line-up—which has been together since 1998--includes Neal Schon (guitar), Ross Valory (bass), Jonathan Cain (keyboards), Steve Augeri (vocals) and Deen Castronovo (drums).

Fans of Neal Schon should check out SANTANA III: LEGACY EDITION (Columbia/Legacy, a division of Sony BMG Music Entertainment), which was released February 21. There they'll find his debut into the music world on this legendary album. The original first lineup of Santana recorded the band's first three albums for Columbia together before the leader dissolved the band in late-1971 and struck out in new directions. With the addition of 17-year old guitar prodigy Schon and percussionist/songwriter Coke Escovedo, they recorded the penultimate third album in February and June 1971, one of rock's defining masterpieces. SANTANA III: LEGACY EDITION, containing a new expanded edition of that album with four bonus tracks (three of them previously unissued studio recordings), and a second disc that presents-for the first time as it was heard by the audience-the band's historic one-hour closing set from the closing night (in the wee hours of the morning) of Bill Graham's Fillmore West on July 4, 1971.

Below are all currently confirmed tour dates for the Def Leppard and Journey concert tour:

DATE / CITY / VENUE
Fri 6/23 Camden, NJ Tweeter Ctr at the Waterfront
Sat 6/24 Wantagh, NY Jones Beach Theater
Tue 6/27 Holmdel, NJ PNC Bank Arts Center
Wed 6/28 Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun Casino
Fri 6/30 Scranton, PA Toyota Pavilion at Montage
Sat 7/1 Atlantic City, NJ Borgata Hotel & Casino
Mon 7/3 Hershey, PA Hershey Pavilion
Tue 7/4 Raleigh, NC Alltel Pavilion
Fri 7/7 Bristow, VA Nissan Pavilion
Sat 7/8 Virginia Beach, VA Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach Amp
Mon 7/10 West Palm Beach, FL Sound Advice Amphitheatre
Tue 7/11 Tampa, FL Ford Amphitheatre
Thu 7/13 Atlanta, GA Chastain Park Amphitheatre
Sat 7/15 Charlotte, NC Charlotte Verizon Wireless Amp
Sun 7/16 Nashville, TN Starwood Amphitheatre
Tue 7/18 Minneapolis, MN Target Center
Wed 7/19 Chicago, IL First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
Fri 7/21 St. Louis, MO UMB Bank Pavilion
Sat 7/22 Noblesville, IN Verizon Wireless Music Center
Mon 7/24 Detroit, MI DTE Energy Music Theatre
Tue 7/25 Cincinnati, OH Riverbend Music Center
Fri 7/28 San Antonio, TX Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
Sat 7/29 Dallas, TX Smirnoff Music Centre
Sun 7/30 The Woodlands, TX Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
Tue 8/15 Denver, CO Red Rocks Amphitheatre
Wed 8/16 Salt Lake, UT USANA
Fri 8/18 Las Vegas, NV Mandalay Bay Events Center
Tue 8/22 Phoenix, AZ Cricket Pavilion
Wed 8/23 Chula Vista, CA Coors Amphitheatre
Fri 8/25 Concord, CA Chronicle Pavilion
Sat 8/26 Mountain View, CA Shoreline Amphitheatre
Sun 8/27 Sacramento, CA Sleep Train Amphitheatre
Wed 8/30 Portland, OR Clark County Amphitheatre
Thu 8/31 Seattle, WA White River Amphitheatre
Sat 9/02 Boise, ID The Idaho Center
Sun 9/03 Reno, NV Reno Event Center
Wed 9/06 Bonner Springs, KS Verizon Wireless Amp
Thu 9/07 Ames, IA Hilton Coliseum
Sat 9/09 Milwaukee, WI Marcus Amphitheatre
Sun 9/10 Columbus, OH Germain Amphitheater
Tues 9/12 Cuyahoga Falls, OH Blossom Music Center
Wed 9/13 Pittsburgh, PA Post Gazette Pavilion
Sat 9/16 Saratoga Spring, NY Saratoga PAC
Tues 9/19 Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun
Wed 9/20 Buffalo, NY Darien Lake PAC
Fri 9/22 Atlantic City, NJ Borgata Hotel Spa & Casino
Sat 9/23 Boston, MA Tweeter Center
All dates are subject to change.

For more information please go to www.defleppard.com and www.journeymusic.com.