Eric Johnson Tour Dates and Select Appearances with the Steve Miller Band

Press release
Source: Chipster Entertainment, Inc.

Eric Johnson kicked off his performances with an appearance on July 15, 2006, with Sammy Hagar & The Wabos. He will then hit the road for a series of dates that begin in Dallas on August 4th and continue through the end of August.

For a select number of dates only, Johnson will appear as Steve Miller Band’s special guest, performing songs off his recent Grammy® nominated album Bloom as well as such fan- favorites as the Grammy®-Award winning song “Cliffs of Dover”. A long-time favorite of Miller's audience, Johnson has toured in support of Miller since 1991.

These dates will mark a reunion of sorts for Johnson, as the rhythm section that appeared on Eric's 1986 debut, "Tones," is back on board - bassist Roscoe Beck and drummer Tommy Taylor. Both players have appeared sporadically with Eric over the years, but this will mark the first time since 1986 that all three will be on stage together. Since the trio's last tour was dubbed "Big Texans from Outer Space," the 2006 tour has been named "Return of Big Texans from Outer Space."

Roscoe (who has also played alongside the likes of Leonard Cohen, Robben Ford, Jennifer Warnes and the last Dixie Chicks World Tour) was last seen on stage with Eric circa the first-ever G3 Tour - then in support of "Venus Isle."

Johnson, who spent the majority of last year touring behind Bloom which was released June 14th, 2005 through Favored Nations, is considered to be one of the most technically-proficient live performers on the scene today. In fact, Pollstar called his last routing “One of the best live shows of a rock guitarist of our time.”

An avid live performer, Johnson says that he doesn’t mind all of the touring, even after spending almost a year and half straight on the road. In fact, he is so focused on making his live performances accessible to his audience that he recently released two new DVDs - The Art of Guitar,” an instructional video by the master himself, and Live from Austin Texas, a never-before-released DVD and CD (New West Records) that captures the essence of the guitarist’s legendary December 14th, 1998 performance on Austin City Limits! Live from Austin Texas includes many of Johnson's hit recordings from his Grammy nominated Ah Via Musicom and the first release of two fan favorite Jimi Hendrix covers; "Love or Confusion" and "Are You Experienced".

"I prefer playing live because I can take the music and expand it through improvisation,” he said. “It's also great to see how the audience receives it.” If these shows are anything like his last, it’s safe to say that the fans will be eating it up, after all as Pollstar wrote, “If you love rock guitar you'll love the energy of his show. Don't miss him on this tour.”

Eric will also be joining the G3 Latin tour this fall with Joe Satriani and John Petrucci, and will appear in Mexico and South America. Confirmed tour dates are pending.

The official dates for Johnson’s appearances include:

August 4th Dallas, TX Granada Theater
August 5th Dallas, TX Granada Theater
August 6th Fayetteville, AR George's Majestic Lounge
August 7th Little Rock, AR Juanita's
August 9th Lafayette, LA Grant Street Dance Hall
August 10th Birmingham, AL Workplay Theatre
August 11th Jacksonville, FL Freebird Live
August 12th Myrtle Beach, SC House Of Blues
August 13th Norfolk, VA The NorVa
August 15th Teaneck, NJ Mexicali Blues Cafe
August 16th Alexandria, VA The Birchmere
August 17th Danbury, CT Charles Ives Concert Park appearing with Steve Miller Band
August 18th New York, NY B.B. King's Blues Club
August 19th Huntington, NY Inter-Media Arts Center (IMAC)
August 20th Gilford, NH Meadowbrook MusicalCtr. appearing with Steve Miller Band
August 24th Poughkeepsie, NY The Chance
August 25th Boston, MA Bank Of America Pavilion appearing with Steve Miller Band
August 26th Boston, MA Bank Of America Pavilion appearing with Steve Miller Band
August 29th Carrboro, NC Cat's Cradle
August 30th Asheville, NC The Orange Peel
August 31st Mobile, AL Saenger Theatre

September 1st New Orleans, LA House Of Blues

For information on Eric Johnson, visit
www.ericjohnson.com
www.favorednations.com
www.newwestrecords.com

For more information on Roscoe Beck, visit
www.roscoebeck.com

For more information on Tommy Taylor, visit
www.tommytaylor.com