The Zombies Invade SXSW and Announce Tour Dates for Feb – March 2013
The Zombies, one of the first and most influential of the first wave of bands to hit the U.S. during the British Invasion of the 1960s, are scheduled to make multiple appearances at this year’s South By Southwest music conference, taking place in Austin, Texas from March 12 through March 17. This will be the first time The Zombies, led by founding members Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent, will perform at SXSW. In addition, the group has announced a slate of dates beginning in February and taking them to the United States, Canada and the Caribbean, with more dates in summer 2013 to follow.
Rod Argent and Colin Blunstone, original members of The Zombies
On Friday. March 15 at 12:30 pm, SXSW Music will present a Featured Interview with Blunstone and Argent, discussing their careers from the band’s early years to the present, and that afternoon at 4:00 the band will play the Paste Magazine daytime party at Stage on Sixth. The next day at noon, The Zombies will do a show and signing at Waterloo Records, which is open to the public. That evening ~ at their official SXSW showcase ~ The Zombies will headline the Austin Psych Fest, hosted in part by Yahoo! at Austin’s newest premier venue, Brazos Hall. The bill will include several young buzz bands, including The Night Beats, Elephant Stone and Et Tu Bruce, many of whom will also support The Zombies at select shows in North American this year.
The Zombies’ music has had a profound and lasting impact on generations of new bands who cite their hit singles “She’s Not There,” “Tell Her No” and “Time Of The Season” and their enduring classic album Odessey and Oracle as pop touchstones. Such artists as Neko Case and Nick Cave (who have recorded “She’s Not There” for the popular HBO series “True Blood”), She and Him, Beck, Belle and Sebastian, The Fleet Foxes and The Beautiful South have pointed to The Zombies’ music as an important influence, and the songs written and performed by the group have been used in numerous films and television shows, including “The Simpsons,” Kill Bill 2, Awakenings and Dear Wendy. The group’s debut SXSW appearance confirms not only their stature as groundbreaking, hit-making artists with a catalog of durable songs, but as a band that continues to make vital, contemporary music.
The Zombies are returning to North American after the release of their acclaimed new album Breathe Out Breathe In, and two highly successful tours in 2011 and 2012. Those recent tours included appearances on NBC’s “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon,” and several appearance on National Public Radio, including “World Cafe,” “Bob Boilen’s Tiny Desk Concerts,” and “Weekend Edition Sunday.”
SXSW is among the most important events for industry professionals, media representatives and music fans, drawing almost 19,000 attendees, all of whom will have the chance this year to see why The Zombies are one of the most revered and imitated bands among 21st century pop musicians who have, thanks to lovingly-compiled reissues such as the definitive boxed set Zombie Heaven and the expanded anniversary edition of their masterpiece Odessey and Oracle (named one of the Top 100 albums of all time by publications like Rolling Stone and Mojo), been able to discover the band’s undiluted magic.
February 28 Montreal (Quebec) Metropolis
March 2 Hamilton, ON The Studio at Hamilton Place
March 3 Toronto, ON Sound Academy
March 4 Belleville, ON The Empire Theatre
March 7 Biloxi, MS Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
March 9 Atlanta, GA Variety Playhouse
March 10 Nashville War Memorial Auditorium
March 13 Dallas, TX Kessler Theatre
March 15-16 Austin, TX SXSW Festival (several performances)
March 17 Houston, TX Fitzgerald’s
March 20-25 Caribbean Sea Moody Blues Cruise – “The Voyage”
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Special thanks to Publicity by Design