William Beckett Signs to Equal Vision Records and Begins Recording Full-Length Album
Spring Headline Tour and 2013 Vans Warped Tour Plans Announced
Solo artist William Beckett has signed to Upstate NY-based independent label Equal Vision 
Records, whose current roster includes the likes of Say Anything, The Dear Hunter, Eisley, and HRVRD ~ and whose equally impressive alumni roster includes Coheed & Cambria, Circa Survive, Saves The Day and more.
“I’ve been a fan of EVR and its roster since I was listening to The Stryder and Saves the Day in high school,” Beckett shares. “For months I was approached by labels but after the first conversation I knew EVR was a perfect fit; I can make exactly the record I want to make.”
Beckett is currently recording his debut Equal Vision Records release, a full-length album, in his hometown of Chicago, IL with producer Marc McClusky (Weezer, Ludo). He will next hit the road on the What Will Be Tour, a month-long US solo headline run that kicks off on March 22 in Dekalb, IL; he will also perform on every date of the 2013 Vans Warped Tour this summer.
Having toured nearly non-stop for ten years as frontman for The Academy Is…, Beckett has built up an incredibly dedicated and supportive fanbase around the world. Though massively proud of the band’s accomplishments and experiences together, the eventual disbanding as a group in late 2011 allowed Beckett to begin the next era of his career ~ as a solo artist. Returning home to his roots and family in Chicago, Beckett began pouring his heart and soul into a trilogy of EPs ~ Walk The Talk, Winds Will Change, and What Will Be, and the Pioneer Sessions album (a collection of twelve acoustic versions of songs from each of the EPs) ~ all of which were released in 2012.
Beckett’s first single released in his solo artist capacity, “Compromising Me” (off of Walk The Talk EP), rocketed to the top of the iTunes charts, cracking the top 20 and leading all independently released tracks. In the following months, the official release of each of the three solo EPs followed suit in a similar impressively meteoric rise. Beckett’s solo music embraces his expansive vocal range, pop sensibilities, quirky yet soothingly hypnotic melodies and distinctive narrative lyrical twists, offering his most diverse stylings and personal material to date.
“Music is all about connection,” Beckett expresses. “Performer gives to listener, listener gives back to performer. I respect my fans and their inevitable evolution of taste and experience. The only constants in life are change and the necessity of music. THAT is why I don’t make the same record over and over again. I’m not trying to cater to an audience or lower the bar to some level of “relatability.” I write real songs for real people about real experiences. The connection is the skin, the meat and the core. The whole apple.”
As a solo artist, and with The Academy Is…, Beckett has toured with KISS, Fall Out Boy, Motion City Soundtrack, Cobra Starship, Plain White Ts, Mayday Parade, and others.
Dates for the What Will Be Tour: William Beckett w/Jillette Johnson
Mar 22 Dekalb, IL @ The House Cafe
Mar 23 Iowa City, IA @ Blue Moose Tap House
Mar 24 St Louis, MO @ The Firebird
Mar 26 Lawrence, KS @ Jackpot Music Hall
Mar 27 Oklahoma City, OK @ The Conservatory
Mar 28 Austin, TX @ Mohawk
Mar 29 Houston, TX @ House of Blues (Bronze Peacock)
Mar 30 Dallas, TX@ Prophet Bar
Apr 01 Scottsdale, AZ @ Rhythm Room
Apr 03 Los Angeles, CA @ Hotel Cafe
Apr 04 Anaheim, CA @ Chain Reaction
Apr 05 Upland, CA @ Wire Music & Art Venue
Apr 06 San Diego, CA @ House of Blues (5th Ave Side Stage)
Apr 07 San Francisco, CA @ Cafe Du Nord
Apr 09 Seattle, WA @ El Corazon
Apr 10 Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre
Apr 12 Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court
Apr 13 Denver, CO @ Marquis Theatre
Apr 14 Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room
2013 Vans Warped Tour
Jun 15 Seattle, WA @ White River Ampitheatre
Jun 16 Portland, OR @ Portland Expo Center Parking Lot
Jun 19 San Diego, CA @ Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre
Jun 20 Pomona, CA @ Pomona Fairplex
Jun 21 Pomona, CA @ Pomona Fairplex
Jun 22 Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre
Jun 23 Ventura, CA @ Seaside Park
Jun 26 Las Cruces, NM @ N.M.S.U. Practice Field
Jun 27 Phoenix, AZ @ Quail Run Park
Jun 28 Las Vegas, NV @ Silverton Casino Parking Lot
Jun 29 Salt Lake City, UT @ Utah State Fairpark
Jun 30 Denver, CO @ Sports Authority Field at Mile High
Jul 03 Indianapolis, IN @ Klipsch Music Center
Jul 05 Toronto, ON @ Molson Canadian Amphitheatre
Jul 06 Buffalo, NY @ Darien Lake Performing Arts Center
Jul 07 Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Concert Center
Jul 09 Virginia Beach, VA @ Farm Bureau Live at Virginia Beach
Jul 10 Washington, D.C. @ Merriweather Post Pavilion
Jul 11 Boston, MA @ Comcast Center
Jul 12 Camden, NJ @ Susquehanna Bank Center
Jul 13 New York, NY @ Nassau Memorial Coliseum
Jul 14 Hartford, CT @ The Comcast Theatre
Jul 16 Scranton, PA @ Toyota Pavilion
Jul 17 Pittsburgh, PA @ First Niagara Pavilion
Jul 18 Cleveland, OH @ Blossom Music Center
Jul 19 Detroit, MI @ The Palace Of Auburn Hills
Jul 20 Chicago, IL @ First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
Jul 21 Minneapolis, MN @ Canterbury Park
Jul 23 Kansas City, KS @ Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre
Jul 24 St. Louis, MO @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre – St. Louis
Jul 25 Atlanta, GA @ Aaron’s Amphitheatre at Lakewood
Jul 26 Tampa, FL @ Vinoy Park
Jul 27 West Palm Beach, FL @ Cruzan Amphitheatre
Jul 28 Orlando, FL @ Central Florida Fairgrounds
Jul 29 Charlotte, NC @ Charlotte Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
Jul 30 Cincinatti, OH @ Riverbend Music Center
Jul 31 Milwaukee, WI @ Marcus Amphitheatre
Aug 02 Dallas, TX @ Gexa Energy Pavilion
Aug 03 San Antonio, TX @ AT&T Center
Aug 04 Houston, TX @ Reliant Center Parking Lot