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| Missy Higgins Hits the Road in 2009 in Support of Current Album Australian singer-songwriter Missy Higgins will embark on a new headlining tour in 2009 with openers Justin Nozuka and Lenka, playing bigger venues to accommodate her growing success in the U.S., in support of her current album On A Clear Night. Higgins has spent the past year on the road with such artists as Ben Folds and Indigo Girls, performing her timeless, intimate songs and winning over American audiences with her captivating live shows. Her hard work and perseverance have paid off as listeners embrace the album's first single, "Where I Stood, " sending it into the Top 10 at AC radio and into the Top 20 at Hot AC nearly a year after the album was released by Reprise Records on February 26th, 2008. The single has sold more than 150, 000 digital copies partly due to being featured in such TV shows as Grey's Anatomy, NCIS, The Hills, Lipstick Jungle, Smallville, One Tree Hill, Friday Night Lights, One Life To Live, and So You Think You Can Dance. The video has been featured on VH1's Top 20 Countdown for more than a month and is presently in medium rotation on the channel. Higgins has appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and Late Night With Conan O'Brien, and has received much critical acclaim for her live shows. The Los Angeles Times praised her for "that radiance performers exude just as their stars begin to ascend." Higgins' five-week headlining tour begins February 19th at Houston's House Of Blues, crisscrossing the country and wrapping up March 23rd at San Francisco's famous Fillmore Theater. Higgins will make stopovers in New York and Los Angeles, at Terminal 5 on March 3rd and The Orpheum Theater on March 21st, respectively. As an environmentally friendly artist, Higgins will continue to keep it green by traveling in a bio-diesel bus, an important element to her tours. Named one of Billboard magazine's Top 10 Green Artists last year, Higgins has been profiled by the United Nations for her eco-initiatives (http://www.un.org/works/sub3.asp?lang=en&id=102), while The Sierra Club has posted her PSA on their website's front page (http://www.sierraclub.org/twopercent/). In an effort to share her green ways with her fans, Higgins is offering eco-friendly tote bags for sale exclusively through her web store. The tote features a carabiner made out of recycled polyester and folds into itself for easy travel. Already a major star in Australia, 24-year old Higgins has won seven ARIA awards ( Australia's coveted version of a Grammy Award) since 2004, including "Best Female Artist" two years in a row with both album releases. Her debut album, The Sound Of White, was Australia's best-selling album of 2005, has been certified nine-times platinum, and spawned a No. 1 single ("Scar"), as well as a No. 2 single ("The Special Two"). Meanwhile, Higgins' second album release, On A Clear Night, was Australia's best-selling album of 2007, has already been certified triple-platinum, and has yielded a No. 1 single ("Steer") as well as a Top 10 single ("Where I Stood"). In November, Higgins shot her first starring role in a feature film, an adaptation of the cult musical Brand New Dae, opposite Academy Award-winner Geoffrey Rush. Higgins first appeared on the public's radar when she won an Australian songwriting competition run by an influential national alternative radio network while still in high school. She released an eponymous EP that topped the Australian indie charts in late 2003. Airplay on influential Los Angeles tastemaker station KCRW led to a Stateside deal with Reprise Records. The following year, she released the chart-topping Scar EP, followed by the best-selling Sound of White. Higgins made repeated trips to the U.S. and UK, opening for the likes of Ray Lamontagne, The Finn Brothers, and Howie Day. By the end of 2005, she had racked up more than 200 gigs culminating in a memorable series of huge outdoor concerts around Australia. Her live show is not to be missed. write your comments about the article :: © 2009 Jazz News :: home page |