Trombone Shorty Adds Fifth Continent To Backatown World Tour

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Just announced as a 2010 Grammy nominee in the Best Contemporary Jazz Album category for his acclaimed Verve/Forecast debut CD, Backatown, Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews, the 24-year-old New Orleans singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist and all-around musical powerhouse today announced newly added tour dates in Australia, Singapore and New Zealand. The Australia dates represent the fifth continent that Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue's Backatown World Tour will hit in the first year of release for the Grammy nominated CD. Backatown features the band's trademark "Supafunkrock" sound, an explosive, homegrown blend of funk, rock, R&B and hip-hop that has been exciting audiences worldwide.

This coming week the band returns for headlining dates in Japan where they were a highlight of this Summer's Fuji Rock Festival, a tour that directly preceded the band's debut tour of South America. Coming up in 2011 is a January trip to Jamaica, where Trombone Shorty will sit in with Warren Haynes and Gov't Mule. February brings a package tour of the U.S. with Latin Grammy winners Los Amigos Invisibles, highlighted by dates at San Francisco's Fillmore Auditorium and a special Grammy-eve show at the Conga Room in Los Angeles. That tour is followed directly by co-headline dates with Galactic in Boston on February 25 and at Terminal 5 in New York on February 26 (Galactic's sax player, Ben Ellman, produced the Backatown CD).

March sees another series of European dates prefacing an even more extensive run of European festivals in the Summer of 2011. Highlights of the April Australasia tour include a feature appearance at the Timbre Rock and Roots Music Festival in Singapore and Australia's Byron Bay Bluesfest, where the band joins International headliners Bob Dylan, B.B. King and Elvis Costello. Renowned festival favorites, the band has a summer already brimming with offers from top festivals across Europe and North America.

Last week, in conjunction with World AIDS Day (December 1), Trombone Shorty curated Red Hot + New Orleans, BAM's third programmatic partnership with the Red Hot organization, the premier music industry nonprofit dedicated to funding AIDS research and awareness. Shorty conducted and performed in two sold-out concerts that featured NOLA legends and fresh voices (Dr. John, Irma Thomas, Kermit Ruffins, Mannie Fresh, Ivan Neville, Partners In Crime, Marc Broussard and Ledesi) capped by a house-rocking, high-energy mini set from Trombone Shorty and his own band, Orleans Avenue. The shows raised much needed funds for New Orleans' NO/AIDS Task Force while artistically they were met with numerous standing ovations from two full houses and unanimous press raves including from Jon Pareles of The New York Times: "Trombone Shorty had clearly set out to present New Orleans as a city whose glory days aren't over . . . it was a signal that the city's music would push ahead."

Trombone Shorty has also given approval for his song "Hurricane Season" (from Backatown) to be used by (RED), the ground-breaking AIDS fund-raising initiative. A gratis license has been granted to (RED) so portions of the track can be featured as backing music on new (RED) "Making Of" promotional videos. (Earlier this year, "Hurricane Season" was heard weekly on MTV's The Real World, New Orleans as the opening title track.)

You can watch one of the new (RED) films at this link:
http://bit.ly/ShortyHurricaneSeasonRED

2010 has been a breakout year for Trombone Shorty and his six-piece world-touring band, Orleans Avenue. Backatown debuted at #1 on Billboard's Contemporary Jazz chart, holding the top spot for nine weeks and still holding in the top five more than six months later. In the first week of the CD's release the band performed a triumphant set at New Orleans' Jazz Fest with special guest Mystikal, followed the next month by a rousing return to Bonnaroo and a debut performance at the Hollywood Bowl in the Playboy Jazz Festival. Other touring highlights included a historic performance at the 53-year-old Monterey Jazz Festival (topped by breaking the Festival's all-time CD sales record), followed the next month by a cross-Europe tour, highlighted by five shows in the coveted opening slot for Jeff Beck in the U.K. In November Shorty and Orleans Avenue supported Dave Matthews Band on tour. It seems every month has brought new milestones for the group as their reputation for exciting live performances spreads worldwide.

Trombone Shorty's recent TV appearances include The Late Show With David Letterman, The Tonight Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Austin City Limits, which aired nationwide on PBS. He also has a recurring role on the HBO series Treme.

Trombone Shorty is part of two other 2011 Grammy-nominated projects: his version of "Ooh Pooh Pah Doo" is on Treme, Music From the HBO Original Series, Season One, a nominee for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media; and he plays with Dr. John on "Down in New Orleans" (from Disney's The Princess and the Frog), nominated for Best Song Written for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media.

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