The Frontier Touring Company is pleased to confirm the return of Grammy Award winning Maroon 5 to Australian and New Zealand shores in March/April 2008. Maroon 5 will play their largest shows to date Down Under in Perth, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney and Auckland. Support for Maroon 5 will come from three artists at the forefront of the American music scene – OneRepublic, Brandi Carlile and Ry Cuming (Australian dates only).
Maroon 5’s debut album Songs About Jane was a resounding success in Australia and New Zealand, topping the charts and notching up five time platinum sales in both countries. Sold out tours resulted, cementing Maroon 5 as one of Australia and New Zealand music fan’s favourite bands.
Drawing inspiration from Prince and Michael Jackson, their follow up album It Won’t Be Soon Before Long presented a more mature and confident Maroon 5 to the world. Debuting at #1 on the US Billboard chart the album sold over 400 000 copies in its first week in the US alone.
In Australia and New Zealand, the album has tread a similar path to their first. Already receiving Platinum certification in Australia and Gold in New Zealand, Maroon 5 have proven beyond doubt they are still one of the most in-demands bands today.
The Los Angeles Times declared the album “an icy-hot blend of electro-funk and blue-eyed soul that works its cruel streak with the confidence of Daniel Craig’s James Bond.” Entertainment Weekly were smitten, writing “Levine and crew understand the importance of packing as much thrill as possible into each tryst.”
Rolling Stone proclaimed “The only surprising thing about It Won’t Be Soon Before Long is its complete avoidance of sophomore slump.” Billboard raved “The slick, hyperproduced It Won’t Be Soon Before Long is a set of 12 potential hits, all mashes of groove and guitar firepower.”
The live domain is another area Maroon 5 are masters of, never failing to impress. The It Won’t Be Soon Before Long World Tour has already played its way across the United States and part of Europe, the band leaving behind a trail of critical acclaim.
Of the band’s first ever headlining show at Madison Square Garden, the New York Post couldn’t deny the band’s charisma “…Maroon 5 was visibly proud and excited about the show. This mood carried over to the fans who were thrilled to be there with them. The audience rarely sat: even during Levine’s power ballads, they screamed their approval of the songs…”
A recent performance saw This Is Nottingham announced the band as more “powerful” this time around, showing “they are back on the music scene.”
Hand picked to support The Police in Miami, Maroon 5 wowed punters in the stadium setting. The Palm Beach Post were smitten with singer Adam Levine: “…that child can sing. And play. The band’s newest hit ‘Something To Believe In’ has a rockier edge than a lot of the soul-pop of ‘Jane,’ but it’s all catchy, sing-along friendly and a showcase for Levine’s twisty tenor.”
OneRepublic are on the brink of worldwide dominance. Consistently one of MySpace’s highest ranked bands, the release of single ‘Apologize’ has catapulted OneRepublic to the world stage. ‘Apologize’ has broken record after record, becoming the most played song on radio in the United States in Top 40 history. The single was remixed by super-producer Timbaland and is featured on his album Shock Value (Universal Music), which peaked at #4 on the ARIA album chart. Touring in support of their debut album Dreaming Out Loud (Universal Music), OneRepublic are a band not to miss.
Already well known to most music fans, Brandi Carlile will be performing in New Zealand and nationally in Australia for the first time ever. Signed to a major label on the strength of songs she’d recorded at home, Brandi’s second album The Story (Sony BMG) captured worldwide attention after several tracks were featured heavily on Grey’s Anatomy. With a rich touring pedigree behind her (Brandi has supported artists including Tori Amos, The Fray and Ray LaMontagne), there’s no doubt Brandi will impress all of those before her.
For the Australian leg of the tour Australian-born Ry Cuming will be kicking off proceedings. After meeting his manager in Costa Rica at the age of 18 while playing in a hotel hallway, Ry relocated to Los Angeles. Already having recorded a series of songs wth Maroon 5, Phantom Planet and Rooney, Ry is currently working on a debut album.
To date, Maroon 5 have sold out every show they have ever played in Australia and New Zealand. With a stellar set of support acts in tow, this tour will follow suit.
