Xavier Rudd Recent News

XAVIER RUDD ANNOUNCES NORTH AMERICAN TOUR IN SUPPORT OF NEW ALBUM - OUT AUGUST 19

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 00:07:00 -0700

Dark Shades of Blue Pre-Order Special Allows Fans a Glimpse into Australian Multi-Instrumentalist's New Direction

Beloved Australian musician/activist Xavier Rudd's latest album Dark Shades of Blue comes out in the US on August 19th, and in support of this, his seventh album, Rudd recently announced a month-long North American tour that kicks off in Aspen CO on August 29th. The headlining dates are bookended by high profile festival appearances at Bumbershoot on September 1, and Austin City Limits on September 28.

Loud and psychedelic, Dark Shades highlights a side of Xavier Rudd merely hinted at on earlier releases. The guitar-driven songs, mixed by Joe Barresi (Tool, Queens of the Stone Age), are more complex and rocking than what audiences perhaps expect from the lifelong surfer and Dave Matthews tourmate. Yet fans will not be disappointed, for the new direction still holds true to Rudd's passion for mixing rock and folk with indigenous instruments and other voices. For a taste of what's to come, a pre-order promotion is currently running on Rudd's website: order the CD or digital download early, and immediately receive an MP3 for This World As We Know It," the first single off of Dark Shades of Blue.

Xavier Rudd's "Dark Shades of Blue" North American tour:
8/29 - Aspen, CO - Snowmass Town Park
8/30 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Depot
9/01 - Seattle, WA - Bumbershoot Festival
9/02 - Eugene, OR - McDonald Theatre
9/03 - Portland, OR - Musicfest Northwest
9/04 - San Francisco, CA - Regency Center Grand Ballroom
9/05 - West Hollywood, CA - House of Blues
9/06 - San Diego, CA - 4th & B Concert Theatre
9/11 - Boston, MA - Wilbur Theatre
9/12 - New York, NY - Nokia Theatre Times Square
9/13 - Philadelphia, PA - Filmore at the TLA
9/14 - Washington, DC - Nightclub 9:30
9/16 - Asheville, NC - The Orange Peel
9/17 - Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse
9/18 - Nashville, TN - City Hall
9/19 - St. Louis, MO - The Pageant
9/20 - Chicago, IL - Vic Theatre
9/22 - Milwaukee, WI - Eagles Club
9/23 - Madison, WI - The Majestic Theatre
9/24 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
9/25 - Kansas City, MO - Voodoo Lounge
9/26 - Denver, CO - Fillmore Auditorium
9/28 - Austin, TX - Austin City Limits Festival

XAVIER RUDD TO RELEASE DARK SHADES OF BLUE AUGUST 19

Mon, 19 May 2008 00:05:00 -0700

XAVIER RUDD TO RELEASE DARK SHADES OF BLUE AUGUST 19 FOLLOWED BY HIGH PROFILE FESTIVAL APPEARANCES AND A HEADLINING U.S TOUR

Best-selling Australian singer-songwriter Xavier Rudd is set to release his seventh album, Dark Shades of Blue, on August 19th. Confirmed appearances at the Jazz Aspen Snowmass and Bumbershoot festivals in August and the Austin City Limits festival in September will bookend a headlining tour that will find Xav bringing his world-renowned live performance to cities across the U.S.

Dark Shades of Blue is dusky and cool, more sober than any work Xav has ever done, though don't mistake it for temperate. Guitar-driven jams expand on a sound only hinted at on previous releases, and distortion often supplants the pretty jangly guitars heard on earlier work. Mixed by Joe Barresi (Tool, Queens of the Stone Age), Dark Shades of Blue shows Xav at his most assertive, heavy and psychedelic, and while Xav's signature didgeridoo remains, along with the myriad of instruments and voices featured on other records, the results are less ‘world music' than they are the makings of a truly global record.

The past few years have been a whirlwind for Xavier. In between sold out tours in Europe, Australia and the US, both headlining and supporting the likes of the Dave Matthews Band, Jack Johnson and Ben Harper, he has been working on the film score for fellow-surfer and Rudd-enthusiast Matthew McConaughey's Surfer Dude, a film starring McConaughey, Woody Harrelson and Willie Nelson.

Known not just for his wholly original approach to making music and must-be-seen-to-be-believed live shows - where he often performs as a one-man band - Xav is also recognized as a great Australian activist, advocating for indigenous rights and environmental responsibility. Both his social conscious and sense of hopeful exultation co-exist on Dark Shades…"I was given two eyes and I see," he writes on "This World as We Know It."
From the opening notes of "Black Water" to the title track to the rocking "Up In Flames," it is clear that Dark Shades of Blue is something different and thrilling from an artist who has always carved his own way.

See XAVIER RUDD on The Jimmy Kimmel show on Jan 4th!

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 00:01:00 -0800

This Friday, January 4th, Xavier Rudd will be the musical guest on The Jimmy Kimmel Show, so check it out! It airs on ABC from 12:00 to 1 AM nightly.

If you're in the LA area and would like to attend go to www.1iota.com. All guests need to be at least 18 years old with a valid ID. They must be available from 5:30PM to 8:00PM and can get tickets at www.1iota.com.

Xavier Rudd set to drop ANTI- debut and announces tour plans

Thu, 21 Sep 2006 00:09:00 -0700

Acclaimed singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Xavier Rudd will release his Anti- debut Food In The Belly on January 23, 2007. Informed by his extensive travels as a surfer, Rudd�s sixth album embraces an array of cultures and results in a style that is unique, fresh and vital. In advance of the release, the Australian-born, Canada-based Rudd will tour the U.S. and Canada next month when his three-week trek gets underway on November 13, 2006 in Boston.

�[Rudd] offers a strikingly original mix of music,� writes The Boston Globe. �Some of his sound (and idealism) echoes the surf-folk of Jack Johnson, while his Weissenborn guitar-playing evokes Ben Harper. But mostly, Rudd is on a plateau of his own, playing a one-man blend of guitars, didgeridoos, stomp boxes, djembe drums, and even slide banjo. Expect this album to crack some top 10 lists.�

Recorded by Xavier and co-producer Todd Simko in a Vancouver house-turned-studio, he calls the disc, �a celebration,� adding, �This is a shaky time and we have our issues, but most of us in the western world are incredibly fortunate. It�s not gonna be this way forever and I feel really appreciative. I guess that gratitude became a theme of this album.�

Released last year in Australia, where it has been certified gold, Food In The Belly has yielded praise from the likes of such celebrated and successful tunesmiths as Ani DiFranco and the aforementioned Johnson, both of whom Rudd has toured with. To say it�s contagious is an understatement, as evidenced by the rolling, finger-picked exuberance of �Energy Song� or the tender �Miss You In My Life.�

�I feel lucky to do what I�m doing,� says the 28 year old Rudd, who was raised in Torquay, Victoria near the famous surf spot Bells Beach. �I�m a very fortunate musician, to have so many people support and appreciate what I do, but I�m also a lucky human being. I think we all are. I guess that�s what this record is about.�

Here are Xavier Rudd�s tour dates:

11/13/2006 The Paradise Boston MA
11/15/2006 9:30 Club Washington DC
11/16/2006 Webster Hall New York NY
11/17/2006 Bronson Center Ottawa Canada
11/18/2006 Le Medley Montreal Canada
11/20/2006 Kool Haus Toronto Canada
11/21/2006 Centenial Hall London Canada
11/24/2006 Burton Cummings Theater Winnipeg Canada
11/26/2006 The Eric Harvey Theater Banff Canada
11/27/2006 The Eric Harvey Theater Banff Canada
11/28/2006 Winspear Edmonton Alberta
11/29/2006 Jack Singer Calgary Alberta
12/1/2006 Neumos Seattle WA
12/2/2006 Aladdin Theatre Portland OR
12/4/2006 Whistler Conference Center (Sea to Sky Ballroom) Whistler Canada
12/5/2006 Orpheum Theater Vancouver Canada

Xavier Rudd signs to ANTI-

Mon, 24 Jul 2006 00:07:00 -0700

Australian singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Xavier Rudd has signed a worldwide deal (except for Australia and Canada) with Anti (home to Tom Waits, Daniel Lanois, Neko Case and Michael Franti, among others) and will see his new album Food In The Belly released in the U.S. next year.

�I am excited about the opportunities that lie ahead with Anti,� commented Rudd on the signing. �I feel it is a good �connection� because of their artistic approach to music. This is evident in Anti�s catalogue of artists.�

Rudd, whose travels as a renowned surfer has both shaped and help spread his music, is an accomplished recording artist. His new album, Food In The Belly, follows the successful chart album Solace. Rudd has developed one of the most passionate and rapidly spreading grassroots audiences of recent times.

His original live performances have helped him build an international reputation� literally with his own hands and feet. From his bare soles on a wooden resonator box to the breath humming in his yidakis (didgeridoos), his work resonates from the ground up and the inside out.

Xavier Rudd is currently on tour in the US:

7/25 St Andrews Hall Detroit MI

7/26 House of Blues Cleveland OH

7/27 Southgate House Newport KY

7/28 Park West Chicago IL

7/29 Cabooze of West Bank Minneapolis MN

7/31 Fox Theatre & Cafe Boulder CO

8/2 House of Blues San Diego CA

8/3 Troubadour Los Angeles CA

8/4 Fillmore San Francisco CA