People News

Steve Martin Rare Bird Alert tour announced

By April MacIntyre Jan 19, 2012, 13:08 GMT

Steve Martin - Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers have announced tour dates in support of their #1 bluegrass album, Rare Bird Alert (Rounder Records), which recently received a Grammy® nomination for Best Bluegrass Album. © Jakes Van Der Watt / PR Photos

Actor, writer and comedian Steve Martin is going on tour.

Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers have announced tour dates in support of their #1 bluegrass album, Rare Bird Alert (Rounder Records), which recently received a Grammy® nomination for Best Bluegrass Album. 

Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers will make stops at several venues and festivals including a performance at the Stagecoach Festival in Indio, CA, as well as multiple nights with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Boston, MA. 

The tour comes on the heels of a banner year that saw Martin and The Steep Canyon Rangers winning 'Entertainer of the Year' at the 2011 International Bluegrass Association Awards.

In the roughly three years since Steve Martin and The Steep Canyon Rangers have been touring together they have delighted audiences at Bonnaroo, New Orleans' Jazzfest and The Newport Folk Festival to name a few. They've embarked on four widely acclaimed tours with many critics noting Martin's "exceptional musicianship." The OC Register said "what's so heartening and wonderful to see is Steve Martin back on stage, doing both things he does best - playing banjo and being funny."

Rare Bird Alert has received critical acclaim since its 2011 release with reviews citing the album as "filled with deft musicianship and inventive word play" (The Tennessean). The album features 13 new Martin-penned tracks, including a live version of "King Tut," and special guest vocals from Paul McCartney and the Dixie Chicks. Martin co-wrote two songs from the album with the Steep Canyon Rangers. Rare Bird Alert was produced by Tony Trischka and released on Rounder Records.

Steve Martin is a four-time Grammy® winner, the latest for The Crow: New Songs for the Five-String Banjo, which won Best Bluegrass Album (2009), in addition he won for his collaboration with Earl Scruggs on Foggy Mountain Breakdown (2001) and two for comedy albums Wild and Crazy Guy (1978) and Let's Get Small (1977.)

In this week's Culture Desk blog for the New Yorker, Martin penned a moving tribute to legendary banjo player Earl Scruggs highlighting his enormous impact on American music and also recounting his personal memories sitting on Scruggs' porch playing the banjo.

The current list of 2012 Tour Dates is as follows with additional dates to be announced soon.

2.10.2012        Reno, NV                       Grand Sierra Resort & Casino- Grand Theatre

2.11.2012        Porterville, CA                 Eagle Mountain Casino

4.28.2012        Indio, CA                        Stagecoach Festival

4.29.2012        Santa Barbara, CA           The Granada

5.29.2012        Boston, MA                     Symphony Hall

5.30.2012        Boston, MA                     Symphony Hall

6.21.2012        Kansas City, MO              Midland Theatre

To purchase tickets and for more information on Steve Martin, including message boards, tour dates and more, please visit www.stevemartin.com.