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Henry Rollins is soon to be 50, tour dates, Nat Geo WILD, and more news

By April MacIntyre Jan 24, 2011, 18:15 GMT

01/05/2011 - Henry Rollins - 2011 TCA Winter Cable Press Tour - Comcast Entertainment Group Red Carpet - The Langham Hotel - Pasadena, CA, USA © Chris Hatcher / PR Photos

Poet, punk, actor and writer Henry Rollins is soon to be 50.

The balled-up, hyper-kinetic and intense mental energy that is Rollins has not shown any signs of letting up, as he appeared at the recent Television Critics' Association to speak about his upcoming Nat Geo WILD special that covers his life-long love of snakes and the underground culture surrounding them.

Nat Geo WILD will air "Snake Underworld" in April, as Henry uncovers a world of snake obsession that goes far beyond his own fascination with the slithering reptiles. Snake Underworld marks Rollins' second collaboration with National Geographic, following the National Geographic Channel Explorer special "Born To Rage", which premiered in December, 2010.

Rollins is now middle-aged, yet fit and sharp.  He approaches the half-century mark by undertaking a new talking tour simply titled 50 that shows his vitality has yet to be diminished.

National tour dates kick off March 17 at the Whitaker Center in Harrisburg, PA, and continue through mid-April.

Rollins will be hitting intimate venues to share stories from and reflections on his first 50 years – and the chaos that has surrounded him. Tickets go on sale January 28, with a limited number of presales available starting at 10am EST on January 24 at Music Today (http://www.henryrollins.musictoday.com).

As previously announced, Rollins will be celebrating his birthday on February 13 in his native Washington, DC with a pair of sold out shows at National Geographic Live.

Also in February, Henry holds court for multiple nights in New York at a sold out Joe’s Pub (February 8-12) and in Los Angeles as 89.9 KCRW presents "Henry" at Largo at the Coronet (February 16-20). Tickets for the Los Angeles 50 shows are on sale now at http://largo.laughstub.com/. 

“On February 13th of 2011, I will turn fifty years of age. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate this once-in-a-lifetime occasion than by doing some shows,” Henry explains. “Hopefully, I will be able to evince some imperfect pearls of ancient wisdom to the audience, having made it this far.”

It’s not so much the mere wisdom of age, but the wisdom of experience that audiences are likely to encounter when Rollins takes the stage – whether he’s relaying rock n’ roll anecdotes, or tackling more serious topics with his distinctive synthesis of anger, amusement, and global perspective. A relentless traveler on an unyielding quest for firsthand knowledge, his most recent excursion took him across the Pacific to China, North Korea, Mongolia, Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan and Vietnam.

“All of these destinations gave me a lot to think about, write about and talk about. Wondering if I knew more about North Korea than my guide in Pyongyang was a strange thing to walk around with all day. To see the lasting effects of Tetrachlorodibenzodioxin, otherwise known as Agent Orange, showing up in children generations later in Hanoi was an eye opener, to say the least,” says Rollins. “To leave all that and come back to America with all its unique idiosyncrasies always makes me want to know more. These days, as far as things to pay attention to, be frustrated about and seek to change, a conscientious person is fairly spoiled for choice. You know me, I’ll always tell you what I think.”

Prior to the launch of 50, Henry heads to the Rubin Museum of Art in New York, where he’ll join neuroscientist David Eagleman on February 7 for “The Assassin Of My Dreams,” the first in the Rubin’s “Brainwave 2011” series of on-stage conversations between mind scientists and people from other walks of life “exploring our nightlife.” Tickets and more information about this event are available at http://www.rmanyc.org/events/load/1005. 

HENRY continues to do his weekly radio show on L.A.’s revered NPR affiliate KCRW. ROLLINS the writer tracks his travels – and shares his thoughts on politics and the state of the world – in his “Straight Talk Espresso” blog at VanityFair.com, and more recently began contributing a music column to LA Weekly’s “West Coast Sound” blog.

For more on HENRY ROLLINS and 50, go to www.henryrollins.com. Current tour dates for 50 are as follows:

Date                 City/State                                 Venue

            2/8                    New York, NY                            Joe’s Pub

            2/9                    New York, NY                            Joe’s Pub

            2/10                  New York, NY                            Joe’s Pub

            2/11                  New York, NY                            Joe’s Pub

            2/12                  New York, NY                            Joe’s Pub

            2/13                  Washington, DC                        National Geographic Live (2 shows)

            2/16                  Los Angeles, CA                       Largo at the Coronet

            2/17                  Los Angeles, CA                       Largo at the Coronet

            2/18                  Los Angeles, CA                       Largo at the Coronet

            2/19                  Los Angeles, CA                       Largo at the Coronet

            2/20                  Los Angeles, CA                       Largo at the Coronet

            3/17                  Harrisburg, PA                          Whitaker Center

            3/18                  Philadelphia, PA                        World Café Live

            3/19                  Pawtucket, RI                            The Met

            3/20                  Cambridge, MA                         Brattle Theater

            3/21                  Annapolis, MD                          Ram’s Head Live

            3/22                  Northampton, MA                      Iron Horse

            3/23                  Norfolk, CT                               Infinity Hall

            3/24                  Toronto, ON                              The Great Hall

            3/25                  Cleveland, OH                           Museum of Art

            3/26                  Chicago, IL                               Mercury Theater

            3/27                  Madison, WI                              Great Hall @ UW

            3/28                  Minneapolis, MN                       Cedar Cultural Center

            3/30                  Evanston, IL                              SPACE

            3/31                  DeKalb, IL                                 Otto’s

            4/1                    Urbana, IL                                 Canopy Club

            4/2                    Kansas City, KS                        The Record Bar

            4/3                    Denver, CO                               Soiled Dove

            4/5                    Portland, OR                             Alberta Rose Theater

            4/6                    Seattle, WA                               Triple Door

            4/8                    Brookdale, CA                           Historic Brookdale Lodge

            4/9                    San Francisco, CA                    Independent

            4/10                  Sausalito, CA                            Cavallo Point (Mission Blue Chapel)