Earth, Wind & Fire & Chicago Tour Dates! | TheUrbanMusicScene.com

Legendary Groups Chicago and Earth, Wind & Fire Reunite for
National Co-Headlining U.S. Summer Tour, 30-City Major Venue Runs June
5 – August 1, 2009

Music legends Earth, Wind & Fire
and Chicago have announced that they will reunite for a 30-city
national co-headlining summer concert tour, beginning June 5 in Orange
Beach, AL (dates below). In 2004 and 2005, the two bands teamed up for
what is still talked about as one of the great musical spectaculars in
recent touring history. A DVD filmed in 2005 of their Los Angeles shows
was certified double platinum almost immediately upon release – a
tribute to the extraordinary and unique quality of this collaboration.

Earth,
Wind & Fire’s founding member and singer Philip Bailey says, “The
Chicago-Earth, Wind & Fire shows are magic and bring out the best
in all of us – from the musicians onstage to the fans dancing in the
aisles. We can’t wait to get out there with our friends again.” Chicago
keyboardist and founding member Robert Lamm is equally enthusiastic,
“Earth, Wind & Fire are phenomenal. When we first decided to tour
together, we knew it would be good, but I don’t think we could have
guessed that the Earth, Wind & Fire-Chicago shows would be some of
our all-time favorites to play.”

The 2009 Summer Tour will be
presented by AEG Live. Each band will perform a full set, and the two
bands will come together at the beginning of the night and for a final
set that features both bands onstage together.

“What happens
when you cross Chicago with Earth, Wind & Fire? You get a big,
raucous, happy band, supercharging a packed house of fans.” – Daily
Variety

Earth, Wind & Fire made international news
recently when President Obama declared in an interview with
RollingStone Magazine that the group was among his favorites in his
iPod. He said, they are “rhythm and blues and pop staples for me.” The
group was invited by President Obama to perform in the East Room on
February 22 at the White House for the first social event of the new
administration. The Earth, Wind & Fire 11-piece band is among the
most influential, commercially successful and critically acclaimed
bands of the last three decades. Formed in 1969 in Chicago, Earth, Wind
& Fire’s 39-year history resulted in millions of albums sold
worldwide and distinguished awards and accolades. Founding members:
Maurice White (leader, vocalist, songwriter); Philip Bailey (lead
vocalist, percussionist); Verdine White (bassist); Ralph Johnson
(drummer and percussionist) have been inducted into the Rock & Roll
Hall of Fame and are credited with eight Grammy Awards, 20 Grammy
nominations, Four American Music Awards, honors from the NAACP, the BET
Awards and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The principal members
of Earth, Wind & Fire have received honorary Doctorate Degrees from
the Arts and Media College at Columbia College Chicago. To this day,
Earth, Wind & Fire remain one of the top globally popular touring
attractions. Influencing top artists including Prince, Mary J Blige,
Outkast and many more, Earth, Wind & Fire’s signature sound and
distinctive musical styles fuse pop, soul, jazz, rock n’ roll,
psychedelic, African roots music and disco with a base in funk.

Chicago
has written, recorded and performed some of the most popular and
musically innovative songs in rock history. Billboard Magazine
positioned the band at #13 on their Hot 100 chart’s All-Time Top 100 –
a byproduct of having sold more than 100, 000, 000 records and having
earned 20 Top hits, 5 Number One albums, 5 Number One singles and 5
Gold singles. Chicago has also won a Grammy Award, American Music
Awards, received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, had a downtown
Chicago street renamed in their honor, and been celebrated with an
exhibit at the Chicago History Museum. An incredible 25 of their 30
albums have been certified platinum, and Chicago is the first American
band to chart Top 40 albums in five decades. Through it all, Chicago
remains a working band, touring continually since forming in 1967. On
the philanthropic front, Chicago actively supports two charities
through their concert ticket sales. Since 1995, the band has donated a
portion of each ticket sold to the Ara Parseghian Medical Research
Foundation, which seeks a cure to the fatal children’s disease,
Neimann-Pick Type C. For the last four years, the band has donated an
additional portion of ticket sales to help raise money for Hannah &
Friends, which works to improve the quality of life for children and
adults with special needs. Hannah & Friends is the personal mission
of Maura Weis and her husband, current Notre Dame Football Coach
Charlie Weis.

AEG Live, the live-entertainment division of Los
Angeles-based AEG, is dedicated to all aspects of live contemporary
music performance, touring for a variety of programming, and
multi-media production. AEG Live, the nation’s second-largest concert
promotion and touring company, is comprised of special event, broadcast
and exhibition divisions, fourteen regional offices, and numerous
state-of-the-art venues nationwide. The company’s national promotion
arm is currently producing tours and productions including Bette Midler
“The Showgirl Must Go On” and Cher at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace
in Las Vegas; and “Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs, ” an
international tour of the artifacts of King Tut. Recent and upcoming
promoted concert tours have included artists such as Justin Timberlake,
Bon Jovi, Celine Dion, Hannah Montana, Spice Girls, Prince, Britney
Spears, Kenny Chesney, So You Think You Can Dance, Paul McCartney, High
School Musical, American Idols Live and The Color Purple. Goldenvoice,
the company’s Southern California-based regional promotion division,
created and operates the award-winning annual Coachella Valley Music
& Arts Festival as well as Stagecoach: California’s Country Music
Festival. The company operates Nokia Theatre at Grand Prairie in Texas,
Nokia Theatre Times Square, Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE and the recently
opened Club Nokia. For more information, go to www.aeglive.com.
Earth, Wind & Fire and Chicago