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The Version City Tour hits the road!

I am so excited about this, I could just spit.



The amazing, highly influential, and always delightful King Django will be taking to the road with The Heavy Beat's Matt MacLeod and The Snails for The Version City Tour! It's a total mind-blowing mash-up of talent and from the snippets I hear around about the rehearsals, we are all in for a good damn time. A Perfect Mess is freaking ELATED to be a sponsor of the tour, and I can't wait to get out to see it all go down. The tour is gearing up to kick off in less than two weeks, officially on December 15th in New London, CT. It will run through the balance of 2012 and then through most of January before finishing up in Harrisburg, PA on January 20th. I plan to be there. With bells on. Here is the official press release with a listing of dates and cities...if you don't get out to see this, I don't know what to do with you:


Version City Tour to Bring New York Ska to the Rest of the East Coast

New Brunswick, NJ -- November 13, 2012 -- This winter King Django, former front man of Stubborn All-Stars and founder of Stubborn Records, will embark on a month long tour of the east coast with musical support from Philadelphia reggae act The Snails and Matt MacLeod of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania's soul-reggae troupe The Heavy Beat. Kicking off December 15 from New London, Connecticut, the tour will touch down in cities all along the eastern seaboard reaching deep into Florida before returning to the Northeast in mid-January.

                The Version City Tour aims to spread the positive vibrations of New York City’s seminal Version City Parties where, since 1997, Django and friends have hosted countless ska, rocksteady and reggae bands, artists and DJs to share and celebrate their love for the roots and offshoots of Jamaican music.

                In the words of Steve Shafer, operator of the popular ska blog Duff Guide to Ska, "This winter, some of the best musicians [of] the US ska scene are banding together ... and bringing the ska to the people." King Django and the Snails have joined forces once before, running a short tour through New England in January of 2012. The "old-school" King Django has said he is excited to take this group of "young upstarts" on the road for the second time.

                Coinciding with the tour, Stubborn Records will be releasing a new full-length King Django CD entitled “Anywhere I Roam” as well as The Snails’ debut vinyl 7” EP "The River," both recorded at Version City Studios. The tour will also signify Matt MacLeod's first efforts as a band leading solo artist, deviating from his usual role as co-leader of the Heavy Beat. Overall, the Version City Tour will be a monumental event for all artists involved.

                Fans and concert goers can expect to be treated to a plethora of musical sounds and styles ranging from traditional Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae to American soul and rhythm & blues.
To learn more about the Version City Tour, check facebook.com/versioncitytour and reverbnation.com/versioncitytour for show listings and samples of each bands' music, and be sure to follow the tour as it heads south this winter on Twitter @versioncitytour.

Confirmed tour dates:
2012 DEC 15 SAT New London, CT El'n'Gee
2012 DEC 16 SUN Providence, RI Firehouse 13
2012 DEC 20 THU Washington, DC BlueBeat DC @ Solly's Tavern
2012 DEC 22 SAT Rehoboth Beach, DE Dogfish Head Brewing
2012 DEC 27 THU Baltimore, MD Ottobar
2012 DEC 29 SAT Durham, NC The Casbah
2012 DEC 30 SUN Columbia, SC New Brookland Tavern
2013 JAN 1 TUE Jacksonville, FL Burro Bar
2013 JAN 2 WED Sanford, FL The West End Trading Co.
2013 JAN 3 THU Orlando, FL The Social
2013 JAN 4 FRI Jupiter, FL Guanabana's
2013 JAN 5 SAT Lake Worth, FL Propaganda
2013 JAN 6 SUN Coral Gables, FL Books and Books
2013 JAN 7 MON Pompano Beach, FL Mickey's Bar
2013 JAN 8 TUE Miami, FL Churchill's
2013 JAN 9 WED Cape Coral, FL Rack'Em Billiards
2013 JAN 10 THU Sarasota, FL The Blue Rooster
2013 JAN 11 FRI St. Petersburg, FL Local 662
2013 JAN 12 SAT Gainesville, FL The Atlantic
2013 JAN 13 SUN Tallahassee, FL The Shark Tank
2013 JAN 14 MON Pensacola, FL The Handle Bar
2013 JAN 16 WED Atlanta, GA Asylum
2013 JAN 20 SUN Harrisburg, PA Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center


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