As the summer months approach rapidly, reggae-rock fans will be racing out to venues across the country in the coming months to see one of the most anticipated national tours in recent history.
It is fairly difficult to package a tour together with more talent, catchy lyrics, larger cult followings and rabid fans, than nearly any band can say. If you don’t know by now, 311 and Slightly Stoopid are sharing
the stage on this year’s Unity Tour. In their own right, 311, Slightly Stoopid and SOJA can, and have hosted and headlined their very own national tour, but the Unity Tour is unlike any tour around.
Normally, one significant headliner is enough to get fans through the gates for smaller, underground opening acts. 311 have never utilized that formula for the Unity Tour. In years past, Hawaii’s own Pepper was one of the more memorable openers, Sublime With Rome was featured during last year’s edition, as well as the Dirty Heads and the Offspring a few years prior. With each tour coming to an end, the following year prompted the tour to expand, grow and prosper while adding the biggest and baddest in the music scene currently.
The name Slightly Stoopid always jumps out at onlookers, but their music captures the essence of island reggae, California surf rock and the finer side of hip hop with just the right pinch of blues.
Concertgoers and festival enthusiasts are fully engulfed in Slightly Stoopid’s set before their first song comes to an end. After forming the band in 1995, the “ese locos” or “Stoopidheads” have grown exponentially with each passing year. With heavy influences stemming from Bradley Nowell and Sublime, this will be the very first tour with 311 and Slightly Stoopid featured, one after another.
To call this year’s Unity Tour a “can’t miss” event, hits the nail on the head. No one has ever seen this exact show before, and perhaps, fans will never see this type of lineup again. The two-headed music monster invading towns this summer will likely sell-out each venue and each city. However, fans in select cities along the west coast will also have the privilege of seeing SOJA open the festivities, while the east coast will feature The Aggrolites as tour openers.
The 311 Unity Tour has been one of the more desired touring circuits since its inception, but the lineup will be tough to top in the coming years. SOJA just wrapped up a coast-to-coast national tour in support of their new album Strength to Survive, while The Aggrolites are still supporting their 2011 release Rugged Road. There is no doubt that tickets will be gone fast, the days of walking up to the venue hours before the show to purchase tickets are long gone. Nobody wants to be the one trying to climb the fence to see this show, so don’t miss it!
311 & Slightly Stoopid Unity Tour:
July 8th @ W.H. Lyons Fairground. Sioux Falls, SD
July 10th @ Verizon Wireless Amp. St. Louis, MO
July 12th @ Gexa Energy Pavilion. Dallas, TX
July 13th @ Whitewater Amp. New Braunfels, TX
July 15th @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. Houston, TX
July 17th @ Cruzan Amp. West Palm Beach, FL
July 18th @ TBA
July 20th @ Ask Gary Amph. Tampa FL
July 21st @ Aarons Amph. Atlanta, GA
July 22nd @ Verizon Wireless Amph. Charlotte, NC
July 24th @ Farm Bureau. Virginia Beach, VA
July 25th @ Time Warner Cable Pavilion. Raleigh, NC
July 27th @ Festvial Pier at Penns Landing. Philadelphia, PA
July 28th @ Jiffy Lube Amph. Bristow, VA
July 29th @ Meadowbrook Pavilion. Gilfrod, NH
July 31st @ Sherman Theatre Summerstage. Stroudsburg, PA
August 2nd @ PNC Bank Arts Center. Holmdel, NJ
August 3rd @ Jones Beach Amph. Wantagh, NY
August 4th @ Comcast Center. Boston, MA
August 7th @ Stage AE Outdoor Stage. Pittsburgh, PA
August 8th @ Lifestyles Community Amph. Columbus, OH
August 9th @ Riverbend Music Center. Cincinnati, OH
August 12th @ Jacobs Pavilion. Cleveland, OH
August 14th @ The Lawn at White River State Park. Indianapolis, IN
August 15th @ DTE Energry Music Theatre. Detroit, MI
August 17th @ TBA
August 18th @ Sandstone Amph. Kansas City, MO
August 19th @ Red Rocks Amph. Denver, CO
August 22nd @ USANA Amph. Salt Lake City, UT
August 24th @Verizon Wireless Amph. Irvine, CA
August 25th @ Cricket Wireless Amph. Chula Vista, CA
August 28th @ Mesa Amph. Mesa, AZ
August 29th @ Santa Barbara County Bowl. Santa Barbara, CA
August 31st @ TBA. San Francisco, CA
September 1st @ The Beach at Mandalay Bay. Las Vegas, NV
September 4th @ Sleep Country Amph. Ridgefiled, WA
September 5th @ Marymoor Amph. Seattle, WA
Article By: Kris Siuta
