ANASTASIO AND CLASSIC TAB ANNOUNCE 2010 TOUR DATES

Trey Anastasio

Trey Anastasio has had an incredible 2009 with Phish, which toured for the first time in over four years and closed out the year with four consecutive shows at Miami’s American Airlines Arena last week (see the review of Miami NYE here). Now the singer/guitarist is preparing to hit the road with Trey Anastasio Band, which has backed him on many of his solo projects.

An online ticket request period begins tomorrow, January 6, at 10:00 a.m. EST here. Tickets will go on sale to the general public next week.

The tour kicks off with a special benefit show at the Jefferson Theatre in Charlottesville, VA on February 8. The date marks what would have been the 47th birthday of Trey’s sister, Kristine Anastasio, an esteemed environmentalist and author who died of neuroendocrine cancer last April. Proceeds from the show will go to the Kristine Anastasio Manning Memorial Fund, which supports many of the causes and charities she devoted herself to.

Hitting several cities that Anastasio has never played before, the dates are the first for Classic TAB since they went out as a quartet last fall. Now they’re adding horns back into the mix with Russell Remington (tenor saxophone and flute) and Jennifer Hartswick (trumpet and vocals), who will once again join Russ Lawton (drums), Tony Markellis (bass) and Ray Paczkowski (keyboards). New to the group is Natalie Cressman on trombone and vocals, who replaces her father, Jeff Cressman.

The septet will perform material that spans Anastasio’s solo career, including “Push On ‘Til The Day” (from 2000′s Trey Anastasio), “Sweet Dreams Melinda” and “Sleep Again” (from Shine, 2005), “Goodbye Head” (Bar 17, 2006) and “Olivia” and “Burlap Sack & Pumps” (The Horseshoe Curve, 2007). They’re currently in rehearsals, adapting the arrangements to suit the current configuration and working on several brand new compositions. Classic TAB has always functioned as breeding ground of sorts, with many of its songs eventually crossing over into Phish’s repertoire.

Trey Anastasio & Classic TAB Tour Dates

02/08/10 Mon Jefferson Theater Charlottesville, VA

02/09/10 Tue 9:30 Club Washington, DC

02/11/10 Thu Electric Factory Philadelphia, PA

02/12/10 Fri House of Blues Boston, MA

02/13/10 Sat Oakdale Theatre (Formerly Chevrolet Theatre) Wallingford, CT

02/14/10 Sun Count Basie Theatre Red Bank, NJ

02/16/10 Tue Terminal 5 New York, NY

02/18/10 Thu Pabst Theater Milwaukee, WI

02/19/10 Fri The Riviera Theatre Chicago, IL

02/20/10 Sat State Theatre Minneapolis, MN

02/21/10 Sun Uptown Theater Kansas City, MO

02/23/10 Tue The Pageant St. Louis, MO

02/25/10 Thu Ryman Auditorium Nashville, TN

02/26/10 Fri The Fillmore Charlotte, NC

02/27/10 Sat The Tabernacle Atlanta, GA

02/28/10 Sun Tennessee Theatre Knoxville, TN

For more on Trey, see our exclusive feature/interview from 2006 here.