Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals announce new tour dates in advance of their return to the road with shows in the US and Europe
Tuesday, March 29, 2022 – Today Ben Harper, the 3 time GRAMMY Award winning musician, announced he is adding 4 shows to his upcoming tour with the Innocent Criminals:
Sep 18 Saratoga, CA Mountain Winery BHIC
Sep 20 Eugene, OR Cuthbert Amphitheater BHIC
Sep 21 Bend, OR Athletic Club Grass Bowl BHIC
Sep 22 Troutdale, OR McMenamins Edgefield BHIC
This is the first tour for the band since the pandemic. The current tour begins April 2nd with the band playing the Rendezvous Spring Festival in Jackson Wyoming then 21 dates throughout Europe in July and August, continuing through October 7 which will find the band in Chula Vista, California for the North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre. The band features longtime members percussionist Leon Mobley and drummer Oliver Charles as well as new members Chris Joyner (Keys), Alex Painter (Guitar) and Leslie King (bass)
“The band is ecstatic to be back on tour,” said Ben. “The new members of the group bring a fire that is pushing the sound forward in a whole new way.”
February 8, 2022 marked 28 years since Harper’s debut release, Welcome to the Cruel World, and he has been touring with the Innocent Criminals equally as long. In that time he has released 16 studio records and 3 live ones. Though unable to fully tour these last two years, the prolific artist, producer and record label owner stayed immensely busy. 2020 saw him release his first ever instrumental record, Winter Is For Lovers. Narrated by a single lap steel guitar, the emotional story resonated with Harper’s fans, selling out on vinyl in the first week after release and garnering over 15 million streams and counting. In addition, Harper has been at work on new music which fans can expect to hear soon.
It’s hard to describe the power and experience of seeing this band live, but Mark McDermott, who reviewed one of the shows in 2021 came pretty close:
“The first thing you hear is a long sinuous wail. A young yet regal man is seated on the stage, bowed almost reverentially over his lap slide guitar, a big booming bass man by his side, surrounded by a swell of soulful yet thundering percussion. There’s a glow of gold, somehow, emanating from his strings, a light as ethereal and inexplicable as the man’s voice wavering above this glorious, funky, holy wall of sound. When Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals arrived you knew it…. Harper’s songs are ultimately about resilience, and as he returns to the stage post-pandemic, he does so with a renewed sense of hope.” (link to full review here)
Catch Ben and the Innocent Criminals at these shows and check his website for updates and additional tour dates:
Apr 2 Jackson WY Jackson Hole Rendevous Spring Festival BHIC *w Cold War Kids, The Wailers’
Apr 22 Miramar Beach, FL Moon Crush Pink Moon BH
Apr 23 Decatur, GA Amplify Decatur Music Festival BH
May 7 Mill Valley, CA Mill Valley Music Festival BHIC
May 26 N. Las Vegas, NV The Amp at Craig Ranch BHIC
May 28 Taos, NM Kit Carson Park BHIC
May 29 Morrison, CO Red Rocks Amphitheatre BHIC^
Jun 11 Los Angeles, CA 101 Festival at the Hollywood Bowl BH
Jul 7 Cognac, FR Cognac Blues Passions BHIC
Jul 9 Bruges, Belgium Cactus Festival BHIC
Jul 10 Amsterdam, Netherlands Paradiso BHIC
Jul 11 Luxembourg, Luxembourg Abbaye de Neumunster BHIC
Jul 13 Marostica, Italy Marostica Summer Festival BHIC
Jul 15 Nimes, France Festival de Nimes BHIC
Jul 16 Saint-Julien-en-Genevois, France Guitare en Scene BHIC
Jul 17 Lucca, Italy Lucca Summer Festival BHIC
Jul 19 Nicelino, Italy Stupinigi Sonic Park BHIC
Jul 20 Pratteln, Switzerland Z7 Summer Nights Open Air BHIC
Jul 22 Barcelona, Spain Festival Jardins Pedralbes BHIC
Jul 23 Girona Spain Sons del Mon BHIC
Jul 25 Madrid, Spain Noches del Botanico BHIC
Jul 28 Carcassonne, France Festival de Carcassone BHIC
Jul 29 Gignac, France Le Festival Ecaussysteme a Gignac BHIC
Aug 2 Palmanova, Italy Piazza Grande BHIC
Aug 3 San Mauro Pascoli, Italy Acieloaperto Festival BHIC
Aug 4 Rome, Italy Cavea Auditorium Parco Della Musica BHIC
Aug 6 Taormina, Italy Teatro Antico di Taormina BHIC
Aug 9 Riola Sardo, Italy Parco dei Suoni BHIC
Aug 11 Brescia, Italy Festa di Radio Onda d’Urto BHIC
Sep 18 Saratoga, CA Mountain Winery BHIC
Sep 20 Eugene, OR Cuthbert Amphitheater BHIC
Sep 21 Bend, OR Athletic Club Grass Bowl BHIC
Sep 22 Troutdale, OR McMenamins Edgefield BHIC
Sep 24 George, WA Gorge Amphitheatre* BHIC
Oct 7 Chula Vista, CA North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre* BHIC
^w/ Ziggy & Stephen Marley
*w/ Jack Johnson
For More Information please contact: Elizabeth Freund
“Mr. Harper is an anomaly in today’s pop-music business…He has also benefited from a willingness to address a spiritual realm that few pop acts currently visit in their music, and that instinct has forged an unusual bond with his listeners. For Mr. Harper, spirituality means encouraging an awareness of the emotional implications of behaving responsibly in everyday life. His songs are about brotherly love, standing for what you believe in and fighting oppression…. Mr. Harper taps into something that even jaded rock fans continue to care greatly about, more so than debates concerning guitars versus synthesizers and art versus commercialism. That quality is his music’s ability to connect with his audiences’ often thwarted hopes and dreams. Mr. Harper has been able to establish what scores of singer-songwriters have sought to cultivate in their audiences. He has created a kind of spiritual credibility…(and) one thing remains certain to Mr. Harper’s fans: in a world seemingly full of deception, Ben offers an alternative.”
– James Hunter, New York Times
TICKET LINKS:
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Date
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City, State
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Venue
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Ticket Link
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Sun-Sep-18-22
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Saratoga, CA
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Mountain Winery
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Tue-Sep-20-22
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Eugene, OR
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Cuthbert Amp
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Wed-Sep-21-22
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Bend, OR
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Athletic Club Grass Bowl
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Thu-Sep-22-22
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Troutdale, OR
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Edgefield
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