Blue Note Records is very proud to announce that Amos Lee's new record, Last Days at the Lodge has debuted at #29 on the Billboard Top 200. This is Lee's highest debut in his career. Last Days at the Lodge was released on June 24th and is Lee's third record. Previously his highest Billboard chart position was #76, for his last record, Supply and Demand. Lee's first record debuted at #190 and peaked at #113, but got to the #2 position on the "Heatseekers" chart. Both records have sold over a combined half million worldwide.

Critical response to the new album has been fantastic. Besides performing on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, and appearing on the Tavis Smiley Show on PBS, Lee is about to be featured on NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday. In print, Last Days at the Lodge has been receiving raves. In their three out of four-star review, People magazine called Lee "still one of pop's best-kept secrets, while exclaiming that he has "perfected the art of rootsy rainy-day music, soaking in blues, folk, country and gospel, as well as some Bill Withers-style R&B." The Philadelphia Inquirer noted that there's now "more jazz and soul on Lee's songs," and called his fantastic voice "smoothly expressive." Paste said the new album "finds Lee at his melodic and passionate best," while Relix said Lee's new songs are "sexy and real," continuing, "he gives you the soul of Bill Withers in a more tempered, edgier form - in the body of an earnest, sincere singer/songwriter. And over three albums he's gotten better and better at it. Last Days at the Lodge offers proof."

Last Days at the Lodge was produced by Don Was, and features Lee on guitars, Doyle Bramhall, Jr (Eric Clapton) on guitar, Spooner Oldham (Neil Young, ,a href=http://www.superiorpics.com/aretha_franklin/>Aretha Franklin) on keys, Pino Palladino (The Who, D'Angelo) on bass and James Gadson (Bill Withers) on drums, along with many others. The record finds Lee honing and emphasizing all the things that earned him his strong fanbase from the get go: His singing is rich, direct and confident, the songs are sharply crafted, the melodies memorable and crisp, the lyrics focused. The production is fuller and less sparse, but the atmosphere remains uncluttered.

"Listen," the first single from the new record, was #1 most added on the R&R AAA chart and is currently experiencing strong airplay across the country. At the beginning of May, Lee performed at BAM in Brooklyn, NY, during the exclusive Paul Simon series. Billboard reviewed the performance and said, "The audience, who seemed largely unfamiliar with Lee, was on its feet by the end of his short set."

Lee is about to kick off a North American headlining tour, beginning July 8th in Kitchener, Ontario, and finishing in Houston, TX, on September 21st. The complete itinerary is below.

The tour dates are as follows:
July 8 Kitchener, ONT The Gig Theatre
July 9 Toronto, ONT Danforth Music Hall
July 11 Somerville, MA Somerville Theatre
July 12 Camden, NJ XPoNential Music Festival
July 14 New York, NY Highline Ballroom
July 15 Vienna, VA Wolf Trap
July 16 Annapolis, MD Rams Head
July 18 Pittsburgh, PA Rex Theatre
July 19 Royal Oak, MI Royal Oak Music Theatre
July 20 Cleveland, OH House of Blues
July 22 Columbus, OH Newport Music Hall
July 23 Louisville, KY Headliners Music Hall
July 25 Richmond, VA The National
July 26 Floyd, VA FloydFest - Blue Cow Pavillion
July 27 Charleston, WV Mountain Stage
July 29 Asheville, NC The Orange Peel
July 30 Charlotte, NC Neighbourhood Theatre
August 1 Orlando, FL The Social
August 2 St. Petersburg, FL State Theatre
August 4 Charleston, SC The Music Farm
August 5 Atlanta, GA Variety Playhouse
August 7 High Point, NC High Point Theatre
August 8 Nashville, TN Cannery
August 9 Indianapolis, IN The Vogue
August 11 Chicago, IL Park West
August 12 St. Louis, MO The Pageant
August 13 Kansas City, MO Uptown Theater
August 15 Lyons, CO Lyons Folk Festival
August 16 Englewood, CO Gothic Theatre
August 17 Aspen, CO Belly Up
August 20 Portland, OR Oregon Zoo Amphitheater
August 21 Seattle, WA Woodland Park Zoo Amphitheater
August 22 Victoria, BC Alix Goolden Hall
August 23 Vancouver, BC Commodore Ballroom
August 25 Bend, OR The Athletic Club
August 26 Saratoga, CA The Mountain Winery
August 27 Sacramento, CA The Boardwalk
August 28 Petaluma, CA Mystic Theatre
September 4 Solana Beach, CA Belly Up
September 8 Los Angeles, CA Henry Fonda Theatre
September 9 San Francisco, CA Fillmore
September 12 Reno, NV John Ascuaga's Nugget
September 14 Tucson, AZ Rialto Theatre
September 15 Phoenix, AZ The Marquee
September 18 Austin, TX La Zona Rosa
September 20 Dallas, TX Granada Theater
September 21 Houston, TX Meridian

More dates will be announced shortly.

Source: Big Hassle Media