Heart’s Ann and Nancy Wilson Set to Kick Off U.S. Summer Tour June 25 in Hampton Beach

FROM: KRISTINE ASHTON/MAGGIE WANG

HEART’S ANN AND NANCY WILSON
SET TO KICK OFF U.S. SUMMER TOUR
JUNE 25 IN HAMPTON BEACH, NH
BEFORE ENTERING STUDIO TO RECORD NEW CD;
ACOUSTIC EVENING WILL FEATURE CLASSIC HEART SONGS
AND NEW MATERIAL;
JUNE 19 HOME ALIVE BENEFIT SHOW IN SEATTLE JUST ANNOUNCED

After recently headlining their own solo tours, HEART’S ANN & NANCY WILSON are coming together for a ten-week U.S. tour which kicks off June 25 in Hampton Beach, NH. Since ANN and NANCY first showed the world that women can rock when HEART stormed the charts in the `70s with Dreamboat Annie and the hits “Crazy On You” and “Magic Man,” they’ve sold more than 29 million records, had 21 Top 40 hits, sold out arenas worldwide and inspired a generation of female rockers. About the only thing they haven’t done is work just with each other.

On this tour–billed as “An Acoustic Evening With ANN & NANCY WILSON“–the sisters will expand upon the HEART legacy recently featured in their VH1 “Behind the Music” special. ANN and NANCY will mix their new music with such classics as “These Dreams,” “Alone,” “Dog and Butterfly” and “Barracuda.” Fans can expect to hear new songs including: “Willowbend,” “Love or Madness,” “Midnight Sun,” “Noveau Blue,” “She Still Believes,” “Irons In The Fire,” “Baby Cat,” “Only You And I” and a collaboration with Burt Bacharach entitled “Having It All.” After returning home from the road, ANN and NANCY plan to enter the studio to record an album of entirely new material.

This trek will take ANN and NANCY across the United States to cities such as New York, Atlantic City, St. Paul, Miami, San Diego, Las Vegas and Seattle. While on the road, NANCY will play electric and acoustic guitars, mandolin, dulcimer, dobro, blues harp, bass and piano. ANN will play bass, rhythm guitar, piano and flute.

Just prior to embarking on their full U.S. tour, ANN and NANCY will perform at a Home Alive benefit June 19 at Aro-Space in Seattle with The Bangs. Home Alive is a collective of performance artists and visual artists which fights all forms of violence including rape, domestic abuse, gay and lesbian bashing, racism and other types of oppression. They also offer education in self-defense.

While ANN and NANCY have explored various projects in addition to HEART, this marks the first time they’ve gone out on the road on their own and both are excited to have the opportunity. “I’m looking at this with a mixture of excitement and butterflies,” admits ANN. “I’ve always wanted to work with NANCY most of all.” NANCY agrees: “It’s exciting and scary–good scary though. If you’re not putting yourself out there on a limb, you’re not living. We want to make sure that it’s interesting and enlightening and fun as well as emotional and a little bit rock and roll too.”

NANCY received critical acclaim for her performance in support of her recently released solo CD, Live At McCabe’s (Epic). Ann Powers of the New York Times noted: “Ms. Wilson’s accessibility was her greatest charm, apparent in the warmth of her singing…and even her playing, which was expert…a solo set that blended Joni Mitchell-style introspection with fervent singing and strumming indebted to Led Zeppelin.” NANCY has also been busy writing songs for Cameron Crowe’s next film which will be shot in the summer of `99.

ANN also toured the U.S. in `98 as `Heart Featuring Ann Wilson’ with longtime HEART member Howard Leese, performing classic HEART songs combined with her own solo material. The Hollywood Reporter praised the performance, noting: “Wilson’s voice is just plain astounding.” Elsewhere, the Cincinnati Enquirer raved: “Her voice remained strong and in perfect pitch on every song from the raw and powerful `Black On Black II’ to the stripped down rendition of the power-ballad `Alone.’”

ANN and NANCY also recorded two CDs with their side project, LOVEMONGERS: Whirlygig, released on Seattle’s Will Records in 1997, and Here Is Christmas, a mix of original holiday tunes with traditional carols and classical pieces that came out on b2 Music in December of `98.

Current tour dates are as follows:

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