NASHVILLE |FROM: MITCH SCHNEIDER/LATHUM NELSON/MARCEE RONDAN
MARIA McKEE TO LAUNCH U.S. TOUR
JUNE 9 IN WASHINGTON, DC
AMID CRITICAL ACCLAIM FOR ‘HIGH DIVE,’
HER FIRST ALBUM IN SEVEN YEARS
After her month-long, 10-country U.K./European trek ends May 31, MARIA McKEE–who “has one of the strongest and most versatile voices in pop music” (Elysa Gardner, USA Today 4/22/03)–will return for a nationwide tour launching June 9 in Washington, DC. The acclaimed singer and songwriter is on the road in support of HIGH DIVE (Viewfinder Records), her first new studio album in seven years which streeted April 22. The musically diverse disc earned a four-star review in Mojo–“an organic, risk-taking record oozing rich details…” (James McNair, 5/03)–and debuted on Billboard’s Top Independent Album chart.
Before heading overseas, McKEE and her band–HIGH DIVE producer JIM AKIN (bass), JERRY ANDREWS (guitar, vocals), TOM DUNNE (drums) and DIANA MEHOUDAR (keyboard, vocals)–played a string of Southern California dates. In its review of her first night, the Los Angeles Times (4/19/03) noted: “The remarkable voice that helped make alt-country group Lone Justice such a wondrous addition to the pop landscape in the ‘80s was fully intact Thursday at the Galaxy Theatre in Santa Ana.”
McKEE’s set lists are blending songs from her solo and Lone Justice career with HIGH DIVE material and the occasional cover tune, including Bruce Springsteen’s “Candy’s Room.” Rolling Stone Online (4/18/03), which reviewed one of MARIA’s two shows at The Roxy in her Los Angeles hometown, reported on the new tunes: “Live, songs such as ‘To The Open Spaces,’ ‘Be My Joy,’ ‘In Your Constellation’ and ‘Something Similar,’ which closes the album, take on an especially ferocious intensity.” McKEE performed “To The Open Spaces,” the album’s first single and video, on the Tonight Show April 15.
Here’s what critics are saying about HIGH DIVE:
“For her first studio effort since 1996, she embellishes her Americana leanings with Bacharach’s puffy-melancholy horns (the title track), Kate Bush’s rock & roll dramatics (‘My Friend Foe’), and coquettish jazz (‘Love Doesn’t Love’). The music winds and soars and sidles. Like she said, it’s grand.”
–Kristina Feliciano, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY (B+ review), May 9, 2003
“McKee has one of the strongest and most versatile voices in pop music…McKee’s new tunes emphasize the rough, raw edges underlying the warmth of her singing.”
–Elysa Gardner, USA TODAY, April 22, 2003
“…has a unique voice that’s gleefully showcased on her new disc, High Dive.”
—LOS ANGELES TIMES, April 24, 2003
“The real McKee…is alive and well on this, the best solo album of her career…High Dive is an organic, risk-taking record oozing rich details…(four stars)”
–James McNair, MOJO, May 2003
“The new High Dive, McKee’s fourth solo effort and first in seven years…is an ambitious, dramatic effort…”
–Neal Weiss, L.A. WEEKLY, April 18, 2003
MARIA McKEE’s initial U.S. tour dates are as follows, with more to come. Check www.mariamckee.com for updates.
DATE CITY VENUE
Mon 6/9 Washington, DC Birchmere
Tue 6/10 Philadelphia, PA North Star
Thu 6/12 Hoboken, NJ Maxwells
Fri 6/13 New York City, NY Village Underground
Sat 6/14 Boston, MA Paradise
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