NASHVILLE |FROM: MITCH SCHNEIDER/AMANDA CAGAN/ LATHUM NELSON
TOM PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS TO RETURN APRIL 13
WITH NEW ALBUM `ECHO‘ AND SEVEN SOLD-OUT SHOWS
AT THE FILLMORE IN SAN FRANCISCO STARTING MARCH 7
As they prepare to release their new album ECHO April 13 on Warner Bros. Records, TOM PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS are set to perform seven shows at the Fillmore in San Francisco: March 7, 8, 10, 12, 13, 15, 16. Tickets for the shows, which begin each night at 8:00 PM, sold out in 20 minutes. There will be different opening acts throughout the engagement (TBA).
These shows will mark TOM PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS‘ return to the fabled venue. In January and February `97, TOM and the band–MIKE CAMPBELL (guitars), HOWIE EPSTEIN (bass, vocals) and BENMONT TENCH(keyboards) with longtime associates SCOTT THURSTON (guitars, harmonica) and drummer STEVE FERRONE–performed no less than 20 sold-out shows at the 1200-capacity venue. It was a historic, precedent-setting and critically acclaimed engagement which culminated with a three-and-a-half-hour marathon concert on February 7.
As Joel Selvin observed in the San Francisco Chronicle in 1997: “What it will mean in the long run to Petty and the band, only time will tell. In the meantime, what is happening at the Fillmore is nothing less than rock `n’ roll at its best. And nothing less than the making of a significant piece of rock `n’ roll history.”
Meanwhile, the forthcoming ECHO was produced by TOM PETTY and MIKE CAMPBELL with Rick Rubin and features 15 songs. Among them: “Free Girl Now,” “Accused Of Love,” “Swingin’,” “Room At The Top,” “About To Give Out” and “Rhino Skin.” All the songs were written by TOM, except for “I Don’t Wanna Fight,” penned by MIKE, who also sings lead vocals on the track. The song “Free Girl Now” was dropped this week to radio by Warner Bros. Records as a set-up track, instantly garnering 196 adds.
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