From pitchforkmedia.com:
James Gregory reports:
While the paint is still drying on their last album, 2004’s The Tipping Point, the Roots are already hard at work on a follow up, which they have recently announced is more than halfway complete. According to Billboard.com, the band have even gone so far as to set a tentative February 2006 release date for their upcoming studio LP, Game Theory. Roots drummer ?uestlove revealed, “We’re about 60% finished with the new album.” And while that projection isn’t set in stone, the Philadelphia-based outfit have been pretty good with the turnaround time between albums.
While details on the LP are obviously still coming together, a few collaborations are said to be in contention for the final tracklist, including “Where I Come” (featuring Mos Def and Talib Kweli), and “Workin’ on It” (with Mos Def). Some of the new tracks may also be featured on the band’s upcoming U.S. tour, which kicks off this week in Bridgeport, Conn. When asked about what tracks fans can expect on the trek, ?uestlove replied, “We’ll just play what comes to mind.” And while a lone UK date has been scheduled for late August, there’s been no official word on further European shows this year. We’ll keep you posted, but so far their summer vacation looks something like this:
04-29 Bridgeport, CT – Fairfield University
04-30 Washington, PA – Washington & Jefferson University
05-01 Memphis, TN – Tom Lee Park (Beale Street Festival)
05-13 Baltimore, MD – Rams Head Live #
05-15 Bethlehem, PA – River Fusion Festival
05-16 Philadelphia, PA – Electric Factory #
05-18 Boston, MA – Roxy #
05-20 Cleveland, OH – House of Blues #
05-21 Columbus, OH – Ohio State University #
05-23 Detroit, MI – Royal Oak Theatre #
05-26 Milwaukee, WI – The Rave #
05-28 Chicago, IL – Vic Theatre #
05-30 St. Louis, MO – Pageant #
06-02 Atlanta, GA – Tabernacle #
06-04 Ft. Lauderdale, FL – Revolution #
06-06 New Orleans, LA – House of Blues #
06-08 Houston, TX – Hush #
06-11 Dallas, TX – Gypsy Tea Room
06-15 San Francisco, CA – The Grand #
07-01 New Orleans, LA – Louisiana Superdome (Essence Festival)
08-23 London, UK – Shepherd’s Bush Empire
# with Floetry
