Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers (from tompetty.com)
By Chris Riemenschneider
Taking a page out of the Prince handbook, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers have announced a summer tour coming June 22 to St. Paul's Xcel Energy Center, and all tickets sold will include a copy of their first studio album in eight years.
Most of the shows on the 38-city tour go on sale March 8 via LiveNation.com at prices yet to be announced. Tickets for a June 25 gig at Summerfest in Milwaukee will be available March 6 and are priced $112-$42.
While veteran acts Joe Cocker, ZZ Top and Crosby, Stills & Nash are opening in other cities, Twin Cities fans will get modern favorites Drive-by Truckers, critically lauded Southern rockers who typically sell out First Avenue.
Titled "Mojo," the new Heartbreakers record is scheduled for a spring release and will be sent to concertgoers via a download code given with each ticket. Two tracks from the album will be sent right away, including "Good Enough," which is now streaming at TomPetty.com.
Prince famously bundled copies of his album "Musicology" with tickets to his 2004 tour, helping push the record into the top 5 worldwide. The Heartbreakers' previous new collection, 2002's "The Last DJ," peaked at No. 9 in Billboard and was generally not well received. Petty's veteran group, which formed in 1976, earned much better marks with last year's ambitious four-CD set, "Live Anthology."
