Winter 2009 Tour Dates Announced for Grammy Nominated Singer-Songwriter Raphael Saadiq

Winter 2009 Tour Dates Announced for Grammy Nominated Singer-Songwriter Raphael Saadiq

NEW YORK, Feb. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Contemporary soul singer Raphael Saadiq has announced the initial dates on his heavily-anticipated 2009 Winter Tour, beginning February 28 at the House of Blues in San Diego (please see full itinerary following). Raphael's upcoming performances mark the artist's first full-length headline concert appearances since a series of highly successful dates opening for his Columbia Records labelmate John Legend in December 2008.

Saadiq's forthcoming shows come at a high point for the artist, whose groundbreaking sound combining the best elements of traditional and contemporary Rhythm & Blues has garnered three 2009 Grammy nominations including Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals (for "Never Give You Up," a key track from The Way I See It featuring Stevie Wonder & CJ Hilton); Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance (for "Love That Girl," another deep groove from The Way I See It) and the big one: Best R&B Album for The Way I See It. The 2009 Grammy Award ceremony will be held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on February 8, 2009 and broadcast that evening on CBS television (please check your local listings).

Raphael's critically acclaimed latest collection, The Way I See It, was named iTunes #1 Best Album of 2008. With an average customer rating of four-and-a-half-stars, The Way I See It has been praised in an iTunes online review for "inhabit(ing) the atmosphere of late-Sixties Motown and Philadelphia International, incorporating the distinctly echo-laden drum shuffles of Smokey Robinson and Marvin Gaye, as well as the swelling string choruses of the Delfonics and the Stylistics....music pours from this performer as easily as it did from Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder before him."

The Way I See It, chosen by NPR's "World Cafe" as one of 2008's Top 10 CDs, reached #19 on the Billboard Top 200 best-selling albums chart and Top 10 (#8) on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop albums chart.

About Raphael Saadiq Raphael Saadiq has been playing music since the age of 6, first rising to prominence under the name Raphael Wiggins in the R&B trio Tony! Toni! Tone! in the late 1980s going on to form a second R&B trio, Lucy Pearl, in the early 90s.

Launching his career as a solo artist in the mid 1990s, Raphael earned his first five Grammy nominations -- setting the record for an independent release -- for his 2002 album debut, Instant Vintage. A crossover success, Instant Vintage peaked at #25 on the Billboard Top 200 and #6 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop albums chart.

Raphael's collaborated with, and produced records for, a variety of artists including D'Angelo, who won a Grammy in 2000 for "Untitled (How Does It Feel)," Whitney Houston, Mary J. Blige, The Isley Brothers, The Roots, Macy Gray, Snoop Dogg, Devin the Dude, Kelis, Q-Tip, The Bee Gees, Nappy Roots, T-Boz from TLC, Joss Stone, Earth, Wind & Fire and many others. Raphael took home a Grammy for Best R&B Song in 2002 for his work on "Love Of My Life (An Ode To Hip Hop)" by Erykah Badu featuring Common.

His latest album, The Way I See It, available in a collector's edition box set of 7" 45 rpm singles as well as on traditional CD, represents the finest example to-date of Raphael's downtown sound, a masterful blend of old and new school sensibilities on tracks featuring artists such as Joss Stone, Stevie Wonder, and Jay-Z.

   Raphael Saadiq - 2009 Winter Tour Dates   DATE          CITY, STATE        VENUE   Sat/Feb 28    San Diego, CA      House of Blues   Mon/Mar-02    Los Angeles, CA    House of Blues   Tue/Mar-03    San Francisco, CA  The Fillmore   Thu/Mar-05    Seattle, WA        The Showbox @ The Market   Fri/Mar-06    Portland, OR       Wonder Ballroom   Sat/Mar-07    Vancouver, BC      Richard's On Richards Cabaret   Tue/Mar-10    Denver, CO         Bluebird Theater   Wed/Mar-11    Kansas City, MO    Voodoo Lounge @ Harrah's Casino   Thu/Mar-12    Chicago, IL        Park West   Fri/Mar-13    Minneapolis, MO    Fine Line Music Cafe   Sun/Mar-15    Detroit, MI        City Theatre   Mon/Mar-16    Toronto, ON        Phoenix Concert Theatre   Tue/Mar-17    Montreal, QC       Cabaret du Musse Juste Pour Rire   Thu/Mar-19    Boston, MA         Paradise Rock Club   Fri/Mar-20    Philadelphia, PA   Theatre Of The Living Arts   Sat/Mar-21    NY, NY             Fillmore   Mon/Mar-23    Baltimore, MD      Rams Head Live!   Tue/Mar-24    Washington DC      9:30 Club   Thu/Mar-26    Charlotte, NC      Wachovia Atrium   Sat/Mar-28    Atlanta, GA        Variety Playhouse     www.raphaelsaadiq.com www.myspace.com/raphaelsaadiq   www.columbiarecords.com  

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: Columbia Records

CONTACT: Benny Tarantini of Columbia Records, New York, +1-212-833-5858,
Benny.Tarantini@SonyMusic.com

Web Site: http://www.columbiarecords.com/

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Profile: International Entertainment