JOAN ARMATRADING Announces Last Major Tour, with U.S. Dates Set for 2015

'I will never retire, but this will be the last major tour that I will undertake,' Joan Armatrading says of her 2014-2015 world tour, which kicked off in Britain in September and will arrive in the U.S. in the spring of 2015 for two months of theater shows beginning on the East Coast and continuing across the nation.

Although the celebrated U.K. singer-songwriter plans to continue performing on occasion, she's decided not to undertake large-scale tours in the future. She sees the occasion of her extended final world tour as an opportunity to connect with her passionate, fiercely loyal international fan base in an appropriately intimate and personal manner.

This world tour is a historic event for Armatrading in more ways than one. In addition to it being her farewell to the touring circuit, these concerts will mark the first time that she has toured as a solo performer, accompanying herself on guitar and piano without the aid of other musicians.

'I want it to be a special one-to-one experience,' Armatrading states. 'So for the first time, these concerts will be me solo on stage playing and singing. These will be lively interactive concerts, because I will be asking the audience to put their questions to me on the night.'

Armatrading promises that the performances will feature material encompassing her entire storied career, which spans more than four decades and more than 20 albums, the most recent being her acclaimed 2012 release Starlight. Her body of work has established Armatrading as one of the world's most respected and influential singer-songwriters, possessing a distinctly expressive voice as well as a rare gift for merging resonant lyrical insight with sublime melodic craft.

Armatrading's long and prestigious resume includes three Grammy nominations, two Brit nominations and a coveted Ivor Novello Award. She performed for Nelson Mandela on two occasions, and is one of the first female artists to have been awarded with an MBE by Queen Elizabeth II. Armatrading is also the first female U.K. artist to have debuted at #1 on Billboard's Blues chart and the first female U.K. artist to be nominated for a Grammy in the Blues category.

With her history-making tour already in progress and several months of concerts ahead of her, Armatrading is excited by the prospect of communing, and reconnecting, with her fans, in what promise to be some of the most intimate and personal performances of her career.

'I have absolutely enjoyed the last 42 years of performances,' she asserts. 'Now, with my final major tour, I want to capture a unique memory, for both myself and the audience.'

2015 Joan Armatrading North American Tour:

4/8 Brownfield, ME Stone Mountain Arts Center (on sale 11/3)
4/9 Ridgefield, CT Ridgefield Playhouse (on sale 11/7)
4/10 Boston, MA Berklee Performance Center
4/11 Westhampton Beach, NY Westhampton Beach PAC (on sale 11/11)
4/12 Albany, NY TBA
4/15&16 Alexandria, VA Birchmere (on sale 11/7)
4/17 New York, NY The Concert Hall @ NYSEC (on sale 11/21)
4/18 Collingswood, NJ Scottish Rite Auditorium ( on sale 11/6)
4/19 Durham, NC Carolina Theatre (on sale 11/14)
4/22 Kent, OH Kent Stage
4/23&24 Chicago, IL City Winery (on sale 11/6)
4/25 Nashville, TN City Winery (on sale 11/6)
5/1 Clearwater, FL TBA
5/2 Orlando, FL TBA
5/3 Ft Lauderdale, FL TBA

*Additional dates to be announced (including Boulder, CO, San Francisco, CA and Los Angeles, CA).

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