Sparta Announces US Tour in Celebration of 'Wiretap Scars' 20th Anniversary

Sparta, the El Paso band featuring Jim Ward, is celebrating the 20th anniversary of their critically acclaimed debut album Wiretap Scars with a tour of the U.S.

The dates kick off May 4 in Mesa, AZ and conclude in Albuquerque, NM on May 19. The tour stops in Los Angeles on May 7 for a show at the Roxy. The band is taking '68 and Thursday's Geoffrey Rickly on the road with them as support.

Tickets are on-sale now here and all dates are listed below, with more to be announced soon. This marks Sparta's first tour of 2023 and a follow up to their fall 2022 tour supporting The Get Up Kids.

Featuring fan-favorites "Air," and "Cut Your Ribbon," Wiretap Scars was released in August 2002. At the time Sparta was Ward, Paul Hinojos, and Tony Hajjar. The 3 formed Sparta following the break of their former band, the post-hardcore At the Drive-In.

Sparta currently consists of Jim Ward and Matt Miller who are joined by drummer Neil Hennessy on tour. Last year, the band released self-titled album Sparta which followed 2020's Trust The River, both released on Dine Alone Records. Trust the River marked the first full length studio album from the band since 2006's Threes. Ward has also recently released his first solo album Daggers (Dine Alone Records).

When it comes to his long and fruitful career in music, Jim Ward is not guided by vanity or money or some grand narrative in which he's the central player. It's all about the song, the melody, the lyric. So in late-2017, when he began making heavier, more riff-laden music, he rang his Sparta bandmate of more than 20 years, bassist Matt Miller, and began work on Trust The River.

Beyond Sparta, Ward has performed in various bands and under several monikers over his long and winding career- from the iconic post-hardcore band At The Drive-In, his alt-country project Sleepercar, to a slew of solo albums.

SPARTA WIRETAP SCARS TOUR DATES:

May 4: Mesa, AZ - Nine Half House

May 5: Anaheim, CA - Chain Reaction

May 6: San Diego, CA - Music Box

May 7: Los Angeles, CA - The Roxy

May 9: Fresno, CA - Strummers

May 10: San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall

May 11: Sacramento, CA - Harlow's

May 13: Portland, OR - Dante's

May 14: Tacoma, WA - Alma

May 15: Boise, ID - 9th St. Parallel

May 17: Salt Lake City, UT - Metro Music Hall

May 18: Denver, CO - Bluebird Theatre

May 19: Albuquerque, NM - Launchpad

To post a comment, you must register and login.