B.B. King tour heads into summer with new concerts in U.S., Europe

After more than 50 years of recording and touring, acclaimed blues guitarist B.B. King has performed thousands of concerts around the world. The music legend adds to that tally with two brief tour legs in the U.S. and a mid-summer run of Europe.

King’s current itinerary begins and ends in the United States, split between 10-show runs in early and late summer. The first tour leg starts May 16 at the House of Brews in Las Vegas, NV, and temporarily ends May 31 at the House of Blues in Dallas, TX. The second round of dates picks up August 19 at the DTE Energy Music Theatre in Clarkston, MI, and closes September 2 at the Mable House Amphitheatre in Marbleton, GA.

Another U.S. tour leg is in the works for fall, with just four dates currently confirmed. The outing picks up a month after King completes his summer itinerary on October 3 at the House of Blues in Myrtle Beach, SC. Details for all concerts are available on B.B. King’s official Web site.

The stateside concert plans bookend a 20-city European tour, set from June 24 at the Manchester Evening News Arena in Manchester, England, through a July 24 concert at Theatre Antique de Vienne in Vienne, France. During that one-month run, King will make the rounds of mainland Europe’s major blues and jazz festivals, including the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland on July 12, and the Cognac Blues Passions Festival in France on July 23.

King continues to tour behind his 24th studio album, “One Kind Favor,” released in August 2008. The effort won King a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album at the 51st Grammy ceremony early in 2009.

In addition to picking up a Grammy, King started his year on tour with fellow blues guitarist Buddy Guy. The pair completed a series of shows together in February and April.

B.B. King itinerary:
(Dates are subject to change.)