Mos Def tour gets ‘Ecstatic’ with late summer dates

Acclaimed rapper and actor Mos Def will hit the road for his latest North American venture, the Ecstatic Tour, over the weekend. The summer’s end outing picks up August 1 at First Avenue in Minneapolis, MN, and continues through September 5 at the Hollywood Palladium in Hollywood, CA.

The 19-date, five-week trek will hit concert markets from coast-to-coast across the U.S., in addition to a few engagements booked north of the border. Highlights include an August 2 concert at the House of Blues in Chicago, IL, an August 14 session at The Tabernacle in Atlanta, GA, an August 27 show at the Vogue Theatre in Vancouver, BC, and a September 3 event at Paramount Theatre in Oakland, CA.

In addition to his regular concert performances, Mos Def has been tapped to perform on August 9 at George Wein’s Jazz Festival 55 in Newport, RI. That show is the only festival appearance slated within the confines of the Ecstatic Tour, though the rapper has others booked later in the year.

Jay Electronica will provide support throughout the late summer trek, with Medina Green also stepping in as an opener for a few dates. Additionally, vocalist and songwriter Erykah Badu is on the bill for all three shows in California, September 3-5.

Mos Def is touring in support of his latest studio album, “The Ecstatic,” which was released June 9 and peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard 200. The disc received mostly positive reviews from critics, with the Washington Post calling it Mos Def’s most cohesive mix of “jazz, poetry, blues, psychedelia, Eastern rhythms, Spanish-language quasi-pop” yet.

After Mos Def completes his late summer trek, he’ll be on-call for a couple additional performances through early fall. His first post-tour gig falls on September 12 at Water Taxi Beach in Governors Island, NY, and is followed by an October 3 performance at the 2009 Austin City Limits Music Festival in Austin, TX.

Mos Def itinerary:
(Dates are subject to change.)