O.A.R. tour continues the ‘revolution’ this fall

The jam-rock band Of A Revolution, best known as O.A.R., has a three-date supporting gig on the current Dave Matthews Band tour on August 29-31. But that won’t be the end of the road for the Maryland-based rockers. The six-man band will continue with a second round of early-fall solo shows across the U.S. following the late August DMB dates.

The next batch of shows begins September 11 in Portland, ME, and continues through October 4 in St. Augustine, FL. The 15-city leg closes O.A.R.’s 2008 All Sides Tour, which began June 15 with a performance at the Bonnaroo Festival in Manchester, TN. The group played more than 20 shows on the first leg of their solo tour before temporarily wrapping on August 17 with a concert in Rochester, NY.

O.A.R. is touring in support of their July 15 release, “All Sides.” The record is the sixth studio album for the group, which debuted in 1997, and the follow-up to 2005’s “Stories of a Stranger.” The band has three live albums to its name, most recently 2007’s “Live From Madison Square Garden,” a dual CD/DVD release.

The group previously performed a three-night string of shows with DMB in 2006 at the Gorge Amphitheater in George, WA — the same venue as the upcoming shows. On August 19, DMB’s co-founder and saxophonist, LeRoi Moore, died due to complications from an earlier ATV accident. The following day, O.A.R.’s members released a statement on their Web site.

“LeRoi Moore and his music inspired guys like us and was a huge part of our musical experience growing up,” the statement read. “We are sure the more people are saying his name today, the more we all will remember just how important he was to the world of music and those who were inspired by his work.”

O.A.R. originally consisted of four members: Marc Roberge, Chris Culos, Richard On and Benj Gershman. However, the quartet expanded in 2000 when Jerry DePizzo joined the line-up. The group also added Mikel Paris to the touring line-up in 2006.

O.A.R. itinerary:
(Dates subject to change.)

* with opening act by Matt Hires