Ra Ra Riot tour returns to U.S. after Vampire Weekend gigs in UK

Indie rock band Ra Ra Riot has only just released its first full-length album, but the rockers are already veterans of the tour and festival circuits. After finishing up the tail end of a summer tour and bound again for the UK, where they will perform a series of shows with Vampire Weekend, the up-and-coming group will return to the States for a new round of performances in December.

The year-ending trek begins on December 3 at Higher Ground in South Burlington, VT, and continues through a December 16 performance at Ottobar in Baltimore, MD. The band has been on the road since March and completed approximately 80 shows so far this year.

During the 10-date East Coast trek, the band will perform December 5 at the Iron Horse Music Hall in Northampton, MA, and December 12 at Exit/In in Nashville, TN. According to the band’s Web site, indie acts So Many Dynamos and Princeton will provide support throughout the run.

Ra Ra Riot is supporting the its critically acclaimed debut LP, “The Rhumb Line,” released in August on indie label Barsuk Records. About half of the album’s material was written by drummer John Ryan Pike, who drowned in the ocean after a concert in 2007. In spite of the tragedy, the remaining members continued on as a band and built a name for themselves in the music industry. “The Rhumb Line” has so far peaked at No. 109 on the Billboard 200 and gained the notice of music critics at Rolling Stone and Pitchfork Media alike.

Less than six months after the band’s inception in 2006, Ra Ra Riot was booked for the CMJ Music Marathon, famous for uncovering the nation’s best and fastest rising stars. Since then, the chamber pop-rockers have performed at the SXSW Music Festival and completed several U.S. and UK headlining and supporting tours.

Ra Ra Riot itinerary:
(Dates subject to change.)

* with Vampire Weekend