State Radio Tickets-Rock-Reggae Group State Radio to Hit the Road

By Kirby Brooks

Socially and politically vocal rock-reggae band State Radio recently unveiled plans to tour across the nation in early 2009. First State Radio frontman Chad Stokes Urmston will embark on a pair of solo shows Dec. 6-7 at the Brattle Theatre near the band’s Boston hometown before the whole band takes the stage in Washington D.C. at the 9:30 Club Dec. 26 for a “welcome to the neighborhood” party for President-elect Barack Obama. The tour will then hit The Rock in Tucson, Ariz. Jan. 14 before concluding Feb. 19 at Lupo’s in Providence, R.I. Other stops on State Radio’s upcoming tour will be the House of Blues in West Hollywood, Calif. (Jan. 15), The Underground in Reno, Nev. (Jan. 21), El Corazon in Seattle (Jan. 26), Fox Theatre in Boulder, Colo. (Jan. 30-31), Antone’s in Austin (Feb. 6), The Orange Peel in Asheville, N.C. (Feb. 11), NorVa in Norfolk, Va. (Feb. 15) and Pickle Barrel Night Club in Killington, Vt. (Feb. 19). Try http://www.stubhub.com/state-radio-tickets for State Radio tickets and ticket information to see the band when they hit the road in the new year!

State Radio began delivering their powerful blend of roots reggae rhythms, socially conscious lyrics and rock song formats after emerging out of the ashes of Vermont jam band Dispatch in 2002. The Boston-based trio formed when signer and primary songwriter Chad Urmston dissolved Dispatch in that same year (when the band was at the height of its success). Urmston abandoned Dispatch’s signature instrument switching and focused on guitar and vocals and enlisted second guitarist Pete Halby, bassist Chuck Fay and drummer Mike Greenfield to complete the lineup for State Radio. The burgeoning band released the experimental EP Flag of the Shriners via Boston’s Fenway Recordings label in late 2002 and then went on a temporary hiatus to allow Urmston to adequately recover from throat surgery that left him unable to sing for a short time.

In 2004 State Radio reappeared on the scene as a stripped down trio with new drummer Brian Sayers and a sophomore EP titled Simmer Kate followed. With two EPs under their belt, State Radio finally released their debut LP, Us Against the Crown in February 2006, after nearly four years as a band! Drummer Mike Najarian replaced Sayers before State Radio hit the road in support of their debut full-length and then the trio released their sophomore LP, Year of the Crow, in 2007. The record was less jam-bandy than their debut full-length, and went in a more punk and politically conscious direction. The band is currently hard at work on the follow-up to Year of the Crow and are expected to release a new album sometime next year. State Radio is known for their live performances, in which crowd participation is almost always present, so hurry up and get your State Radio tickets before they’re all gone and be the envy of all of your friends when you see this roots reggae meets punk rock band live!

About the Author: This article is sponsored by StubHub and was written by Kirby Brooks. StubHub.com is a leader in the business of selling State Radio tickets, sports tickets, concert tickets, theater tickets and special events tickets.

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