Black Lips are heading to the Middle East
Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon and more are all on the itinerary
After trying to make it happen for at least a year or so, Black Lips are finally making their way through the heart of the Middle East for a tour. Today, Vice Records announced that Atlanta's "flower punk" provocateurs have eight shows booked throughout the region in September and October (dates below the jump).
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For these shows the group has hooked up with local promoters on the ground level, whom they met though with the assistance of producer Bill Cody (Athens GA: Inside/Out, We Fun), and are sharing most of the dates with the Beirut-based foursome Lazzy Lung. Although the tour does make a swing though Iraq, Black Lips are sticking to the northern Kurdish region of the country, which is far less volatile than, say, Baghdad.
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Shows are booked in both Sulaymaniyah and Hawler (the fourth largest city in the country), neither of which has been active an war zone since the U.S. invaded Iraq. Still, it's a dangerous journey, and it's one on which few, if any, Western punk bands have embarked with absolutely no USO involvement. "I've searched and I've found no records of tours like this," says Black Lips bassist and vocalist Jared Swilley. "I can say with confidence that we're the first band to do it like this."