NEW YORK (Top40 Charts/ Columbia Records) - Columbia Records artist
Maxwell returns to the top of the charts this week as "Pretty Wings," the first single from his long-awaited fourth studio album BLACKsummers'night, soars to the No 1 slot on America's Urban Adult radio stations in record-breaking time less than eight weeks after its release. The single had a run earlier this month as the nation's No 1 Greatest Gainer/Most-Added song at the Urban Mainstream format.
A deeply emotional soul ballad evoking loss and transcendence, "Pretty Wings" became available through digital service providers on Tuesday, April 28 while a haunting video for the song, directed by Philip Andelman, premiered that same day on BET's "106 & Park" and on musze.com, Maxwell's website.
BLACKsummers'night, the heavily-anticipated new studio album from Maxwell, will be released on CD, and in a Limited Edition Deluxe CD/DVD set, on Tuesday, July 7.
BLACKsummers'night is the first full-length Maxwell release since Now, his critically-acclaimed third studio album, debuted at No 1 on the Billboard 200 in August 2001.
BLACKsummers'night is the sensuous opening installment of the artist's monumental BLACKSUMMERS'NIGHT trilogy. (The trilogy's subsequent chapters, blackSUMMERS'night and blacksummers'NIGHT, are slated for release in 2010 and 2011 respectively.)
BLACKsummers'night reunites Maxwell with long-time collaborator Hod David, who serves as co-producer and co-writer of the album. Striving for an emotional authenticity and real world sound for the album, Maxwell and Hod recorded the entire album live in the studio with an a-list ensemble of elegantly sympathetic musicians.
Maxwell - who is scheduled to headline the main stage of the Essence Music Festival in New Orleans on July 4, 2009 - is taking his new music on the road with a major North American tour in support of BLACKsummers'night. The emerging Irish soul singer-songwriter-performer Laura Izibor is opening for Maxwell through the artist's July 4 concert at the Essence Festival. The chart-topping Grammy-winning American R&B artist Chrisette Michele joins Maxwell's summer tour beginning July 12 in Nashville.
"Wednesday... was the right time (and) DeVos Performance Hall was the right place," wrote Jeffrey Kaczmarczyk in his review of Maxwell's tour opening concert The Grand Rapids Press:
"...The DeVos Hall audience was primed and ready to sing along, and at length, on songs such as '...Til the Cops Come Knockin' plus several more hits, including an a cappella version of 'Ascension (Don't Ever Wonder)' ...the audience erupted for his opening song, 'Get to Know Ya'.... The cheers were even bigger with the opening notes of 'Fortunate,' his biggest hit.... Grand Rapids, in short, showered the soul singer with love."
Maxwell - BLACKsummers'night North American Tour - Summer 2009
Wed-Jun-17 Grand Rapids, MI DeVos Performance Hall
Fri-Jun-19 Hammond, IN The Venue/Horseshoe Hammond
Sat-Jun-20 Milwaukee, WI Riverside Theatre
Tue-Jun-23 Seattle, WA Paramount
Wed-Jun-24 Vancouver, BC The Centre
Fri-Jun-26 Las Vegas, NV Pearl
Sun-Jun-28 Los Angeles, CA BET Awards
Mon-Jun-29 Phoenix, AZ Dodge
Wed-Jul-1 Austin, TX Bass
Thu-Jul-2 San Antonio, TX Majestic Theater
Sat-Jul-4 New Orleans, LA Essence Festival (Superdome)
Sun-Jul-12 Nashville, TN Ryman Auditorium
Mon-Jul-13 Louisville, KY Palace Theatre
Wed-Jul-15 Columbus, OH Palace Theatre
Thu-Jul-16 Cleveland, OH Allen Theatre
Sat-Jul-18 Pittsburgh, PA Heinz
Sun-Jul-19 Buffalo, NY Sheas PAC
Tue-Jul-21 Albany, NY The Palace
Wed-Jul-22 New Jersey NJPAC
Fri-Jul-24 Atlantic City, NJ Borgata
Sat-Jul-25 Foxwoods Foxwoods
Mon-Jul-27 Norfolk, VA Chrysler Hall
Tue-Jul-28 Savannah, GA Johnny Mercer
Thu-Jul-30 Clearwater, FL Ruth Eckerd Hall
Fri-Jul-31 Miami, FL Waterfront Theatre at the American Airlines Arena
Additional tour dates & information TBA
Maxwell began redefining classic soul music for a new generation with the release of his critically-acclaimed debut album, Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite, in April 1996. Fueled in part by the RIAA gold single, "Ascension (Don't Ever Wonder)," the Grammy-nominated Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite was certified platinum in March 1997, less than a year after its release, and achieved double platinum status, in recognition of sales of more than 2 million copies in the US alone, in 2002.
Maxwell followed up with his MTV Unplugged EP, released in July 1997 and certified gold in September 1999.
His second full-length album, Embrya, was released in June 1998 and certified platinum in May 1999.
Another Maxwell single, the hit "Fortunate," was certified gold in June 1999.
To date, Maxwell has achieved 10 gold and platinum certifications from the RIAA for his albums and singles.
