Atlantic/Ardent/INO's Artist and Group of the Year Dove-nominated recording group Skillet has announced details of their upcoming headline tour.  The "Awake & Alive Tour" begins April 15th at Scranton, Pennsylvania's Scranton Cultural Center and then continues through late May (see itinerary below or click here).  Joining the Grammy-nominated rock outfit on the trek will be fellow nominees RED, whose most recent effort, "Innocence & Instinct," climbed its way to the Top 5 on iTunes Top Albums chart. Also joining the tour will be hard rock outfit, The Letter Black.
 
One of America's hardest working live acts, Skillet – who spent the first part of 2010 touring alongside Atlantic labelmates Shinedown – is currently co-headlining the "Awake Tonight" tour with TobyMac, which kicked off to several sold out shows last week, and will also be headlining a number of upcoming summer festivals.
 
The "Awake & Alive Tour" celebrates the continuing success of Skillet's acclaimed new album, "AWAKE," which reached the #1 spot on the iTunes Store's "Top Albums" chart within 24 hours of its release last summer.  The album also made a blockbuster debut on the SoundScan/Billboard 200, entering the chart at #2.  The album continues to reign as a favorite, ascending the upper half of the Billboard 200.
 
Produced by Howard Benson (Three Days Grace, Daughtry, Flyleaf), "AWAKE" is highlighted by the electrifying single, "Monster."  The track is currently a top 5 smash at Active Rock outlets nationwide, while also scoring top 20 airplay at Mainstream Rock.
 
What's more, "Hero" – the second mainstream single from "AWAKE" – has been featured in an array of high-profile promotional campaigns, including WWE's annual Royal Rumble pay-per-view and is set to arrive at Active Rock outlets this week.  Likewise, "Hero" has already hit the top spot on the Christian CHR and Rock charts, and now, after being the most-added it's first week out, the second Christian radio single "Awake & Alive," is already Top 10 at Christian rock and Top 15 at CHR.
 
Founded in 1996, Skillet has earned rapturous praise for their inspirational and intense approach to hard-edged alternative rock. Continually gaining praise in the Christian market, the mainstream is following suit, with Hit Parader celebrating Skillet for "(bringing) to mind the kind of slick, studio-savvy work that made vintage Aerosmith and Bon Jovi so much fun to listen to." "Skillet…continually push their musical muscle with soaring guitar work interspersed with their take on 80's hair-metal ballads," declared Mix.
 
In addition to cumulative album sales in excess of 1.6 million, Skillet has racked up a wide range of honors throughout their extraordinary career. Frontman John Cooper and producer Brian Howes recently collected two BMI Music Awards for "The Last Night" and "The Older I Get," both featured on 2006's Grammy Award-nominated "COMATOSE."  That album proved Skillet's most popular work to date, achieving RIAA gold certification.  "COMATOSE" followed the band's 2003 label debut, "COLLIDE," which launched Skillet into the mainstream while also garnering their first Grammy Award nomination.
For up-to-the-minute news and information, visit www.skillet.com or www.myspace.com/skilletmusic.  
 
Skillet's latest, "AWAKE," continues to propel the incredible momentum the rock outfit has going for them with a blockbuster debut at No. 2 on Billboard's Top 200, selling over 67,000 units and peaking at No. 1 on iTune's "Top Albums" chart and "Top Rock" chart. Already over 300k in scans in just 20 weeks (more than double that of the GOLD selling COMATOSE), "AWAKE" was Amazon.com's best selling Christian CD of 2009, and boasts the No. 4 mainstream Active Rock single in the country with "Monster," which was also AOL Music's No. 4 mainstream rock song of last year, and the No. 1 Christian CHR & Rock single, "Hero," which has been used all season long by the NFL in their, Sunday Night Football and NFL Weekend Kickoff promos.

Skillet has toured with the likes of mainstream megastars Breaking Benjamin, Three Days Grace, Seether and Flyleaf, and headlined a slew of major Christian festivals, all followed by solo tours that ranked within Pollstar's Concert Pulse Top 50 Tours.  Along the way, the two-time Grammy®-nominated alternative rockers also scored seven consecutive number one Christian radio singles, a 2008 GMA Dove Award for "Rock Song of the Year," and a 2009 nomination for Artist of the Year. Along with a trio of singles on Billboard's Mainstream Rock charts, a pair of BMI Songwriting Awards, and being chosen as Reader's Poll favorites on several top ccm websites, they also released their first ever concert CD/DVD combo pack "Comatose Comes Alive."

SKILLET AWAKE & ALIVE TOUR w/ RED and The Letter Black
 (all dates subject to change)
 
APRIL
15        Scranton, PA                         Scranton Cultural Center
18        Charlotte, NC                       Bojangles Coliseum
22        Raleigh, NC                          TBA
23        Savannah, GA                       TBA
24        Aiken, SC                              USC Aiken Convocation Center
25        Pensacola, FL                        Saenger Theater
29        Lafayette, LA                        Cajundome Convention Center
 
MAY
2          Jonesboro, AR                      ASU Convocation Center
4          Ft. Smith, AR                       Ft. Smith Convention Center
6          Park City, KS                       Hartman Arena
7          Dodge City, KS                    Dodge City Civic Center
9          Topeka, KS                           Kansas Expocentre
11        Bismarck, ND                       Bismarck Civic Center
13        Rapid City, SD                      Rushmore Plaza Civic Center
15        Fargo, ND                             Urban Plains Center
20        Saginaw, MI                          Dow Event Center (Theater)
21        East Lansing, MI                   Michigan State Univ. Concert Auditorium