Radiohead OKs Summer Tour

After a long absence, Radiohead is creeping back on the road.

The group many consider rock's best has announced its first North American trek in more than two years, beginning August 13 in Mansfield, Massachusetts, and extending into early fall.

While Radiohead might think meeting people is easy, seeing the British rockers live Stateside has been another matter entirely.

The group toured sporadically in the U.S. following the double-whammy release of Kid A in 2000 and Amnesiac in 2001, playing only a handful of gigs on both coasts. They instead opted to headline mostly European festivals before retreating to the cozy confines of their Oxford, England, lair, where they formed back in the late '80s.

This time out, Thom Yorke and the boys will play 19 dates showcasing tunes off their latest, Hail to the Thief, which hit stores last Tuesday and is expected to debut in the Top 10 this week on the Billboard charts. (It already has sailed to the top of the U.K. charts.)

The album's first single, the gothic grooving "There There," is notched at number 14 on Billboard's Modern Rock chart and its video, featuring Yorke venturing down the rabbit hole in an homage to Alice in Wonderland, is already in heavy rotation on MTV2 and the band's newly created Website, radiohead.tv, which also features live performances and footage from recording sessions. (Note: tune in at the top of the hour to watch.)

Before heading across the Pond, Radiohead will first hit the festival circuit for six weeks in Europe and Japan. The band's venue of choice for the new tour will be outdoor amphitheaters.

"We just poked around and tried to remember which of the sheds we've liked," guitarist Jonny Greenwood told Billboard.com. "We're picking and choosing."

This won't be the first time Radiohead's tried out the new stuff in the States, though. The band played a quickly announced gig June 5 at New York's Beacon Theater as part of MTV's 2$Bill series. (A one-hour version will air at 9 p.m. Tuesday.)

Two days later, the band performed at the inaugural--and waterlogged--Field Day Festival, a huge musical gathering that was supposed to take place on Long Island but was moved at the last minute to Giants Stadium due to permit issues and local politics.

Tickets for the first 11 scheduled dates go on sale via Ticketmaster and the band's Web-based fan club, W.A.S.T.E., June 21 and, according to music-biz analysts, they'll probably go quickly.

"Radiohead has generally sold out just about everything they have put on sale, and they have a very loyal following," says Gary Bongiovanni, editor-in-chief of the concert trade Pollstar. "They're not charging a heck of a lot of money either."

No official prices have been announced, but they're expected to be in the $30-$40 range.

Radiohead has tapped two lesser known indie acts as opening acts: Stephen Malkmus (formerly of Pavement) and his new band the Jicks will support the first leg of the tour, while Supergrass will take over for the September dates.

In other concert news, music lovers of a different variety are getting excited about Mariah Carey's first-ever theater tour, which she announced Monday. Originally slated for large arenas, the newly scaled down tour in support of her latest album, Charmbracelet, will now kick off on July 26 at Las Vegas' Caesar's Coliseum, runs through the summer, and wraps up September 23 in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Bongiovanni expects the diva's tour will connect with fans.

"I would hope she'd be able to do some really good business in theaters," he says. "The last time she's toured it was all very large venues. Going out and playing there should provide a good environment for her."

Fans will also be able to help choose Mariah's set list each night via her online Honey B. Fly fan club, mariahcareyfanclub.com. The full list of Mariah's dates are available on her official Website, www.monarc.com/mariahcarey.

Meanwhile, here's a rundown of Radiohead's North American tour dates:

Aug. 13: Mansfield, Massachusetts (Tweeter Center) Aug. 15: Montreal (Parc Jean Drapeau) Aug 16: Toronto (Molson Amphitheater) Aug 18: Camden, New Jersey (Tweeter Center) Aug 20: Columbia, Maryland (Merriweather Post Pavilion) Aug 21: Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio (Blossom Music Center) Aug 23: East Troy, Wisconsin (Alpine Valley) Aug 24: Bonner Springs, Kansas (UMB Bank Pavillion) Aug. 26: Morrison, Colorado (Red Rocks) Aug 30: Vancouver (Thunderbird Stadium) Aug 31: Auburn, Washington (White River Amphitheater) Sept. 23: Mountain View, California (Shoreline Amphitheater) Sept. 25-26: Los Angeles (Hollywood Bowl) Sept. 28: San Diego (Coors Amphitheater) Oct. 1: Woodlands, Texas (Mitchell Pavillion) Oct. 2: New Orleans (UNO Lakefront Arena) Oct. 4: West Palm Beach, Florida (Sound Advice Amphitheater) Oct. 6: Atlanta (Hi-Fi Buys Amphitheater)