Mary Mary Announces Dates for Spring 2009 Tour
Gospel music duo Mary Mary have announced the dates for their upcoming North American tour, which will run throughout the month of April.
Starting on Apr. 8 in Annapolis, Md., Mary Mary sisters Tina and Erica Campbell will travel from the east coast to the west, stopping by New York, New Orleans, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles, among other cities, before wrapping up Apr. 29 in Anaheim, Calif.
The spring concert tour will be Mary Mary's first U.S. tour in two years. Their last big tour, "Mary Mary Christmas Unplugged" in 2007, followed the October 2006 release of their Christmas album A Mary Mary Christmas.
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For the Campbells, 2009 has been the "year of Mary Mary," as awards and accolades have been trickling in following the release of their latest album, The Sound.
Since the album's release last year, Mary Mary have been honored with the 2009 NAACP Image Award for "Outstanding Gospel Artist" and Grammys for "Best Gospel Performance," among other awards.
The gospel music duo has also been nominated for Dove Awards for "Group of the Year," "Urban Recorded Song," and "Contemporary Gospel Album."
Beyond the music, The Sound has also marked the launching point for a new phase in Mary Mary's career. The sisters recently started the Paint A Smile foundation and have launched BE U, a bath, body and candle line designed to inspire young women to celebrate their natural beauty and inner uniqueness through four basic principles – "be honest, be beautiful, be intentional, be you."
To further expand the BE U brand, Mary Mary have signed a publishing deal with Simon & Schuster to pen a devotional collection of inspirational stories, anecdotes and helpful hints.
"In an era when everybody gets nipped and tucked to look like somebody else, we're just telling people, 'Be you... Be intentional, honest and the unique person God made you to be,'" says Tina Campbell. "And with Paint A Smile, it's all about giving back, making kids happy and making them feel special because we want them to know how cool they are to us and that they're worth so much."
The month of April will certainly be a busy time as the sisters are currently serving as judges on "Sunday Best," the BET Gospel/Inspirational reality show similar to American Idol.
April is also when the winners of 40th annual Gospel Music Association (GMA) Dove Awards will be announced with the awards presentations scheduled for Apr. 23 in Nashville.
The following is the list of tour dates for Mary Mary's 2009 spring concert tour (subject to change):
4/8: Annapolis,MD (Rams Head On Stage)
4/9: New York City (Sound of Brazil "S.O.B.'s")
4/13: Alexandria, VA (Birchmere Music Hall)
4/14: Foxboro, MA (Showcase Live)
4/17: New Orleans, LA (House of Blues)
4/18: Lake Charles, LA (Lake Charles Civic Center)
4/24: Las Vegas, NV (House of Blues)
4/25: Phoenix, AZ (Celebrity Theatre)
4/26: Los Angeles, LA (Sunset Strip House of Blues)
4/27: Oakland, CA (Yoshi's)
4/28: Sacramento, CA (Crest Theater)
4/29: Anaheim, CA (House of Blues)
