Sleigh Bells Announce Summer 2012 Tour Backing New Album

Sleigh Bells are hitting the road for a summer tour in support of their latest album, ‘Reign of Terror,’ and they’re keeping some pretty good company — select dates will find the duo sharing bills with Red Hot Chili Peppers, Hot Chip, and James Murphy.

‘Reign of Terror’ finds the band following up its well-received full-length debut, 2010′s ‘Treats,’ an experience that band member Derek Miller has likened to surviving a — you guessed it — reign of terror. “[It] isn’t a clever title,” he told CNN during a recent Q&A session. “That’s what I felt like I was going through the last two years.”

It wasn’t worrying about the sophomore jinx that had Miller down; he was dealing with his father’s sudden death in a motorcycle accident as well as his mother’s cancer diagnosis. But he says that he’s already looking ahead to the band’s next effort, which he says will include more songwriting collaborations with singer Alexis Krauss. As he put it, “She is incredibly gifted when it comes to coming up with really memorable melodies, what I consider to be great melodies.”

But first, there’s that tour to consider — including a stint opening for the Chili Peppers, which Miller says came about due to a chance meeting with RHCP bassist Flea. “[He] came out to a show in New York City and somebody introduced him to me. He was like, ‘Hey, I’m Flea,’” he told CNN. “I obviously knew who he was. He was incredibly nice and he was like, ‘Would you guys be interested in playing shows with my band?’ I was like, ‘You mean the Red Hot Chili Peppers? Sure!’ It was literally that simple.”

Complete ticket information is available at Sleigh Bells’ official site. Have a look at the list of dates below:

Sleigh Bells 2012 Tour Dates
05/07 – Boston, Mass. *
05/10 – Washington, D.C. *
05/11 – Philadelphia, Pa.*
05/12 – Atlantic City, N.J.
06/01 – Barcelona, Spain
06/02 – London, England
07/02 – Burlington, Vt.
07/03 – Boston, Mass.
07/05 – Montreal, Quebec
07/06 – Ottawa, Ontario
07/07 – Buffalo, N.Y.
07/09 – Cleveland, Ohio
07/10 – Grand Rapids, Mich.
07/12 – Kansas City, Mo.
07/13 – Louisville, Ky.
07/14 – Chicago, Ill.
07/16 – Atlanta, Ga.
07/17 – Raleigh, N.C.
07/18 – Pittsburgh, Pa.
07/20 – Philadelphia, Pa.
07/22 – Washington, D.C. ^#

* = w/ Red Hot Chili Peppers
^ = w/ Hot Chip
# = w/ James Murphy