Black Lips Playing Egypt on International Peace Day

The Black Lips today (Sept. 19) kick off a Middle East tour in Larnaca, Cyprus, that will include a symbolically significant concert in Cairo, Egypt, on International Peace Day (Friday, Sept. 21). The trek, dubbed Super Tour 2012, includes seven shows in five countries and runs through an Oct. 6 gig in Beirut, Lebanon.

Lebanese indie rockers Lazzy Lung, who won last year's first-ever Rolling Stone Middle East magazine’s Battle of the Bands, will support the Lips on all seven dates, while Egyptian punk acts Faking It and 050 Band are also slated to open Friday's gig in Cairo.

"We want to play everywhere on the planet, and the opportunity came up. We couldn't say no," says Lips singer-bassist Jared Swilley in a press release. "Anywhere that we haven't been excites us. Not many western bands have toured the region and to be one of the first is amazing. Adventures are the best."

Vice magazine's music channel Noisey will be along for the ride to document the trek on video, and Sirius XM plans to broadcast at least one gig on its SiriusXMU channel at a later date.

But travelling overseas is nothing new for the Black Lips, who have previously trekked through Europe, Australia and Asia. "People like music and having fun and I think that's pretty universal," concludes Swilley.

The Black Lips' Super Tour 2012 Dates
9/19 -- Larnaca, Cyprus | Savino Live
9/21 -- Cairo, Egypt | Culturewheel
9/23 -- Alexandria, Egypt | Deja Vu
9/25 -- Cairo, Egypt | Cairo Jazz
9/27 -- Dubai, UAE | Music Room
10/1 -- Amman, Jordan |Switch
10/6 -- Beirut, Lebanon | Mojo Crew Club