The Black Keys Tour Plans Expand

The band has�beginning July 24 in Cleveland�which include headlining shows with The Morning Benders, The Whigs, and Nicole Atkins; dates with Kings of Leon; and a performance with The Flaming Lips in Canandaigua, NY.

The new dates follow The Black Keys' opening slot for Pearl Jam at Madison Square Garden on May 20, as well as performances on the "Late Show with David Letterman" on May 25 and "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" on May 26, The tour also includes two shows at Central Park's SummerStage on July 27 and 28, the first of which quickly sold out.

In conjunction with the new tour dates, fans may now pre-order a limited-edition collectible hardbound book/deluxe edition of Brothers, available online only via the band's website: www.theblackkeys.com. The 56-page hardbound book includes never-before-seen live photos, intimate backstage and studio shots of the band, and the full Brothers album on CD. The deluxe package also includes MP3s of the new songs "Tighten Up" and "Next Girl" delivered to fans instantly and a digital download of the full album on May 18. An exclusive 9 �" x 6 �" lithograph of The Black Keys will also be included, with a limited number signed by the band.

Brothers arrives on the heels of three other acclaimed projects the band released in the past year: Dan Auerbach's solo effort, Keep It Hid, the debut LP from Patrick Carney's band Drummer, and Blakroc, a collaboration between The Black Keys and renowned MCs including RZA, Mos Def, Q-Tip, and Raekwon.

The new album includes the Danger Mouse-produced song "Tighten Up" (streaming now on the band's MySpace page: myspace.com/theblackkeys) and a cover of the Jerry Butler classic "Never Gonna Give You Up." The remaining songs on Brothers are written, performed and produced by The Black Keys. Carney admits Brothers is the album they've always wanted to make and taps into their creative force as a duo. "Dan and I grew up a lot as individuals and musicians prior to making this album. Our relationship was tested in many ways but at the end of the day, we're brothers, and I think these songs reflect that."

Carney and Auerbach recorded the bulk of the album at the legendary Alabama studio Muscle Shoals with additional sessions at Auerbach's Easy Eye Sound System in Akron, OH and The Bunker in Brooklyn, NY. Muscle Shoals, an old building located in the sparse Alabama town that lends the studio its name, has produced iconic recordings from The Rolling Stones, Aretha Franklin, and Wilson Pickett, among many others. Of the album, Auerbach says, "We like spooky sounds�like Alice Coltrane, where a dark groove is laid down. That's the headspace we tried to get into for this record."