Keller Williams will release his first-ever all-covers collection, amusingly titled Thief, on May 25, 2010. Recorded with the Keelshusband and wife duo Larry and Jenny KeelThief includes songs originally written and recorded by as wildly diverse an assemblage as anyone's ever likely to dream up. Now, with the announcement of his "Keller On Your Couch" contest, Keller and the Keels are on the lam, and they have no idea where they'll end up. The reward for assisting in their capture is a 90 minute private acoustic performance by Keller and The Keels in the winner's living room for them and up to 49 of their friends.
Those who purchase Keller's new album, Thief, at Keller's Official Merch Store by August 31, 2010 will be automatically entered into the contest. Those who preorder Thief through www.kellerwilliams.net before its May 25, 2010 release date will receive two entries into the contest.
Thief offers up Keller-versions of songs by an [almost] unthinkable collection of artists: from Amy Winehouse ("Rehab") to the Grateful Dead ("Mountains of the Moon"), the Butthole Surfers ("Pepper") to Kris Kristofferson ("Don't Cuss That Fiddle," which opens the album, and "The Year 2003 Minus 25," which closes the album). The set is filled out with tunes by Ryan Adams, the Presidents of the United States of America, the Raconteurs, Patterson Hood, Danny Barnes, Cracker, the Yonder Mountain String Band and Marcy Playground. All over the place, indeed, but that's the way Williams likes it. And in his hands it all makes senselike everything he's ever touched, whether from his own pen or someone else's, it all becomes Keller Williams' music.
Keller is on tour this summer - at solo shows, with The Keels, and even for a run of gigs as vocalist/guitarist in The Rhythm Devils, the project by Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann and his partner percussionist Mickey Hart.
Keller's complete list of currently confirmed tour dates is as follows:
Thursday, May 13 Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden Richmond VA
Sunday, May 16 The Hangout Music Festival Gulf Shores AL
Saturday, May 22 SmileFest - Deerfields Amphitheater Pinnacle NC
Friday, May 28 Bella Madre Music Festival Geneva MN
Saturday, May 29 Summercamp Chillicothe IL
Sunday, May 30 Delfest Cumberland MD Keller Williams and Friends featuring
Jeff Austin and Keith Moseley
Thursday, June 17 Telluride Bluegrass Festival Telluride CO
Saturday, June 19 Clearwater Festival - Croton Point Park Westchester NY
Friday, July 2 Nateva Music & Arts Festival - Oxford Fairgrounds Oxford ME
Sunday, July 11 All Good Music Festival Masontown WV
Saturday, July 17 YMSB String Summit North Plains OR RHYTHM DEVILS
Sunday, July 18 Britt Festival Jacksonville OR RHYTHM DEVILS
Saturday, July 24 The Spud Drive In Driggs ID RHYTHM DEVILS
Sunday, July 25 Red Butte Garden Salt Lake City UT RHYTHM DEVILS
Saturday, July 31 Gathering of the Vibes Bridgeport CT RHYTHM DEVILS
Saturday, August 14 Mile High Music and Arts Festival Denver CO
Saturday, August 21 Hoxeyville Festival Cadillac MI