The Black Keys concert special to air this Friday

“The Black Keys are that rare 21st century rock band that just keeps ascending.” –Chicago Tribune

The Howard Stern Show will broadcast a special live concert by The Black Keys Friday, December 19on SiriusXM Radio. The concert, taped earlier this year in Houston, TX will air on SiriusXM Howard 100 or 101 at 11:15 PM EST/8:15 PM PST. The two hour concert is running directly after the “The Howard Stern Birthday Bash: Director’s Cut” special.

 

In addition, raffle tickets are now available for Dan Auerbach’s childhood guitar, signed by both Patrick Carneyand Auerbach. All proceeds benefit the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank.

 

The band has been nominated at the 2015 Grammy Awards in three categories—Best Rock Album for Turn Blue, Best Rock Song for “Fever” and Best Rock Performance for “Fever.” The band has won 6 total Grammy Awards and now has 15 total nominations. This year’s nominations follow a very successful year for the duo, whose new album debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart and continues to receive widespread acclaim. Most recently, Turn Blue was named #3 Best Album of 2014 by Rolling Stone, which called it “the sound of America’s most innovative arena rockers in full command.”

 

In celebration of the release, the duo is currently in the midst of a North American tour including upcoming shows at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena and Atlanta’s Philips Arena. See below for complete tour details and watch the recently released “The Black Keys On Touring” video here. Promoted exclusively by Live Nation, the tour features special guest St. Vincent. Additionally, the band recently taped an episode of “Austin City Limits” to celebrate the program’s 40^th anniversary season—airing January 31. Moreover, on February 6 the band will help honor Bob Dylan as the 2015 MusiCares Person of the Year. Other artists confirmed to perform at the 25th annual benefit gala dinner and concert include Beck, Willie Nelson and Neil Young, among many others.

Turn Blue is the highest chart debut yet for the band whose previous album, El Camino, debuted at #2 in 2011. Furthermore, it is the first #1 album for Nonesuch and the band’s highest charting album to date internationally, debuting at #1 in Canada and Australia, #2 in the U.K., New Zealand and Croatia, #3 in Ireland and Hungary, #4 in France and Switzerland and #5 in Austria, Denmark and Holland. Additionally, the album charted in the top ten in Germany, Belgium, Finland, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Greece. Turn Blue is certified Gold in the U.K. and Canada.

 

Produced by Danger Mouse, Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney, Turn Blue comprises 11 new tracks including the first single, “Fever,” which is the longest running #1 song this year at both Alternative radio and AAA radio. Additionally, the album has received critical praise, with NPR Music calling it “…expansive and irresistibly catchy,” and USA Today saying it is “…an engrossing collection that takes daring leaps while embracing the primal energy and minimalism of the duo’s early records.”

Earlier this year, the duo returned to “Saturday Night Live” for their third musical guest appearance, performing “Fever” and “Bullet in the Brain.” The band also performed  “Fever” and “It’s Up to You Now” on “Late Show with David Letterman” in addition to performing a longer set from a stage on a closed West 53rd Street, for the “Live on Letterman” online series. The duo concluded their whirlwind release-week schedule with an interview and performance at “The Colbert Report.” Most recently, the duo performed their new single “Gotta Get Away” on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” as well as a cover of Edwyn Collins’ “A Girl Like You” as a web exclusive.

 

Turn Blue was recorded at Sunset Sound in L.A. during the summer of 2013 with additional recording at the Key Club in Benton Harbor, MI and Auerbach’s Easy Eye Sound in Nashville in early 2014. Of the new album, the band says Turn Blue could refer to:

A: Suffocation

B: Sadness

C: Numbness from extreme cold
D: A Cleveland late night TV host from the 1960s named Ghoulardi

E: All of the above

 

Carney adds, “We are always trying to push ourselves when we make a record—not repeat our previous work but not abandon it either. On this record, we let the songs breathe and explored moods, textures and sounds. We’re excited for the world to hear Turn Blue.”

 

This is the eighth full-length album from the duo and the fifth on Nonesuch, in collaboration with its parent company Warner Bros. Records. Turn Blue follows 2011’s critically and commercially acclaimed El Camino, which is now certified RIAA Platinum. Internationally, El Camino is Gold in Belgium, Spain, Italy and Holland; Platinum in Ireland, France and the U.K.; double Platinum in Australia and New Zealand; and triple Platinum in Canada. The record also resulted in three awards at the 55th annual Grammy Awards—Best Rock Performance, Best Rock Song, and Best Rock Album. The band now has a total of six Grammy Awards including three in 2010 for their breakout, RIAA Platinum album, Brothers.