VANCOUVER, BC - Legendary artist Brian Wilson will embark on his first-ever cross-Canada tour in June of 2011. For many Canadians, the tour represents their first opportunity to directly experience and pay homage to this unrivaled mainstay of the cultural soundtrack. Audiences can look forward to a musical tour de force as Wilson performs his latest critically acclaimed album Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin in its entirety, along with a selection of classics from both the Brian Wilson and Beach Boys back-catalogues.

Brian Wilson Re-imagines Gershwin (released by Disney Pearl in August 2010) is an album of George and Ira Gershwin classics that has already garnered rave reviews. With imaginative arrangements of some of the most widely known and recorded music in history, it includes an a cappella arrangement of Rhapsody in Blue, songs fromPorgy and Bess such as Summertime and It Ain’t Necessarily So as well as classic Gershwin compositions including They Can’t Take That Away From Me and I got Rhythm.

“He turns “Summertime” into a doo-wop ballad, tricks out “They Can’t Take That Away From Me” with brass and lush harmonies, and teleports “Someone to Watch Over Me” from Broadway to sun splashed California. The result is Porgy and Bess-meets-Pet Sounds.” 
     - Rolling Stone Magazine

“I’ve always tried to make music that entertained people,” Wilson said. “I also wanted my music to last, to be able to speak to any generation. Thankfully, nearly 50 years since the Beach Boys were born, that seems to have come true. Now, with this album a new musical chapter begins for me, and it’s going to be a chapter to remember. I promise.”

Like Gershwin, Brian Wilson is one of the great composers of the last 100 years. The Southern California native, along with his brothers, a cousin and a friend, formed the Beach Boys while still in his teens. With Wilson as chief songwriter and arranger, the band not only enjoyed dozens of hits, but changed music forever thanks to Brian’s innovative melodies and harmonies. Songs like “I Get Around,” “Help Me, Rhonda,” “California Girls,” “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” and the #1 smash “Good Vibrations” remain indispensable staples in the rock ‘n’ roll canon. The band’s “Pet Sounds” (1966) is regarded as one of the greatest albums of all time.

In a true class of his own, Wilson has received outstanding acclaim from some of the biggest names in the business. Of album Pet Sounds, Paul McCartney said: “it may be going overboard to say it’s the classic of the century … but to me, it certainly is a total, classic record that is unbeatable in many ways … I’ve often played Pet Sounds and cried.” And from Pete Townshend: “I love Brian. There’s not many people I would say that about. I think he’s a truly, truly, truly great genius.”

As Brian puts it himself: “I am thrilled to have this opportunity to tour Canada. I always love visiting and it will be nice to play for my fans across the entire country and to visit places I’ve never been!”

Brian Wilson
The Gershwin-Wilson Songbook
Canada Tour 2011

June 15                       Kitchener, ON                      The Centre in the Square
June 17                       Montreal, QC                       Place des Arts
June 18                       Toronto, ON                        Massey Hall
June 20                       Ottawa, ON                          National Arts Centre
June 22                       Winnipeg, MB                       Pantages Playhouse Theatre
June 23                       Regina, SK                            Conexus Arts Centre
June 25                       Calgary, AB                          Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
June 26                       Edmonton, AB                      Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
June 28                       Vancouver, BC                      Queen Elizabeth Theatre