Straight From Universal Music: THE PIERCES TO OPEN FOR COLDPLAY

The March 27th U.S. release of YOU & I on Mercury Records, the new album by The Pierces, produced by the Darktones, aka Grammy Award®-winners Guy Berryman (Coldplay bassist) and Rik Simpson (Coldplay producer) builds on the Coldplay connection as the Pierces are chosen to open Coldplay’s West Coast North American tour leg, beginning April 17th at Rexall Place in Edmonton, Alberta. The 7-city, 18-day tour, including two-night stands in Vancouver and San Jose, wraps up with a triple-night stand at the Hollywood Bowl, May 1st, 2nd and 4th. (Please see complete itinerary below.)

In the wake of their successful showcase dates last month in support of YOU & I at the Mercury Lounge in New York City and the Hotel Café in Los Angeles, The Pierces have been added to the schedule for the 2012 SXSW (South By Southwest) Music Conference in Austin, Texas (March 14-18th), details to be announced in the weeks ahead. The Pierces have also set television appear­ances for March 27th (album release day) on NBC’s The Tonight Show with Jay Leno; and two days later on Fox-5’s Good Day New York. That same night in New York, the Pierces will perform a special show at Bowery Ballroom, and are also set to headline the Troubadour in LA on April 5th.

The first advance single from YOU & I is “You’ll Be Mine,” which had the distinction of besting Adele in the UK as the Most-Played song in the first quarter of 2011 at BBC Radio 2. YOU & I, released May 2011 in the UK, entered the national chart at #4 and was certified gold. Three subsequent singles, “Glorious,” “Kissing You Goodbye,” and “It Will Not Be Forgotten” all received Top 10 airplay and were A-listed on national BBC Radio.

The irresistible vocal harmonies of The Pierces – Alabama-bred, New York-based sisters Allison and Catherine – were indelibly etched in the tv public’s imagination back in 2008, when “Secret” (“two can keep a secret/ if one of them is dead,” a song from their third album, Thirteen Tales of Love and Revenge) was heard on the CW’s Gossip Girl. “Secret” was also heard in promos for Dexter, and in European tv promos as well. In 2010, “Secret” was heard as the theme song for the series Pretty Little Liars (ABC Family). “Drag You Down” (from YOU & I) has been featured in promos for ABC’s newest hit, Revenge.

In the UK, the Guardian hailed the Pierces as “heart stopping and extraordinary”; Q magazine called them “a life affirming delight”; and the Times praised their “honeyed harmonies and huge pop hooks.” Nurturing their UK support, The Pierces played their first tour of small venues there in the summer of 2011. The tour segued into festival dates through the summer including a slot at the legendary Glastonbury Festival in June; Magic Summer Live with Elton John, two V Festival appearances, and a date at the iTunes Festival in July, with Coldplay headlining. The Pierces returned for a full-scale 12-city headlining tour in October, which included a sold out show at London’s classic venue, the Shepherd’s Bush Empire.