Kings of Leon Going Big With Summer Tour : Rolling Stone

Kings of Leon

Summer Tour 2009

Tickets $25-$47

WHAT TO EXPECT:
The Tennessee foursome have been huge in Europe since their 2003 debut, but it wasn't until 2008's Only by the Night — and the massive hit "Sex on Fire" — that they broke through at home, selling 500,000 copies and winning a Grammy. Next, the band tackles a run through American arenas and festivals — including stops at Sasquatch and Lollapalooza. "[The U.S. shows] have been really great, actually, much bigger than we've come to expect in America," bassist Jared Followill says. "We feel like we're in Europe. Except they're not as drunk here. There's not as much beer being thrown around."

The growth is more than welcome; it's been essential to keeping the band intact. "If we had stayed at the same level we were when we first came out, we probably would've stopped making music by now," Followill says. "That's hard: tiny venues, tons of sweat, no showering afterward, no hotel room. Just getting into a van all wasted and trapped with tons of cigarette smoke. It got a little bit depressing. We're definitely renewed by playing bigger venues and kind of spoiled on the road now, playing arenas and staying in nice hotels... We all have our space now, and that helps a lot. There's still that deep, underlying hatred — but no fistfights."

THE LAST TIME AROUND:
October 2008: Kings of Leon Take Manhattan

THEIR HISTORY ON STAGE:

Kings of Leon on stage through the years

PLAYLIST TO GET YOU PUMPED:

"Molly's Chambers"
"Trani"
"The Bucket"
"King of the Rodeo"
"Knocked Up"
"Charmer"
"On Call"
"Sex on Fire"
"Crawl"
Play All

WHERE TO CATCH IT:
4/19 – Boston, MA @ Agganis Arena
5/19 – Phoenix, AZ @ Mesa Amphitheatre
5/21 – San Francisco, CA @ Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
5/17 – Santa Barbara, CA @ County Bowl
8/15 – Vancouver, BC @ General Motors Place
8/16 – Vancouver, BC @ General Motors Place
8/19 – Sacramento, CA @ ARCO Arena
8/21 – San Diego, CA @ Cox Arena
8/22 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Forum
9/12 – East Rutherford, NJ @ Izod Center
9/14 – Uniondale, NY @ Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum

VIDEO: