TESLA Announces First 2020 U.S. Tour Dates

TESLA has announced several new concerts in early 2020.

After performing on the Monsters Of Rock cruise in early February, the California rockers will kick off a run of dates on February 14 in Pensacola, Florida and wrap things up on February 26 in Houston, Texas. They will also play three dates in late April.

Confirmed shows are as follows:

Feb. 14 - Pensacola, FL - Saenger Theatre
Feb. 15 - Atlanta, GA - Buckhead Theatre
Feb. 17 - Charleston, SC - Charleston Music Hall
Feb. 19 - Huntsville, AL - Mars Music Hall
Feb. 21 - Virginia Beach, VA - Sandler Center For The Performing Arts
Feb. 22 - Greensboro, NC - Piedmont Hall
Feb. 25 - Memphis, TN - The Soundstage at Graceland
Feb. 26 - Houston, TX - House Of Blues
Apr. 17 - Las Vegas, NV - House Of Blues
Apr. 24 - Harris, MI - Island Resort Casino
Apr. 25 - Harris, MI - Island Resort Casino

TESLA is continuing to tour in support of "Shock", which was released in March via UMe. The follow-up to 2014's "Simplicity" was produced by DEF LEPPARD guitarist Phil Collen.

TESLA bassist Brian Wheat admitted to SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation" that "Shock" divided the band's fans due to its lighter, pop-like sound, with some blaming its direction on Collen, who co-wrote many of its tracks. The disc was recorded piecemeal while TESLA was on tour with DEF LEPPARD, with some of the tracking taking place in backstage areas and hotel room lobbies.

"Some people hate it, some people love it," Wheat said. "I tell you, after five weeks, six weeks, it's leaning more toward, 'You know, it had to grow on me. I'm actually enjoying it now.' That's the thing, that's why we called it 'Shock'. We knew it was going to shock people. The other thing is, we couldn't just continue to do the same record over and over and over again, so we tried something different. It's cool. The songs go down well live, I see people singing, our fans are in there singing 'Shock', singing 'Taste Like', singing '[Tied To The] Tracks', singing 'Take Me Alive'. It's cool. Look, after so many years, I'm glad we're able to make another record because not the first on everyone's agenda anymore."

Collen previously co-wrote and produced the TESLA song "Save That Goodness", which was released in August 2016 and included on the "Mechanical Resonance Live!" album.

TESLA's current lineup includes four of the five original members: Jeff Keith (vocals),Frank Hannon (guitars),Wheat and Troy Luccketta (drums). Guitarist Dave Rude joined in 2006 as the replacement for Tommy Skeoch.