The third annual CARNIVAL OF MADNESS TOUR fueled by Monster Energy has announced the addition of CAVO to the all-star lineup including EVANESCENCE, CHEVELLE, HALESTORM and NEW MEDICINE. Tickets for the annual touring rock extravaganza–with affordable prices ranging from $25-$45–are currently on sale via www.carnivalofmadness.com.

Kicking off Tuesday, July 31 in Springfield, IL, the 2012 trek will hit major cities across the U.S. including Boston, Baltimore, Atlanta, Detroit, Milwaukee, Chicago and Pittsburgh. See below for updated routing. Note: dates and line ups are subject to change.

“We’re really looking forward to the Carnival of Madness tour this summer,” says EVANESCENCE front woman AMY LEE about the upcoming tour. “We love Chevelle and haven’t hit the road together in years, and I’m really stoked to finally be playing some shows with Halestorm. Naturally I’m a fan of strong women in music and Lzzy’s voice is spectacular.”

For new CARNIVAL OF MADNESS addition CAVO, their sophomore album Thick As Thieves is a testament to their bond that was once broken and has now been rebuilt and even strengthened. Released April 2012 via Eleven Seven Music, the album, featuring the Top 20 Active Rock title track, was dubbed “melodic rock gold” by AOL Noisecreep and received a 4-out-of-5 stars review by the website Loudwire. CAVO—CASEY WALKER (Vocals), BRIAN SMITH (bass), CHAD LAROY (drums) and CHRIS HOBBS (guitar)–will officially be impacting rock radio this summer with their next single “Circles,” though it is already spinning at Sirius, KQRC in Kansas City and hometown favorite, KPNT in St. Louis, MO. The band has previously achieved a #1 single, “Champagne,” and Top 5 rock track, “Crash,” on their major label debut, Bright Nights Dark Days (Reprise Records).

On Monday, July 23, Amy Lee of EVANESCENCE, Pete and Sam Loeffler of CHEVELLE and Lzzy Hale of HALESTORM will appear on Rockline Radio in anticipation of the tour launch. Hosted by Bob Coburn, the nationally syndicated radio show airs live at 8:30pm Pacific/11:30pm Eastern on rock stations across the country and can also be heard online at www.rocklineradio.com. Check their website for local affiliated stations. During the show, fans can call in to ask the artists questions as well at 1-800-344-ROCK (7625).

The five CARNIVAL OF MADNESS bands have also set weekly Google Hangouts to video chat with their fans prior to kicking off the tour. Starting today (6/18), fans can check out the contests page at www.CarnivalofMadness.com/contests to enter for a chance to take part in the Hangout and chat with their favorite bands. Those who don’t win will still be able to join in and watch the Hangout live at www.carnivalofmadness.com. The Hangouts will take place: Thursday, June 21 with NEW MEDICINE, Thursday, June 28 with CAVO, Thursday, July 12 with HALESTORM, Thursday, July 19 with CHEVELLE and a date TBA with EVANESCENCE. Exact times and further details will be posted at www.carnivalofmadness.com.

MONSTER ENERGY, BEACON AUDIO, PRS GUITARS and JVC MOBILE ENTERTAINMENT are teaming up to offer CARNIVAL OF MADNESS fans the ultimate summer concert tour experience with incredible opportunities for fans to win one-of-a-kind prizes:

The Monster Energy “ChevHELLe On Wheels”
Listen to your local rock radio station, leading up to the show in your area, and win the chance to go for a cruise with members of Chevelle in the “supped up” up Monster Energy CheveHELLe on Wheels (featuring JVC Mobile Audio). Winners will also receive the JVC KR-R530 in-dash CD Receiver. If that were not enough, winners also snag a pair of Beacon Audio headphones and sit on the side of the stage while Chevelle performs rocking to the same monitor mix the band themselves will be hearing. For more information, visit www.CarnivalofMadness.com/contests.

“Beacon Audio”
Carnival of Madness is excited to be a part of Beacon Audio’s launch in 2012!  Fans will be able to register to win either Beacon Audio’s new Orion headphones or the new Phoenix Bluetooth portable speaker. Winners will also get to meet Halestorm each evening after their performance. Beginning Monday, July 9, go to www.CarnivalofMadness.com/contests and register.

“Six Strings of Madness”
Calling ALL guitar players, or NOT! Whether you’re a shredder, beginner or just rock the air, beginning Monday, July 9, go to www.CarnivalofMadness.com/contests to find out details on how you can register for your chance to win a limited edition “Six Strings of Madness” guitar from Carnival of Madness and PRS Guitars.

Grammy Award winning band EVANESCENCE—AMY LEE (vocals, piano), TERRY BALSAMO (guitar), TROY MCLAWHORN (guitar), TIM MCCORD (bass) and WILL HUNT (drums)–has sold more than 25 million records worldwide with more than 10 million in the U.S. alone with the help of such Top 10 hit singles as “Bring Me To Life,” “My Immortal” and “Call Me When You’re Sober.” In October of 2011, the group released their highly anticipated third studio album, and first album in five years, Evanescence (Wind-Up Records), which debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Top 200 Albums chart and features the hit tracks “What You Want,” “Made Of Stone,” and “My Heart Is Broken.”

Platinum-selling alternative hard rock trio CHEVELLE—PETE LOEFFLER (Guitars, Vocals), SAM LOEFFLER (Drums) and DEAN BERNARDINI (Bass, Vocals)–released their latest and sixth full-length album Hats Off To The Bull (Epic Records) late 2011. The album debuted on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart at #19 and features two, #1 hit Active Rock singles “Face To The Floor” and “Hats Off To The Bull.”

Pennsylvania quartet HALESTORM–frontwoman LZZY HALE, drummer AREJAY HALE, guitarist JOE HOTTINGER and bassist JOSH SMITH–returned in April 2012 with their second full-length, The Strange Case of…. (Atlantic Records) after scoring two top 10 singles (“I Get Off” and “It’s Not You”) from their self-titled debut album. The first single “Love Bites (So Do I)” is a storming rocker that has already reached the Top Spot at Active Rock radio.

NEW MEDICINE—JAKE SCHERER (Vocals), DAN GARLAND (Guitar), MATTHEW BRADY (Bass) and RYAN GUANZON (Drums)–injects a little hope into hard rock on their debut album, Race You To The Bottom (Photo Finish Records). The album features the first single, “Laid,” co-written by Scherer and producers S*A*M & Sluggo, and their latest track at radio, “Race You To The Bottom,” which has gone on to sell over 11,000 copies.
For up-to-the-minute news on CARNIVAL OF MADNESS, visit www.carnivalofmadness.com, www.facebook.com/CarnivalofMadness and www.twitter.com/carnivalmadness.

Check out the CARNIVAL OF MADNESS Tour on the following dates:

DATE                          CITY                           VENUE

Tue      7/31                 Springfield, IL              Prairie Capital Convention Center

Wed    8/1                   Columbus, OH            LC Pavilion

Fri        8/3                   Atlantic City, NJ           House of Blues

Sat       8/4                   Chester, PA                Harrah’s Chester Downs

Mon     8/6                   Boston, MA                  Bank of America Pavilion

Tue      8/7                   Baltimore, MD             Pier Six

Wed    8/8                   Charlotte, NC              Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre

Fri        8/10                 Atlanta, GA                  Aaron’s Amphitheatre at Lakewood

Mon     8/13                 Belton, TX                   Bell County Expo

Tue      8/14                 Laredo, TX                  Laredo Energy Center

Wed    8/15                 Midland, TX                 Midland Horseshoe Arena

Fri        8/17                 Lubbock, TX                Lone Star Events Center

Sat       8/18                 El Paso, TX                 Don Haskins Center

Mon     8/20                 Sioux City, IA               Tyson Center

*Tue    8/21                 Milwaukee, WI             Eagles Ballroom

**Thu   8/23                 Grand Rapids, MI        Rock the Rapids

**Fri     8/24                 Detroit, MI                    DTE Music Theatre

Sun      8/26                 Chicago, IL                  Toyota Park

**Tue   8/28                 Pittsburgh, PA             Stage AE

Wed    8/29                 Holmdel, NJ                 PNC Bank Arts Center

**Thu   8/30                 Uncasville, CT             Mohegan Sun

**Sun   9/2                   Buffalo, NY                  Buffalo Outer Harbor

(*) show features Evanescence, Cavo and New Medicine with very special guests

(**) show features Evanescence, Chevelle, Cavo and New Medicine with very special guests

About Monster Energy:
Most companies spend their money on ad agencies, TV commercials, radio spots, and billboards to tell you how good their products are. At Monster Energy, we chose none of the above. Instead we support the scene, our bands, our athletes and our fans. We back athletes so they can make a career out of their passion. We promote concert tours, so our favorite bands can visit your hometown. We celebrate with our fans and riders by throwing parties and making the coolest events we can think of a reality. www.monsterenergy.com

About Beacon Audio:
Beacon Audio was created to blend the music that drives you with the elements of style that define you.  At Beacon, we believe that music has a higher purpose–discover it at www.BeaconAudio.com

About PRS Guitars:
Paul Reed Smith Guitars is a leading manufacturer of high quality instruments in Stevensville, Maryland and has provided some of the world’s most renowned musicians with instruments since 1985. The PRS team of highly skilled craftspeople produces over 1,000 electric guitars each month, as well as acoustic guitars and amplifiers, for worldwide distribution. In the fall of 2011 PRS introduced import acoustic and amplifier lines to complement their import SE line of electric guitars. Carlos Santana, Linkin Park, Opeth, Zach Myers of Shinedown, Mark Tremonti of Creed and Alter Bridge, Pete Loeffler of Chevelle, Ricky Skaggs, Martin Simpson, Tony McManus, and Warren Haynes are among the artists currently playing PRS instruments. www.prsguitars.com

About JVC Mobile Entertainment:
JVC Mobile Entertainment products are marketed by JVC Car Entertainment, a division of JVC Americas Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of JVC Kenwood Corporation. JVC Americas markets a full line of mobile, video and audio equipment for the consumer and professional markets. www.mobile.jvc.com

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www.monsterenergy.com

www.evanescence.com
www.chevelleinc.com
www.halestormrocks.com
www.cavomusic.com
www.newmedicinerock.com