Happy 3-11 Day

March 11 “has become a day of mutual appreciation and celebration for the band and their fans,” said the band.

To celebrate, 311 has some very special announcements to make. First off, dates for the band’s upcoming summer Unity Tour were released.

But before we get to all that summer fun, we want to mention the band is also bringing its blend of rock and reggae to venues across the U.S. this spring, kicking things off with a show at Rialto Theatre in Tucson, Ariz., April 15 and winding down with a gig at Shrine Mosque at Springfield, Mo., May 15.

Additional dates include performances at The Cotillion in Wichita, Kan. (April 19), Sunfest at Downtown in West Palm Beach, Fla. (April 29) and Amphitheatre at the Wharf in Orange Beach, Ala. (May 8).

After a couple of weeks off, 311 is hitting the road again for this year’s edition of the band’s Unity Tour. It all starts at the Santa Barbara Bowl in Santa Barbara, Calif., June 5 and continues through a show at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Irvine, Calif., July 12.

There’s also shows at Usana Amphitheatre in Salt Lake City (June 11), Comcast Center in Boston (June 24) and Verizon Amphitheatre in St. Louis (July 7).

Oh, and another important date to mark on your calendars – June 2, the day 311’s new album, Uplifter, hits stores. The release is the band’s first studio album in three years. A deluxe edition of Uplifter will include a DVD documentary, “The Road to 311 Day,” which includes interviews, backstage footage and live performances from last year’s 3-11 Day concert in New Orleans.

Before you get back to YouTube-ing 311 videos and penning fan letters to the band, there’s one more piece of 3-11 Day news. In honor of this year’s 3-11 Day, the band is doing an online video chat from their studio, The Hive, which will be hosted by KROQ DJ / Loveline co-host Stryker. You can catch the chat on 311.com and on ustream.com tonight at 6 p.m. PST.

Check out the band’s Web site here.