The Black Keys 'Brothers' Tour Dates

With the duo’s sixth studio album totally kicking butt on the charts, The Black Keys are gearing up to hit the road for a slew of headlining shows, festival appearances and dates in support of Kings Of Leon.

Brothers was released May 18. The album racked up over 73,000 copies sold in the first week, making it the No.2 on Nielsen Soundscan’s Current Albums Chart, the No.1 Alternative album and No.2 overall digital album.

For the most part, the album was produced by singer/guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney. Danger Mouse, who produced the blues-rock band’s 2008 album Attack & Release, once again stepped in to produce the Brothers single “Tighten Up.”

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Classic Car Club, New York City

Although The Black Keys may be opening for Kings Of Leon this fall, Seattle Weekly raves that the new album proves “that it’s they not the Lords Of Leon, who deserve to be Kings. It’s nothing short of a bold proclamation that they’re one of the most vital bands on earth, and Brothers is sure to go down as one of the best albums of 2010.”

The paper noted that in addition to giving the Kings some competition, Brothers includes many moments where the duo “out-Winehouse Amy, out-Lynyrd Skynyrd, out-Roll the Stones [and] drive right by the Truckers.”

Entertainment Weekly gave the album a “B+” for its “real songwriting, and real hooks” and USA Today rates Brothers “3 1/2 stars” for hitting “all the right notes.”

The tour kicks off June 2 at The Depot in Salt Lake City with dates booked through a Nov. 7 gig at the O2 Academy in Bournemouth, United Kingdom.

Additional headlining gigs include The Pageant in St. Louis (June 10), DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, DC (July 26), Bank Of America Pavilion in Boston (July 31) and McMenamins Crystal Ballroom in Portland, Ore. (Oct. 4).

Festival appearances include Wakarusa Festival at Mulberry Mountain in Ozark, Ark. (June 5), Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tenn. (June 11), Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Pilton, U.K. (June 25) and Rockin’ Park Festival at Goffertpark in Nijmegen, Netherlands (June 27).

Fans can also catch the Keys at Rock Werchter Festival in Belgium (July 4), Oxegen in Naas, Ireland (July 9), T in the Park (July 10), Lollapalloza at Grant Park in Chicago (Aug. 6) and Austin City Limits Music Festival at Zilker Park in Austin, Texas (Oct. 8).

The Black Keys will be joining Kings Of Leon beginning Sept. 3 at Verizon Wireless Music Center in Noblesville, Ind., through a Sept. 23 show at Superpages.com Center in Dallas, Texas.

Click here for The Black Keys’ official website.