Sparta Announce First Tour in Five Years with Summer 2018 Tour Dates

Post-hardcore band Sparta have announced an upcoming US summer tour that begins July 5 in Santa Fe, NM and concludes August 18 in Washington, DC, Consequences of Sound reports.

Sparta formed in El Paso, Texas in 2001 and have released three studio albums including Wiretap Scars (2002), Porcelain (2004) and Threes (2006). Two of the founding members, Jim Ward (vocalist) and Tony Hajjar (drummer), are also alumni of the rock band, At the Drive-In.

Exclaim reports before last year’s ATDI reunion tour, Jim Ward left the group and proceeded to release a new single with Sparta, “Graveyard Luck,” in November 2017. ADTI singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala spoke about the conflict with Ward, saying, “We were trying to get everyone on the same page. But in particular Jim just didn’t want to do it at all. We just kept saying, ‘We’re going to honor that, if he doesn’t want to do it, we’ll let that be.'”

Bixler-Zavala goes onto say, “We trust each other, we think we’re making great songs. Everything was there. Jim just didn’t want to do it. I don’t know why. I think he’s a fucking amazing artist. And it’s too bad that it didn’t work out.”

After “Graveyard Luck,” Sparta’s first new music in five years, the band released a second single, “Cat Scream,” in April 2018. Sparta also announced their current lineup including Jim Ward, Matt Miller, Gabriel Gonzalez, and new member, Cully Symington (drums).

Check out the song “Cat Scream” and dates for Sparta’s upcoming US tour below.

07/05 – Santa Fe, NM @ Meow Wolf
07/06 – Denver, CO @ Globe Hall
07/07 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Urban Lounge
07/09 – Boise, ID @ Neurolux Lounge
07/10 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
07/11 – Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile
07/12 – Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret
08/10 – Chicago, IL @ Bottom Lounge
08/11 – Ann Arbor, MI @ Blind Pig
08/12 – Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop
08/13 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s
08/15 – Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair
08/16 – Asbury Park, NJ @ Asbury Lanes
08/17 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
08/18 – Washington, DC @ Rock and Roll Hotel

Photo Credit: Marv Watson