SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (May 18, 2015) – Fender, the world’s leading musical instrument brand, today announced the addition of three new artists to the Fender Accelerator Tour, a successful new initiative providing support and resources to emerging musicians. New Fender Accelerator Tour artists include laid back indie rockers Real Estate, country crooner Josh Dorr and Nashville power duo Striking Matches.
The Fender Accelerator Tour is made up from a diverse collection of musicians on tour including Deap Vally, Night Terrors of 1927, Priory, Matthew Curry, The Bots, Waters, Marmozets and Coasts. Fender has provided each band with a customized 15-passenger touring van, fuel and vehicle maintenance needs, promotional and marketing support, and Fender gear, including electric and acoustic guitars, basses, amps and accessories. The tour continues through June, with Fender Accelerator artists making tour stops in major cities across the United States.
“I’m really excited to be part of the Fender tour this summer,” said Dorr, whose portion of the tour will run from June 4-27. “I’ve been a fan of Fender’s gear and guitars for a long time…but to be in the same company with Striking Matches and Real Estate is absolutely incredible. Striking Matches are super talented guitar players and I’ve written with them some. Also, Real Estate is a badass band that I’m really pumped about getting to be in the same program with! I’m ready to get out there on the Fender tour and kick some ass with everyone!”
Striking Matches’ portion of the tour runs from May 26-June 14 while Real Estate’s run is June 10-26.
“We are so excited to be a part of the Fender Accelerator tour,” said Sarah Zimmermann of Striking Matches. “We’ve been Fender fans since absolute day one… our very first guitars were Fender instruments. It is such an honor to be ambassadors for a company we love so much. We can’t wait to get out on the road!”
While on tour, the artists have been documenting life on the road and sharing it through Fender’s social channels by using the hashtag #FENDERXLR8R. Fender reaches more than five million people each month through its social and digital channels, allowing artists to leverage the reach and voice of the Fender brand to generate new fans. Across the board, participating artists have experienced incremental social media growth by posting messages and contributing hundreds of photos documenting their life on the road.
The Fender Accelerator Tour was created and developed in partnership with CAA Marketing, a division of Creative Artists Agency, and in collaboration with production partner NCompass. For more information, visit www.fender.com/accelerator.
About Fender Musical Instruments Corporation: Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (FMIC) is one of the world’s leading musical instrument manufacturers, marketers and distributors, whose portfolio of brands includes Fender®, Squier®, Gretsch® fretted instruments, Jackson®, EVH® and Charvel® among others. For more information, visit www.fender.com.
About Real Estate: New Jersey 4-piece band Real Estate released their third album, last year’s Atlas, to critical acclaim, with the New York Times hailing it “the first important record of 2014”. Following on from their 2009 Woodsist-released self titled debut, and 2011’s Days with new label Domino, the four members of the band – Martin Courtney, Alex Bleeker, Matt Mondanile, and Jackson Pollis – wrote the graceful, evocative Atlas in locales as far-flung and varied as the Arizona desert, Madrid, a practice space in Brooklyn, and an attic in their hometown of Ridgewood, NJ. Since its release, the band have commanded famed venues and festival stages internationally, including Coachella (USA), Primavera Sound (Barcelona), and Pitchfork Music Festival (USA), and have given live TV performances on both Letterman and Conan. This upcoming tour will see them play on one of the most famous stages in the world, opening for Belle & Sebastian at Radio City Music Hall in NYC. Real Estate have been featured on the cover of Fader and Relix magazines, and have been awarded Pitchfork’s coveted Best New Music designation for all 3 full length album releases to date.
About Josh Dorr: RCA Records Nashville Singer/songwriter Josh Dorr, a native of Gillette, WY, moved to Nashville in 2010 to pursue his music career as an artist and songwriter. Some of Dorr’s co-writes include the theme song for the TV series Open Season (Pursuit Channel), “I’d Look Good On You” for USA Network’s Necessary Roughness and a new song on Columbia Nashville artist Casey James’ upcoming sophomore album. Some of Dorr’s musical influences range from Garth Brooks, George Strait and Brooks & Dunn to Tom Petty, The Wallflowers, Dave Grohl, Ryan Adams and Boyz 2 Men (for their harmonies). Dorr released his four-song, self-titled EP in May 2014 and his debut single, “Save Your Breath,” is at country radio now. He has been on several watch lists including Rolling Stone Country’s “10 New Country Artists You Need To Know: Winter 2015,” Country Weekly’s “Artists To Watch in 2015” and iTunes’ “Artist To Watch in 2015.”
About Striking Matches: Striking Matches is the guitar-wielding, vocal sharing duo of Sarah Zimmermann and Justin Davis. Helmed by producer T Bone Burnett, their debut album, Nothing But The Silence, occupies that sweet spot at the intersection of country, rock and blues, where all of the elements blend to form an authentically raw and rootsy sound that has a timeless and international appeal. Indeed, their songs including “When the Right One Comes Along” and “Hanging on a Lie” have been featured on ABC’s hit drama series Nashville and attracted an international fan base. Their first performances in London produced sold-out shows and audiences with a deep knowledge of their lyrics, even before the release of any music. “Sarah Zimmermann and Justin Davis give off sparks as singers and writers, but they’re even hotter guitarists. Incendiary,” wrote USA Today, while Rolling Stone Country exclaimed, “Not since the Civil Wars’ brief but brightly burning career has a male-female duo displayed such a captivating chemistry.”