30 Seconds to Mars "Into the Wild" Returns to the U.S. And Other Tour News

Since the release of their third album, This is War, in December, 30 Seconds to Mars, which is actor-turned-rockstar, Jared Leto on the mic and bass guitar, his brother Shannon on drums, and Tomo Milicevic on guitar, has toured the world. Literally.

30 Seconds to Mars' "Into the Wild" tour, which takes its name from the song The Mission, from their debut, self-titled album, has already visited 89 cities in 27 countries, but they aren't finished yet. According to a Twitter post from Jared Leto late on June 30, "THE WORST KEPT SECRET IS OFFICIALLY CONFIRMED!!!MARS RETURNS TO THE USA!!!!!"

As of Twitter time, only sixteen East Coast and Southeastern dates had been posted but there are notable gaps in the schedule so if your city isn't on the list, keep an eye out for more dates.

So far, the "Into the Wild" tour has sold out shows in city after city, night after night and produced a video for the song "Closer to the Edge," a video which keeps popping up online, allegedly posted by the band themselves, but within only a few days, it is removed by Whoever's in Charge at EMI. The "Closer to the Edge" video chronicles the band's stops around the world and features fans sharing their thoughts about music and war (centered around the theme and title of the album). As someone who has caught a glimpse of the video, I have to agree with the unofficial reviews that it is, among other descriptions, "lovely," "breathtaking," and "epic."

Visit the official 30 Seconds to Mars blog for dates and more information as it is available: http://thirtysecondstomars.thisisthehive.net/blog/2010/06/30/%E2%80%9Cinto-the-wild%E2%80%9D-world-tour-returning-stateside-with-new-dates-this-fall/

In other tour news, Chicago-based bands Smashing Pumpkins, Kill Hannah and Bad City have joined up for an intimate, 13-date East Coast tour starting July 6, including the Forecastle Festival in Louisville, KY on July 10. Many of these dates are already sold out and tickets for the July 24 show in Pittsburgh have not yet gone on sale (they will be available July 3).

Another Chicago-based band, The Academy Is... have also announced some very big tour news, as they set out on the road with rock legends, Kiss, starting in Burgettstown, PA on July 29. This upcoming Kiss tour is just one more in laundry list of Summer of 2010 tours from legends of classic rock. Others who have hit the road this summer have included Chicago, the Doobie Brothers, Foreigner and Styx.

And finally, 1990's punk revival kids, like me, have been eagerly awaiting the start of the Green Day and AFI summer tour. Originally announced in March, 2010, the tour is set to begin in Camden, NJ on August 3 and will run through the 2nd of September. The match up is listed with Green Day front and center but AFI is much more than just "support." Call it a co-headliner, if you will.