Photograph courtesy of Valerio Berdini

Following the news that the mighty Swans have signed to Mute to release their next album To Be Kind the band have now announced that they will be embarking on a US and UK tour in May and June. The dates, featuring Jenny Hval in support throughout and stopping by the newly-announced Supersonic Ltd Edt festival in Birmingham, will begin after the album is released on May 12 (May 13 via Young God Records in the US), and will be preceded by a solo tour of Europe by the band's frontman Michael Gira, taking in a set at St John Sessions in London. Have a look at the dates below, and get hold of Swans tickets on Friday from 9 am here and Gira solo tour tickets here; in the meantime, read up on the Swans live experience here and here:

MAY
Wed 14 - Black Cat Mainstage, Washington DC
Thu 15 - Union Transfer, Philadelphia PA
Sat 17 - Royale Nightclub, Boston MA
Sun 18 - Bowery Ballroom, New York NY
Mon 19 - Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn NY
Thu 22 - Academy 2, Manchester
Fri 23 - Hoults Yard, Newcastle
Sat 24 - The Arches, Glasgow
Sun 25 - The Lemon Tree, Aberdeen
Tue 27 - Brixton Electric, London
Wed 28 - Trinity Community Arts, Bristol
Thu 29 - Sub89, Reading
Sat 31 - Supersonic Festival - Custard Factory, Birmingham

JUNE
Sun 1 - Cockpit, Leeds
Mon 2 - Concorde 2, Brighton
Tue 17 - Le Cercle, Quebec City, Canada
Wed 18 - Theatre National, Montreal, Canada
Fri 20 - MNW Festival, Toronto, Canada
Sat 21 - St. Andrews Hall, Detroit, MI
Sun 22 - Lincoln Hall, Chicago, IL
Tue 24 - The Ready Room, St. Louis, MO
Thu 26 - Trees, Dallas, TX
Fri 27 - Mohawk, Austin, TX
Sat 28 - Fitzgerald's Upstairs, Houston, TX
Mon 30 - Exit / In, Nashville, TN

JULY
Tue 1 - Neighborhood Theatre, Charlotte, NC
Wed 2 - The New Vintage, Louisville, KY
Thu 3 - Rex Theater, Pittsburgh, PA
Sat 5 - Tralf Music Hall, Buffalo, NY
Sun 6 - Toad’s Place, New Haven, CT

MICHAEL GIRA SOLO ACOUSTIC TOUR

MARCH
Sat 1 - Les Abattoirs, Lyon, France
Tue 4 - Passos Manuel, Porto, Portugal
Thu 6 - El Sol, Madrid, Spain
Fri 7 - Andia Kuxta, San Sebastian, Spain
Sat 8 - Sala Apolo, Barcelona, Spain
Mon 10 - Église Saint-Merri Church, Paris, France
Tue 11 - MC Theater, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Wed 12 - Church of St John-at-Hackney, London
Fri 14 - Hofteatret, Copenhagen, Denmark
Sat 15 - Blå, Oslo, Norway
Sun 16 - Emanuel Vigeland Mausoleum Museum, Oslo, Norway
Tue 18 - Pardon, To Tu, Warsaw, Poland
Wed 19 - Pardon, To Tu, Warsaw, Poland
Fri 21 - Dada, St. Petersburg, Russia
Sat 22 - Teatr Club, Moscow, Russia
Mon 24 - Bernardazzi Wine Club, Odessa, Ukraine
Wed 26 - Control Club, Bucharest, Romania
Thu 27 - Locomotiv, Bologna, Italy
Fri 28 - Bloom, Milan, Italy
Sat 29 - Kantine, Berghain, Berlin, Germany