BIG TIME RUSH's Kendall Schmidt Announces Opening Acts for HEFFRON DRIVE

Heffron Drive is excited to announce the official opening acts for their WINTER TOUR, with Eric Dash and Ariana & The Rose. Dubbed as the male Taylor Swift, Eric Dash has quickly become a YouTube & Vevo sensation - the official video for his second single, "Ms. Sally Jones," will be featured on Vevo on November 11th, while his first single, "One More Love Song," made its way to the Radio Top 40 chart. His love for music began at age 8, when he wrote his first song, his love for the guitar quickly followed - with heavy influences from John Mayer, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix, B.B. King, and Eric Clapton.

In 2012, producer Jack Joseph Puig (John Mayer/Goo Goo Dolls/No Doubt) saw a talent in Eric and worked with him on a new record in Los Angeles titled "My Own Island". The single from his record, "One More Love Song", sounds like a mix between an early John Mayer and Owl City.

Ariana & The Rose, led by downtown-chic Ariana DiLorenzo, is a New York-based pop-synth outfit on a mission to 'make pop girls cool again.' Though fully embraced by the fashion world, DiLorenzo keeps the music unquestionably on top. While attending and even loaning music to score New York, London and Paris Fashion Week runways she was attending, DiLorenzo turned the whirlwind into a tour of her own, performing over 10 shows in the three week span. WWD couldn't help but notice her in the front row and even dedicated a column to the breakout artist.

But with music as the priority, her stance is clear: "Pop shouldn't be just a guilty pleasure," DiLorenzo says. "It can be intelligent, too, and it can have an edge." The industry seems to agree. Of DiLorenzo, The Guardian's Paul Lester wrote "[DiLorenzo is] Most likely to: Make Gaga gaga with envy!" in his New Band of the Day critique. Vanity Fair's George Wayne exclaims "GW has just discovered 'the next Fiona Apple..' remember the name Ariana and the Rose....!!!!"

Perhaps the greatest vote of confidence, however, comes from the indomitable Sir Paul McCartney who included DiLorenzo in his most recent video for single "Queenie Eye." DiLorenzo appears alongside such greats as Tom Ford, Sean Penn, Kate Moss, Johnny Depp and Jude Law, among others. If she is not yet deserving of keeping such company, she is not so far off.

With single remix Heartbeat already having reached #4 at Music Week's Dance Chart prior to its November 18th global release date, upcoming EP Head vs. Heart due early next year and stints with top writers and producers in New York, Los Angeles, London, Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm, 2014 will almost unquestionably see DiLorenzo and her Rose reach full bloom.

Heffron Drive, actually founded by Kendall Schmidt prior to his joining Big Time Rush, was born of a chance meeting. After chatting at an industry event one night in Los Angeles in 2008, Kendall and Dustin Belt realized there was a lot more in common than meets the eye - both had been born in Wichita, Kansas, and when they went to make their way home, they realized they lived on the same street - Heffron Drive!

Aside from becoming instant friends, the duo formed a band - what to call it was obvious - and thousands began streaming uploaded tunes via MySpace. The internet was soon buzzing about this new band, but shortly thereafter the Big Time Rush opportunity came along. Kendall joined up and eventually, Dustin was tapped as the touring guitarist for Big Time Rush.

The two never forgot about Heffron Drive, though, stealing spare moments to write and plan - and now they are ready to hit the road with the FIRST EVER US Tour - Heffron Drive Live - with nearly 20 US tour dates so far, beginning November 23rd. On the upcoming tour Kendall says, "I couldn't be more stoked for the upcoming Heffron Drive US Winter tour. This is the first time I've played shows in the US since BTR and I wanted to give the past, present, and future fans something special to talk about. We've got a full band this tour cranking out the classics, and also plan to debut new songs that have never been seen or heard before. See you all at the venue!"

Check Out The Tour Dates for Heffron Drive Live Below:

November 23 - Scout Bar - Houston, TX

November 24 - The Kessler Theater - Dallas, TX

November 26 - The Melting Point - Athens, GA

November 27 - Brewster's Megaplex - Jacksonville, FL

November 28 - The Orpheum - Tampa, FL

November 29 - Mirage - Raleigh, NC

November 30 - The Theatre of the Living Arts - Philadelphia, PA

December 2 - Webster Hall - New York, NY

December 3 - Webster Underground - Hartford, CT

December 4 - The Wilbur Theater - Boston, MA

December 5 - The Montage Music Hall - Rochester, NY

December 7 - Altar Bar - Pittsburgh, PA

December 8 - The Crofoot - Pontiac, MI

December 9 - Embers - Rensselaer, IN

December 10 - Firebird - St. Louis, MO

December 12 - The Riot Room - Kansas City, MO

December 13 - Logan Square - Chicago, IL

December 14 - Skully's Music Diner - Columbus, OH

December 22 - The Roxy Theater - Los Angeles, CA

For more info check out:

www.HDwintertour.com

www.myspace.com/heffrondrive

Facebook - www.facebook.com/heffrondrivemusic

Twitter - @heffrondrive @ericfdash @arianatherose