Taylor Swift Launches North American RED Tour Tonight in Omaha

Taylor Swift previously announced that she would launch a North American stadium and arena tour in early 2013 in support of her blockbuster new album, RED. Taylor made the special announcement in partnership with ABC News on a primetime TV special "All Access Nashville with Katie Couric - A Special Edition of 20/20." Watch the announcement here. RED was released to widespread worldwide critical acclaim and has topped the iTunes album sales charts in more than 40 countries.

On The RED Tour, Taylor is currently slated to headline 58 shows in 45 cities in 29 states and 3 provinces in 2013. The tour will kick off tonight, March 13 in Omaha, Nebraska and continue through September. Acclaimed singer/songwriter Ed Sheeran, whose duet with Taylor from her RED album, "Everything Has Changed," has already reached the No. 1 position atop iTunes all-genre Top Songs chart, will be a special guest on all of the shows on the tour.

The 2013 dates include nine stadiums - Detroit's Ford Field, Dallas's Cowboys Stadium, Toronto's Rogers Centre, Winnipeg's Investors' Group Field, Vancouver's BC Place Stadium, Pittsburgh's Heinz Field, Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field, Foxborough, Mass.'s Gillette Stadium and Chicago's Soldier Field.

The RED Tour is produced and promoted by The Messina Group (TMG). At Taylor's request, every show will include tickets priced at under $50. The first tickets will go on sale on November 16th, and on-sale information is available now at www.taylorswift.com and www.abcnews.com. TMG is a partner of AEG Live, one of the top live entertainment companies in the world, which produces world tours featuring internationally renowned artists and regional concerts and festivals.

Taylor's RED Tour is set to be one of the most-anticipated musical events of 2013, as Taylor's live shows are renowned worldwide for bringing her music to life. During the course of every show, Taylor plays a variety of instruments and performs her biggest hits and fan favorites from her four Big Machine Records albums.

"I didn't think I could be any more excited about my RED album, but then I start thinking about how I'm going to put the new show together for The RED Tour," says Taylor. "I have so many ideas about how to really bring this music to life, and I can't wait to share the new show with all my fans!"

Taylor Swift's THE RED TOUR will include the following:

March 13 & 14
Omaha, Nebraska

March 18 & 19
St. Louis, Missouri

March 22
Charlotte, North Carolina

March 23
Columbia, South Carolina

March 27 & 28 & 29
Newark, New Jersey

April 10
Miami, Florida

April 11 & 12
Orlando, Florida

April 18 & 19
Atlanta, Georgia

April 20
Tampa, Florida

April 25
Cleveland, Ohio

April 26
Indianapolis, Indiana

April 27
Lexington, Kentucky

May 4
Detroit, Michigan

May 7
Louisville, Kentucky

May 8
Columbus, Ohio

May 11 & 12
Washington, DC

May 16
Houston, Texas

May 21
Austin, Texas

May 22
San Antonio, Texas

May 25
Dallas, Texas

May 28 & 29
Glendale, Arizona

June 1
Salt Lake City, Utah

June 2
Denver, Colorado

June 15
Toronto, Ontario

June 22
Winnipeg, Manitoba

June 29
Vancouver, British Columbia

July 6
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

July 20
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

July 27
Foxborough, Massachusetts

August 1
Des Moines, Iowa

August 2 & 3
Kansas City, Missouri

August 6
Wichita, Kansas

August 7
Tulsa, Oklahoma

August 10
Chicago, Illinois

August 15
San Diego, California

August 19 & 20
Los Angeles, California

August 27
Sacramento, California

August 30
Portland, Oregon

August 31
Tacoma, Washington

September 6
Fargo, North Dakota

September 7 & 8
St. Paul, Minnesota

September 12
Greensboro, North Carolina

September 13
Raleigh, North Carolina

September 14
Charlottesville, Virginia

September 19, 20 & 21
Nashville, Tennessee

Taylor Swift is a six-time GRAMMY winner, and is the youngest winner in history of the music industry's highest honor, the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Her fourth studio album, RED, was just released this week, and is already garnering widespread critical acclaim and setting new sales records. Her 2010 album, Speak Now, was lauded on Rolling Stone's prestigious The 50 Greatest Albums of All Time (by women) list, and Time magazine has named Taylor one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Two-time BRIT Award winning singer/songwriter Ed Sheeran has become one of the biggest musical success stories in the UK over the past year and is already a fast-rising star in the U.S. Sheeran's debut single, "The A Team," was Britain's highest-charting, biggest-selling debut single of 2011; his debut album, "+", entered the UK Albums Chart at #1 and has since been certified 5x-platinum. "+" debuted at #5 on the Billboard 200 upon its stateside release via Elektra Records this past summer, with "The A Team" continuing to climb the radio charts.

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