Midnight Oil announces first world tour since 2002; releasing three archival box sets

Credit: Oliver EclipseThe time has come for Midnight Oil to tour the globe again. The veteran Australian rockers have announced plans for their first world tour in more than two decades -- "The Great Circle 2017" trek. The outing, which will begin and end in their hometown of Sydney, will include a North American leg running from a May 5 show in Atlanta to a June 2 concert in Vancouver, Canada.

In conjunction with the tour, Midnight Oil is releasing three archival box sets -- The Full Tank, The Overflow Tank and The Complete Vinyl Collection. The The Full Tank features remastered CD versions of all of the band's albums and EPs, while The Overflow Tank contains more than 14 hours of rare and unreleased audio and video spread across four CDs and eight DVDs. Both packages will be housed in replica water tanks similar to the one that was part of the stage set at many Midnight Oil shows. The Complete Vinyl Collection, the band's first comprehensive vinyl set, will include remastered editions of 11 of the group's LPs plus two 12-inch EPs. The box sets are available for pre-order now in various combinations and packages at Midnight Oil's online store.

Midnight Oil last toured in 2002, and the only shows the band played since then were a handful of concerts in Australia in 2005 and 2009. The band scored a top 20 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1987 with "Beds Are Burning," and also reached #1 on the Billboard rock charts with "Blue Sky Mine" and "Forgotten Years" in 1990. The group's members are known for their outspoken support of environmental and social causes, while Midnight Oil frontman Peter Garrett served in the Australian parliament from 2003 to 2014.

Here are all of the band's North American dates:

5/6 -- Atlanta, GA, Center Stage
5/9 -- Silver Spring, MD, The Filmore
5/11 -- Boston, MA, House of Blues
5/13 -- New York City, NY, Webster Hall
5/16 -- Glenside, PA, Keswick Theatre
5/18 -- Chicago, IL, The Vic
5/20 -- Toronto, ON, Canada, Danforth Theatre
5/23 -- Denver, CO, Paramount Theatre
5/25 -- Los Angeles, CA, The Wiltern
5/27 -- Oakland, CA, Fox Theatre
5/29 -- Portland, OR, Revolution Hall
5/31 -- Seattle, WA, Moore Theatre
6/2 -- Vancouver, BC, Canada, The Commodore

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