Ben Lee Honored, Records Duet, Tours, Teases

These are busy times for Ben Lee. This week, his 2005 album Awake Is The New Sleep was nominated for the first Australian Music Prize. (The others on the shortlist for the Prize, intended as the Australian equivalent to the Mercury Prize, are the Devastations, Don and Charlie, the Drones, the Go-Betweens, Mess Hall, TZU and Tex, the Go-Betweens, and Wolfmother).

Plus, Tuesday night, he recorded a duet with Leona Naess for her next album. Lee thinks the track is called "Boyfriends".

He writes:

"it's a great song about not being ready for relationships. i get to sing the line "cos im not ready, no, not even close", which is a lyric i didnt have to get to method-y to sing with conviction :)

He also announced a U.S./Canadian tour, which kicks off tomorrow night in Connecticut. Along with his own tour, he hints rather strongly that he has a supporting gig lined up this spring as well ("why dont you have a guess at which band im supporting in the spring around the US?").

Ben Lee's Tour Dates:

February 11 - Storrs, CT - Jorgensen Center For The Performing Arts at the University Of Connecticut
Acoustic show with Lara Meyerratken and co-headlining with Ben Kweller
All Ages
8PM/$15 Students, $20 Others

March 1 - Vancouver, BC Canada - Richard's On Richards

March 2 - Portland, OR - Dante's

March 3 - Seattle, WA - Chop Suey

March 4 - Eugene, OR - John Henry's

March 6 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall

March 8 - Los Angeles, CA - Silent Movie Theatre
(2 Shows)

March 9 - San Diego, CA - The Casbah

March 12 - Nashville, TN - 3rd & Lindsley Bar & Grill

March 13 - Atlanta, GA - Smith's Olde Bar
8PM/21+ $12

March 15 - Baltimore, MD - Fletcher's

March 16 - Boston, MA - George Sherman Union at Boston University
(for BU students only)

March 17 - South Burlington, VT - Higher Ground

March 18 - Toronto - El Mocambo

Ben Lee - Ache For You (from Awake Is The New Sleep)

At Ben Lee's website, there's video of he and Tina Dico singing.