As the band gets ready to go into the recording studio next month to work on its new album slated for Summer 2011, Switchfoot’s seventh studio album, Hello Hurricane, received a GRAMMY nomination yesterday for Best Rock or Rap Gospel Album. Released November 10, 2009 on Atlantic and Credential Records, Hello Hurricane bowed at No. 13 on The Billboard 200 and continues to gather widespread critical acclaim. Paste Magazine declared “Hello Hurricane will rock you like a...well, you know...” Alternative Press calls the record “a hope-giving affirmation of resurgence from a band who might have been down but were never out.” Rolling Stone says, “The group added some heft to its super catchy alternative rock,” while Relevant Magazine calls the recording “one of the best albums of Switchfoot’s career.”

The band’s first single from Hello Hurricane, “Mess of Me,” went Top 10 at Modern Rock radio, as did their second single, “The Sound (John M. Perkins’ Blues),” which also became a No. 1 Christian radio hit. The current singles from the album, “Bullet Soul” and “Your Love Is A Song,” are impacting both mainstream and Christian radio stations now across the nation.

Following its fall headlining North American tour with The Almost, Switchfoot, widely known as one of the most exciting concert experiences around, is playing its fan favorites and the hits from Hello Hurricane on its holiday radio tour. The tour includes the 21st Annual KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas event, where Switchfoot joins the Smashing Pumpkins, Bad Religion, My Chemical Romance, Jimmy Eat World and others Dec. 11 at the Gibson Amphitheatre. The event benefits Para Los Niños, a charity helping at-risk children out of poverty and into a brighter future. With tickets in all cities moving fast, the remaining December tour dates follow:

12/02/2010 Orlando, FL House of Blues – Orlando
12/03/2010 Jacksonville, FL Met Park
12/04/2010 West Palm, FL Cruzan Amphitheatre
12/05/2010 Tampa, FL 1-800 Ask Gary Amphitheater
12/07/2010 Atlanta, GA Center Stage
12/11/2010 Universal City, CA Gibson Amphitheatre
12/12/2010 San Diego, CA Viejas Arena - 91x Wrex the Hall
12/13/2010 Milwaukee, WI Eagles Ballroom

In addition to the holiday tour, Switchfoot is exclusively offering its fans special 2010 Christmas packages through its website at www.switchfoot.com. The packages include a new six-song EP, Eastern Hymns For Western Shores. The songs on this EP were recorded during the time between Nothing Is Sound and Oh! Gravity album releases. For years the masters to these sessions were thought to be lost/stolen, but have recently been recovered. Recorded and mixed within the same week, these six songs showcase a darker and more mysterious sound for the band.

Switchfoot’s commercial successes, including 2001’s A Beautiful Letdown going double-platinum and sparking two gold-certified singles, “Dare You To Move” and “Meant To Live,” are matched by the band’s myriad of philanthropic efforts: They have worked with Habitat For Humanity, The ONE Campaign and Invisible Children, among others. Notably, the band started its own charity called Bro-Am, a surfing event and auction hosted by Switchfoot benefiting StandUp for Kids. This year Bro-Am raised over $130,000 for Stand Up for Kids and saw over 7,500 people out to support the event this past June.

For more information on Switchfoot, including the latest tour dates, go to www.switchfoot.com.

For more info on Switchfoot, visit the JFH Artists Database.