Athlete to make appearance in Switchfoot US tour

|PIC1|Multi-Platinum selling rock band Switchfoot launches its spring "Up In Arms Tour" in San Antonio March 27 and hits college towns throughout the South and Midwest states of the US.

The Switchfoot tour will feature a special performance by double platinum-selling UK band Athlete, whose members are Christian and met in their teens at Greenbelt festival.

The tour will benefit the US charity To Write Love on Her Arms (TWLOHA) charity, a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for those struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide. TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire, and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery.

"The dialogue surrounding depression is such an important one. It is huge for people to know that these are issues that are normal and ok to talk about," said Switchfoot member Tim Foreman. "TWLOHA is breathing hope into lives once trapped by fear and doubts. 'Love is the Movement.' We're honoured that a song we wrote seven years ago has become the slogan for TWLOHA. And it's true: love provides the motion that pushes us past the scars."

Jamie Tworkowski, To Write Love on Her Arms founder, will speak briefly before Switchfoot's set each night on tour

"Switchfoot was the first band to lend the stage to us, back when TWLOHA was simply an attempt to tell a story and help one friend," he said. "That was two years ago and we have come a long way since that surprising start. We are truly honoured and excited to hit the road with this band that means so much to us."

With over 5 million records sold, three albums in the Billboard Top 20, two top-five singles at both pop and alternative radio, Switchfoot is also recognised as one of the hardest touring bands in rock.

Recently returning to the US from tours to Indonesia, Malaysia and New Zealand, the San Diego-based band has sold nearly three million concert tickets worldwide since the 2003 release of its double-platinum breakthrough album The Beautiful Letdown.

With an ever-growing fan base, Switchfoot continues international touring in support of its most recent and critically acclaimed albums, Nothing Is Sound and Oh! Gravity.

Oh! Gravity., Switchfoot's newest studio album, is also getting a boost from MTV's "Life of Ryan" as the title track is currently featured as the hit show's theme song.

Recorded at Big Fish Recording in Encinitas, California, Oh! Gravity. showcases a harder rock direction for Switchfoot. The album debuted at No 1 on the iTunes Top Albums chart and has received stellar reviews, with Billboard magazine calling it "the best of the San Diego group's nearly 10-year recording career".

In addition to the music, Switchfoot has been actively involved in a number of humanitarian causes since its inception, including DATA, Bono's THE ONE Campaign, Invisible Children, Habitat for Humanity and To Write Love on Her Arms. The band also founded the Switchfoot Bro-Am, a surfing and music benefit-event, and the online magazine, lowercase people (www.lowercasepeople.com), a daring new endeavor to revolutionise the way beauty, truth and humanity is viewed.

Switchfoot is: Jon Foreman (vocals, guitar); Tim Foreman (bass, backing vocals); Chad Butler (drums); Jerome Fontamillas (guitar, keys, backing vocals); and Andrew Shirley (guitar).

For more information, go to www.switchfoot.com.