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We packed the truck and waved the equipment off at the start of it's transatlantic journey today - New Blood is on its way to North America.

John Metcalfe loves to tour. And, as the orchestral arranger of both the Scratch My Back and New Blood projects, he's got a rather enviable itinerary ahead of him - a 12-date, 12-city tour of the United States in the company of Peter Gabriel and his New Blood Orchestra. "I always like a little trip out!" he admits.

Kicking off in Berkeley, California, on June 10 and terminating 19 days later in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the tour is the perfect opportunity for Peter's North American followers to witness the poise, precision and passion of the orchestra as it tackles Peter's back catalogue, along with a smattering of other songwriters' work from Scratch My Back...

Slightly delayed through various location based tribulations Peter's May update is now available to watch.

If a picture's worth a thousand words, what's a video worth?

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Today marks the 25th Anniversary of the release date of So.

Watch out for a celebratory release before the end of the 25th year.

This is an extraordinary opportunity to see Peter perform classic songs from his repertoire with a 46-piece orchestra - guaranteed to be an intimate and captivating experience. As reported by Nige Tassel from last months' performance in London "The New Blood Orchestra were simply superb. Under the energetic conductorship of Ben Foster, they pushed and pulled, soared and plummeted....dispensing with the traditional weapons of the rock armoury - no guitar, bass or drums - Peter's lyrics were exposed and laid bare, often taking new meaning with the passing of the years."

There's a limited amount of time to enter the competition - you must submit your answer to the multiple choice question by 12.00 noon EST on 3rd June 2011. To win you will need to answer the question correctly, specify your choice of venue, and enter the name of the friend you will be taking with you. The winners will be contacted via email on the 4th of June 2011.

Photograph: York Tillyer

Peter's escaped from the studios this month and unfortunately the internet connection at his location is proving to be an unreliable conduit for his update. We're not giving up hope that his words emerge from the ether in the near future, but in the meantime we'll start with what would have been the end and offer a snippet of Don't Give Up from the New Blood recordings at Air Studios.

On Thursday 31st March, Archbishop Desmond Tutu was awarded a "Skoll Foundation Global Treasure". He came out of retirement from public speaking to deliver a keynote address at the New Theatre in Oxford. As part of the evening's celebration Peter was invited to perform 'Biko'. He was joined by Baaba Maal, who also performed one of his own songs that evening, along with his percussionist Jim Palmer. On strings were Louisa Fuller (violin), Vanessa McNaught (violin) John Metcalfe (viola) and Roz Gladstone (cello).

The Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship is the premier, international platform for accelerating entrepreneurial approaches and innovative solutions to the world's most pressing social issues. This year's Forum was held in Oxford, England, March 30-April 1, 2011.

The ceremony is part of the Skoll Forum's archive (March 2011), and can be found by following the link below.

The Arch's speech is around 74 minutes in, and Peter's performance at about 92 minutes.

There has been a great response from American and Canadian fans to the advance ticket offers. Pre-sale tickets for most shows have now ended, and as of April 4th general public tickets are available. For those people who missed the advance offer but are keen to catch New Blood live on stage, see the Live page to book.

There are however three shows where pre-sale tickets are still to be made available - Grand Prairie and Spring in Texas plus Chicago - Please check the Live page to see the release schedule for these dates.

Some special VIP packages are still available. You can order them via the normal 'Buy Ticket' links on the Live Page. Find out more details of what the VIP packages offer.

We are excited to tell you that a special selection of VIP packages will soon be available for keen fans who want to enjoy better seats, exclusive merchandise or even the chance to watch the sound check. We expect these to be on sale on Friday. When the links become available, follow for details of how to purchase these offers and confirmation of the price. You can choose from three different levels:

Front Row Package

This is an exclusive offer for just a handful of fans for each show and the cost is due to be $500

o Front row ticket
o VIP entrance (where available)
o Invitation to Sound Check
o Pre-show hospitality
o Exclusive merchandise item
o Collectible laminate

Hot Sound Package

This premium package cost is due to be $400

o Premium Price Level 1 ticket
o VIP entrance (where available)
o Invitation to Sound Check
o Pre-show hospitality
o Exclusive merchandise item
o Collectible laminate

Hot Ticket Package

Not a sound check invitation but a special seating level guarantee. The cost is due to be $175

o Premium Price Level 2 ticket
o Exclusive merchandise item
o Collectible laminate

For full details of VIP offers click the link when it becomes available. Prices quoted here are the average cost. VIP packages are limited in number.

Please note, whereas Peter Gabriel normally sound checks before every performance, on very rare occasions, due to circumstances out of our control, Peter Gabriel may not be able to attend.

Pre-sale tickets go on sale 10am local time on the March 30th 2011, but need to be quick as the offer will only last until 10pm local time on the April 1st 2011. The pre-sale tickets are password protected - the password is the same for all ticket vendors (see below for password).

Password: BLOOD

The general public tickets go on sale at 10am local time on April 2nd 2011.

VIP Packages
Hold on for purchase details for the VIP packages untill tomorrow. You can find out costs, and what the packages include in advanced here - VIP Packages

You may notice some pre-sale links to book tickets have not been made available yet. We will add these links to the official website and Facebook page as and when we get the information.

The lineup for WOMAD Abu Dhabi 2011 brings the finest blend of music from across the world. From reggae maestro Dr Jimmy Cliff, to the eccentric English rose with a voice to boot - Paloma Faith.

Let's get those dancing shoes on fellow WOMADians.

Peter found a moment to record his Full Moon Update for March's 'Super moon', saying of it - "...this month as well as some music updates there's another long political bit on the revolutions in the Arab world and the israeli-Palestinian conflict. Of course please let me know what you think. All points of view are welcome, but abuse gets deleted." There's news of a trip to the always fascinating 'brain food' centre that is TED and a chance to see 'Red Rain' as played by 'The New Blood Orchestra' in the recording sessions at Air Lyndhurst studios.

Following the success of last year's sell out concerts Peter Gabriel returns to the USA and Canada for a 12 date tour with the New Blood orchestra. On the last outing Gabriel redrew the works of Lou Reed, David Bowie, Radiohead....this time out he applies the orchestral makeover to his own back catalogue. The stunning musical backdrop leaves Gabriel's vocals centre-stage and bare, stripped of the usual rock'n'roll clothing, no loud guitars or booming drums to hide behind. Raw and soul-baring yet passionate and often joyous, Gabriel's classic songs here take new shape and extra meaning.

This tour is an opportunity to experience the reinvention of an iconic song selection - from Red Rain to San Jacinto, Digging in the Dirt to Don't Give Up - before the album release of 'New Blood' later this year.

"As Gabriel demonstrated so ably, there are places in the soul that electric guitar, bass and drums, for all their visceral excitement, still can't reach" - LA Times