Afrobeat aficionados, take heart -- your dark days are soon to be over. Femi Kuti, the crown prince of Afrobeat himself, is getting set to bring his sound to U.S. shores early next year. Kuti's American tour begins on January 7 of '09 in Boston; he'll be supporting Day By Day, his first new album in seven years, which is finally out today in the U.S. The album, released on Downtown Records' new Mercer Street imprint, finds Kuti and his 17-piece band Positive Force digging into funky, jazzy, African sounds that will undoubtedly only gain in impact when heard in a live setting, so make the most of the opportunities afforded when Kuti takes it coast to coast.

Tour Dates:

January 7  Boston, MA Paradise Rock Club

January 8 New York, NY Webster Hall

January 9 Washington, DC 9:30 Club

January 10 Philadelphia, PA World Café Live

January 11 New York, NY GlobalFEST @ Webster Hall

January 14 Montreal, QC Club Soda

January 15 Toronto, ON The Opera House

January 16 Detroit, MI Majestic Theatre

January 17 Chicago, IL Metro

January 19 Boulder, CO The Boulder Theatre

January 22 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore

January 23 West Hollywood, CA House of Blues

January 24 San Diego, CA House of Blues