The Killers announce first live shows of 2009

The Killers are about to release their best album yet, Day & Age, and they're going to support it with an 18-month world tour. The first batch of dates have just been announced.

The Killers will kick off their tour in the US in Denver, Colorado on 17 January and play shows across the country, including one at New York's Madison Square Garden on 25 January and at Nashville's Grand Ole Opry House on 31 January. They'll wrap up the US leg of the tour (and will no doubt be returning in the spring or summer) in Grand Prairie, Texas on 4 February.

Then it's off to the UK and Ireland for a string of dates that include Dublin's O2 Arena (20 February) and a pair of shows at London's O2 Arena (23, 24 February).

The full Killers itinerary

Denver, CO Magness Arena Ritchie Center (17 January)
Minneapolis, MN Northrop Auditorium (19)
Chicago, IL UIC Pavilion (20)
Ypsilanti, MI EMU Convocation Center (22)
Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre (23)
New York, NY Madison Square Garden (25)
Boston, MA Agganis Arena (26)
Fairfax, VA George Mason University Patriot (28)
North Myrtle Beach, SC House of Blues (29)
Atlanta, GA Atlanta Civic Center (30)
Nashville, TN Grand Ole Opry House (31)
Houston, TX Verizon Wireless Theater (2 February)
Austin, TX Frank Erwin Center (23)
Grand Prairie, TX Nokia Theatre at Grand Prairie (4)

Dublin O2 (20 February)
Belfast Odyssey Arena (21)
London O2 Arena (23, 24)
Birmingham LG Arena (26)
Cardiff Arena (28)
Sheffield Arena (2 March)
Nottingham Arena (3)
Aberdeen AECC Arena (5)
Glasgow SECC (6)
Newcastle Arena (7)
Manchester MEN Arena (9)

And in perhaps more exciting news, look for an exclusive MusicRadar podcast interview with Killers' guitarist Dave Keuning in the coming weeks.