LOS ANGELES, CA--(MARKET WIRE)--Sep 6, 2006 -- With more than a half-million tickets sold to date, house records set in many cities, reviews like SPIN's, "Suddenly, Tom Petty is the coolest rocker on Earth," and a continuously changing all-star line-up comprised of friends and special guests which so far have included Pearl Jam, Stevie Nicks, Trey Anastasio, The Allman Brothers Band, John Mayer, Frank Black, and The Strokes, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers announce today that the "Highway Companion Tour" will be extended into October with Beck, The Black Crowes, The Dandy Warhols and The Blind Boys of Alabama added to select dates. The Black Crowes are confirmed for September 10 at Alltel Pavilion in Raleigh, N.C.; Beck will support Tom & the Heartbreakers' September 27 show at the Coors Amphitheatre in San Diego; The Dandy Warhols will perform in Madison, WI on September 12 and at the just-added, third Berkeley, CA date on October 27; and The Blind Boys of Alabama will support at Molson Amphitheatre in Toronto, ONT, Canada.

In addition, new dates have been added in Sacramento, CA/Raley Field/October 20 and Indian Wells, CA/Indian Wells Tennis Garden/October 21, and as previously announced, Tom and the Heartbreakers will headline the Vegoose Festival in Las Vegas, NV on October 28. A complete itinerary is below.

This first-class melding of incredible talent that also celebrates the Heartbreakers' 30th anniversary has led to some stunning "you-won't-see-this-everyday" onstage pairings. Petty, along with Heartbreakers Mike Campbell, Benmont Tench and Steve Ferrone, joined The Allman Brothers Band in Philadelphia for a version of Dylan's "Highway 61 Revisited" in which Petty and Greg Allman traded vocals and Campbell traded licks with Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks. Greg Allman repaid the compliment later the same night when he sat in with Tom and the Heartbreakers playing organ and sharing vocals with Tom on "Little Red Rooster." Eddie Vedder took over Tom's lead vocal duties on "American Girl" and "The Waiting" in St. Paul, Milwaukee, Denver and Seattle. Foo Fighter Dave Grohl jammed with Tom and the Heartbreakers on "Runnin' Down a Dream" and "You Wreck Me" at Randall's Island in New York where Tom and the Heartbreakers headlined the Amsterjam Festival; Trey Anastasio came on stage to jam on Van Morrison's "Mystic Eyes" at the Detroit date, and of course, Stevie Nicks, who Tom has been introducing as an "honorary Heartbreaker," has been on many of the tour dates and has helped to bring the house down with "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" and "I Need to Know." Rolling Stone, in a glowing review of the Portland show, described Petty and Nicks on stage, "...they seemed both timeless and immediate, classic and forever young."

With the launch of the third leg set for late this week, the tour has been one of the summer's biggest successes, having sold well in excess of a half-million tickets. Petty and the Heartbreakers, who the Boston Globe called "an incendiary live act," have broken house records and played to sold-out houses. The band's September 21 concert in their hometown of Gainesville, Florida -- the first time the band has played there in 13 years, sold out in mere minutes. The show will be filmed.

On July 25, "Highway Companion," Petty's third solo and 18th overall career disc, was released (American Recordings/Warner Bros. Records) and became his highest-ever chart debut, coming in at #4 on Billboard's Top 200 Albums chart. The album was produced by Jeff Lynne with Petty and Mike Campbell, and features twelve new Petty compositions. Lynne also produced the multi-platinum, Grammy-nominated Petty albums "Full Moon Fever" (1989) and "Into the Great Wide Open" (1991) (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers). The first radio track from "Highway Companion" is "Saving Grace," which was world-premiered in June in front of 20 million people on ABC-TV's NBA Finals.

This year, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the release of their self-titled debut album. For this 30th anniversary, Academy Award-winning director/screenwriter Peter Bogdanovich has signed on to direct a comprehensive feature/film documentary about Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. Over the past 30 years, Petty & the Heartbreakers have sold more than 50 million records, been nominated for 16 Grammy Awards, and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002, the first year the band was eligible. Late last year, Billboard magazine presented Petty with its 2005 Century Award, the publication's highest honor for creative achievement. He recently kicked off his second season of his critically acclaimed XM Satellite Radio show, "Tom Petty's Buried Treasure."

As the New York Times wrote in its review of the band's Madison Square Garden concert, "30 years in the making, a show still lean and hungry."

Confirmed dates for the "Highway Companion Tour," Leg Three are as follows:

SEPTEMBER

8      Molson Amphitheatre, Toronto, ON, CANADA
        (w/ The Blind Boys of Alabama)
10     Alltel Pavilion @ Walnut Creek, Raleigh, NC  (w/ The Black Crowes)
12     Alliant Energy Center, Madison, WI  (w/ The Dandy Warhols)
14,15  Charter One Pavilion, Chicago, IL  (w/ The Strokes)
17     Austin City Limits Festival, Austin, TX  (headline)
21     Stephen C. O'Connell Center, Gainesville, FL  (w/ The Strokes)
22     Hi Fi Buys Amphitheatre, Atlanta, GA  (w/ The Strokes)
26     Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, CA  (w/ The Strokes)
27     Coors Amphitheatre, San Diego, CA  (w/ Beck)
29-30  Greek Theatre, Berkeley, CA  (w/ Frank Black)
31     Greek Theatre, Berkeley, CA  (w/ The Dandy Warhols)

OCTOBER

 4     Glendale Arena, Phoenix, AZ  (w/ John Mayer)
20     Raley Field, Sacramento, CA  (Support TBA)
21     Indian Wells Tennis Garden, Indian Wells, CA  (Support TBA)
28     Vegoose, Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas, NV  (Festival headline)

     Media Contact:
     Heidi Ellen Robinson Fitzgerald
     herfitz@earthlink.net
     805-375-5915