|PIC1|As they prepare for the August 25 release of their already-critically acclaimed CD Awake, the Grammy-nominated band Skillet is celebrating a new No 1 Rock single with 'Hero' and has announced plans for their 50 city Awake and Alive autumn tour, which will feature Hawk Nelson, Decyfer Down and The Letter Black.

On the heels of autumn and spring legs of their Comatose tour, which saw an
average of 70 per cent of their shows sell out and also landed them in Pollstar¹s
Concert Pulse Top 50 tours, Skillet will spend September to December rocking
across the US and taking in cities like New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Phoenix, Seattle, Dallas, and their hometown base of Chicago.

As they become known for their electric, pulsating and of course rocking live show, lead singer John Cooper says the band will continue to push the envelope when it
comes to giving their fans the best show possible.

"Skillet wants this to be the biggest, baddest tour we've ever done, and we're happy to be going out with these bands," he says. "We always try to put everything we have into our shows and the Awake and Alive tour will not disappoint ­ we're pulling out all the bells and whistles we can, and these new songs are going to be incredible to perform live. We can't wait to get out there and see everyone ­our fans are amazing."

'Hero', the first radio single from Awake is climbing the CHR Christian rock charts, this week jumping to No 11, and continues to be a top 20 best-selling iTunes rock single. 'Monster', meanwhile, will be solicited to mainstream and rock radio this month.