For the third straight year, ALO will tour in its native California around Valentine’s Day. The group’s Tour d’Amour will take place from February

7-15 and also will incorporate a charitable component. A portion of each ticket will be donated to Music in Schools Today, which is ‘the Bay Area’s answer to the crisis in music education. Despite extensive research indicating that music instruction supplies intellectual, emotional and physical components critical to children’s development, music and arts programs are often the first victims of budget cuts.’ Nightly raffles will include donated prizes from Jay Alders, Zola Acai, Simple, Original Skateboards, Okoto and reapandsow. The first show will take place at Oakland’s Fox Theater on a bill with Michael Franti & Spearhead, after which Big Light will provide support. Other stops include: Humboldt (2/8, Van Duzer Theater), Santa Barbara (2/11, SOhO), Solana Beach (2/12, Belly Up), West Hollywood (2/13, Troubadour), Santa Cruz (2/14, Moe’s Alley) and Petaluma (2/15, Mystic Theater).