The Declaration Tour
Declaration Tour is the first solo headline tour of the American rock singer-songwriter David Cook, who rose to fame after winning the seventh season of "American Idol". There were 152 shows in this tour, not including an extra show in Manila in the Philippines, a record for an Idol debut tour. The tour earned an average gross of $46,263 per show. Background. The tour supported Cook's platinum "self-titled album". The tour is named after "Declaration", the first track from the album and started on February 13, 2009, in Tallahassee, Florida, following Cook's  appearance at Walt Disney World Resort's The American Idol Experience attraction. The tour was originally due to end on April 25, 2009, but had since been extended twice to finish until the end of year. "I’m more than excited to hop on the road and support this record. This tour represents both a new beginning and a return to form for me," David says. "It's our first full tour, and we’re all ready to pour whatever blood, sweat, and tears that we can muster into making this show, and every show from here on out, an  experience. Part of that experience is bringing back this college tour idea. There's something inherently nostalgic about playing college shows. So many amazing acts used to do it, so it's nice to be able to bring that ideal back, in some small way. And besides, touring on a bus beats what we used to do, which was cram five guys into a seven passenger van for one show, 13 hours away..." Cook was originally supported on the tour with musicians Neal Tiemann (lead guitar, backing vocals), Andy Skib (rhythm guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), Kyle Peek (drums, backing vocals ), and Joey Clement (bass guitar). Clement however was replaced by Monty Anderson on July 27, 2009, for the rest of the tour. Opening acts. Others who opened for David Cook include his friends from Tulsa; Bryan Jewett and Phil Marshall.