Marking their highest album debut since 1977, AMERICA celebrates the release of their latest album HERE & NOW (Sony BMG/Burgundy Records), which entered Billboard’s “Top 200 Albums Chart” at #52.  The critically acclaimed double CD HERE & NOW is the group’s 16^th charting album and sold 14,399 copies in its first week in stores.  This is their first Top 100 charting release since 1982.  The band launched the album Monday, January 15 on the “Late Show With David Letterman,” performing “Ride On” with two of the album’s guests, Ryan Adams and Ben Kweller.

            HERE & NOW set features one CD of new studio recordings by AMERICA co-founders GERRY BECKLEY and DEWEY BUNNELL and was produced by James Iha (ex-Smashing Pumpkins) and Adam Schlesinger (Fountains of Wayne) plus a bonus CD of greatest hits material recorded at the XM Performance Theatre.  In addition to Schlesinger and Iha, special guests appearing on the new material include RYAN ADAMS, who plays on “Ride On,” BEN KWELLER who joins JIM JAMES and PATRICK HALLAHAN of My Morning Jacket on a cover of their haunting acoustic tune “Golden,” and IRA ELLIOT and MATTHEW CAWS of Nada Surf join the group on their own rendition of Nada Surf’s hit “Always Love.”