Tickets will go on sale this Saturday, May 17 for Coldplay, which goes on the road this summer with their “Viva La Vida” North American Tour in support of their new album of the same name. The CD is to be released June 17.

The tour will kick off on June 29 in Philadelphia and includes a stop in the District at Verizon Center on Wednesday, July 2 at 7:30 p.m.

Before kicking off the “Viva La Vida” tour, Coldplay will play free concerts in London (June 16th at the Brixton Academy) and New York (June 23rd at Madison Square Garden).

Information on how to win tickets to these shows is available at www.coldplay.com. The contest will run through June 1st. Winners will receive notification on June 5.

The album’s lead single “Violet Hill” was downloaded by two million listeners during the recent one-week period in which the band made the song available to fans for free. It is now for sale at all digital retailers and is quickly rising to the top of the charts. Coldplay will perform “Violet Hill” on the “TODAY” show on NBC on June 27, and the band will also perform on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” on June 26.

“[Lead singer Chris] Martin broods over a lost lover with a snarling acidity that makes him sound more human than ever miles away from the dreamy romantic he was on soaring ballads like ‘Speed of Sound,'” wrote Rolling Stone magazine. “Jonny Buckland rips jagged, bluesy riffs that match Martin’s mood while drummer Will Champion and bassist Guy Berryman maintain a stalking beatprimal rock & roll.”

The Los Angeles Times pronounced the single a “promising return,” while also marveling at its harder edge.