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Rumer Willis Cabaret Concert Tour Kicks Off In Denver On Wednesday

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Rumer Willis plans to get personal with audiences during her upcoming "Over the Love Tour."

The 28-year-old "Dancing with the Stars" champ will cover some of her favorite female artists, including Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington and Amy Winehouse, while sharing her own experiences throughout the cabaret-style show.

Rumer Willis
Rumer Willis on Feb. 26, 2016 in West Hollywood. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for Vanity Fair)

"I talk to the audience a lot before a lot of the songs. I tell stories about why I connect to the song," Willis said during a recent interview. "But the overwhelming kind of through line is it's just about love. ... The many trials and tribulations that we all face kind of in our search for love."

The eldest daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore said her music education started young.

"My dad, from when we were really little ... introduced us to a lot of kind of different, bluesy artists. A lot of Etta James and Billie Holiday. Everything ranging from obviously The Beatles and Led Zeppelin and The Stones to just everything in between," she said. "That was always kind of the music that I liked to listen to. I never necessarily was aware of what was on the pop charts."

Willis made her Broadway debut last year in "Chicago." She has been perfecting her cabaret act during a two-year residency at The Sayers Club in Los Angeles and a short run at New York's Cafe Carlyle last April.

She'll also try out some original material during the 19-city tour, which kicks off Oct. 12 in Denver.

"They definitely take a bit of the old-school influences that I like, but still have enough of a new flavor to, I think, be accessible to a lot of people," she said of her new songs.

Willis has been working on her debut album with producer Linda Perry and plans to head back to the studio when the tour wraps. She also has two upcoming films: the musical "Hello Again" and the thriller "What Lies Ahead."

"I'm at a place where I'm just open for whatever new opportunities are going to present themselves. You know I would love to maybe go back to Broadway at some point. I would like to dance more, singing, acting, all of it," she said. "I am hungry for whatever is presented next."

By NICOLE EVATT, Associated Press

(© Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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