Tour Diaries - Part 1

Where better to kick off an independent UK tour of grassroots venues than The Globe. As part of Aelius Rising, we (myself, Zac and Niles) played alongside personal favourites CRANE HOUSE and Oliver Hunt. The gig was the perfect way to start - familiar, energising, fun.

After a short stay with Zac’s family on The South Coast, we were off to the Isle of Wight, officially making this an over-seas tour. Strings Bar and Venue kindly opened early so we could drop all our gear and go exploring. We headed out to The Needles, on the west of the island, enjoying the scenery (and wind), as well as the gift shops stuck in time. Corrine Atkins opened with swampy blues and thigh slapping honky tonk, before TriAmi blew us away with gorgeous three part harmonies, and tender slice-of-life songs. Fortunately, the car did not get locked into the Morrison’s and we even managed to blag our way onto an early ferry home - nice.

We expertly navigated around the congestion charge zone to arrive in London, where we played The Guitar Social in Shoreditch. Two years ago, to the day of the show, I played an open mic at The Guitar Social so it felt right to be returning there for a debut London show at their Folk Club. With supporting sets from Matt, Miliella, and From the Workshop.

Wrexham was a whirlwind. After being completely ghosted by the venue we were supposed to play, we were taken in and well looked after by Magic Dragon Brewery Tap. We tweaked the set to suit the louder room and the pub vibe and had an absolute blast. Megan Lee played a blinder of a set, with perfectly crafted country songs, top notch guitar playing, and a slick stage presence. It became apparant that we'd struck gold with the venue change and had ended up in the Ticket Office of Wrexham. Before leaving for Stoke, we did a whistle-stop tour of some beautiful spots just outside of Wrexham - we shall definitely be returning.

With nowhere to stay directly in Stoke-on-Trent, we had a bit of a weird day waiting for the venue to open, which was largely spend in the local Morrison’s, including catching up on admin in the cafe (Hels), and napping in the car (Zac). It was a drizzly and uninspring day, but our spirits lifted once we were in the quirky, cosy, three-roomed Artisan Tap. Beth Hill opened the show with her sublime vocals, and introspective songs about her life - can't wait to hear some of these recorded and released. Next, the Hollie Vee Trio (playing as a duo) effortlessly waltzed through a range of country, Western swing, and bluegrass classics with professional ease. Honestly, we were happy just to have seen these two great acts and by the time we played we’d already had a great night.

Feeling refreshed after a day off staying with family, we had a short trip to Leeds, and a longer trip navigating through the one way system to the venue. Zac was in his happy place because the venue was also a guitar shop and bar - heaven. Madeleine May's soft vocals and gut wrenching song writing gave serious Phoebe Bridgers energy (which I obviously loved), and Lilian sung hauting traditional English folk packed with folklore and ghost stories, absolutely great. Northern Guitars seems to be the Leeds venue I always see other Newcastle based artists playing, so I’m super pleased to finally pop my name on that list.

One of the most unexpected venues of the tour was AAA Vinyl Coffee House, nestled in deepest darkest Harrogate. A cafe/bar/vinyl & apparel shop kitted out with a surround sound system fit for any audiophile. The “AAA” moniker made more sense once Dave explained he was formally a globe trotting audio engineer, and pointed out the framed collected of backstage triple A access passes on the wall. Despite the impressive array of artists on the wall (think Amy Winehouse, Corine Bailey Rae, even Goldie Lookin Chain), not a single name drop clanged to the floor - classy. It was a fun gig, playing a double set in the absence of a local support, and an even better hang after the show with Dave (venue), Marquee (photos), and Annabelle (friend) in the venue.

Our final night on the road, before finishing the rest of the shows from home, we were in Fabios’s Bar. This one is a bit tenuous to include in a headline tour as we were billed as part of a Durham Fringe Presents event, but hey, there are no rules to getting your name out there these days! We were billed as the musical act among a variety performance including improv comedy troupe Shellshock! and magician Brooklyn-Ellis Carr. Leading up to this event, we had many discussions about how to curate a set list if we were to follow a magician and/or improv comedy - do you keep the mood high? do you play songs that have funny stories behind them? do you hide an animal in the sound hole of the guitar to pull out midway through a ballad? Mercifully, we opened the show to an attentive and engaged audience who didn’t shout out prompts throughout the set. It was a great experience, and the full force of Durham Fringe were out to pull the show together. Fingers crossed, we might be back in the summer with a full Durham Fringe Show to share.

We will be back in The North East finishing off the tour with a handful of shows, including a sneaky little slot supporting The Often Herd.

For all upcoming shows, click here!

This tour would not have happened without Laura Rosierse from Llively Music.

Laura is a friend, music PR agent, tour booker, festival organiser who booked the majority of this tour. Obviously having someone reach out to multiple different venues, fight your cause, and handle endless emails is great - but more importantly, Laura gave me the confidence to get out of the city and play some new towns for which I will forever be grateful.

I can wholeheartedly recommend getting in touch with Llively Music if you need help with any aspect of your musical journey, if she can’t directly help you (unlikely), she will know someone who can.