Tour Diaries - Part 2

Back in the North East, we had a gorgeous home town show opening up for The Often Herd. Neither Zac or I had seen The Often Herd live before and we were both blown away. The level of musicianship was inspiring, as the four piece effortlessly weaved through a double set of blistering bluegrass solos, sweet and sentimental songs, and generally great craic throughout. Thank you to the many people who came and chatted, brought merch, and shared kind words after the show. The joy of a matinee was that extra time to hang out after the show but still be home by nine (the 30 year old’s dream).

Next up on the North East leg of the tour was Berwick, which is further than we’d expected, but definitely worth it. Friend and collaborator, Ezra Briggs, came down from Edinburgh to open the show, playing a mixture of dark folk favourites as well as new songs from his latest EP, Industry, with Three Good Years being a standout track both in the set and on the EP. There were a lovely group of regulars down to watch the music, and also a slightly roudier group of holiday makers who’d made use of the recent coupon campaign in The Sun for the local caravan park - an interesting mix but still a great gig. Haaruun, of Newcastle Jazz Fusion outfit Sleep Suppressor had recommended this venue to us and it was a great choice.

We returned to Darlington for our second time playing here, this time at The Angels Cut, a super cool bar with a cosy upstairs venue space with a warm, DIY feel. I met Steve, the owner, at The Glasshouse watching Imogen and The Knife, and by the end of the opener we’d booked a gig. Anna Karila (who you might also know as Anna Stevo) was there for support, bringing effortlessly cool, haunting vocals, and beautiful blend of originals and covers. People of Clay was our consensus favourite - “I wish I was the lightning, but I’m the gentle thud of rain.”

After what has felt like an age (almost 2 months!), we managed to sneak a full band into the tour. Hexham is a gorgeous town, and one that is new to us, so we were genuinely surprised when we found out we were one ticket off a sell out! The narrow stone arch way of the venue quickly filled up while we got ready and changed in the upstairs art gallery (don’t ask). Like our last full band show, Tommy Arch opened, and I’m not sure what else I can say about Tommy’s set that I’ve not said before, other than it’s bloody amazing. He treated us to a new track too which I can’t wait to be released.

Finally, we wrapped up back home at The Ticket Office, for an almost surprise show. I think almost everyone by now knows my connection with The Ticket Office, and why it’s so special to me. In the year or so that I worked there, it became the place I started doing open mics on my own, and it was the time I really started to work on writing songs under my own name, not for a group project. If you’ve been there, you know it’s small, so it was lovely to see it packed full of friendly faces - from Ticket Office regulars, to friends, to new fans of my music who we’d met from the North East leg of the tour. We played through a fairly lengthy set of 15 songs, and I also took the time to play three covers that used to be on my regular rotation while I worked there - Tin Man, Travelling Solider, and Kyoto. I wouldn’t have wanted to end the tour anywhere else, or in any other way, so thank you to everyone who came down and made it so special.

Festival season is around the corner, and I’m itching to get back into the studio. Nothing to shout about coming up in April but I think we’ll be booking up the summer and scheming another tour soon (oh and maybe resting… maybe).

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.