British singer-songwriter Bobby Long returns to the road this summer for a combination of solo acoustic shows and a series of dates at which he will be backed by a band for the first time since arriving on American shores just over a year ago. Long, who has been working on his recording debut album backed by studio musicians, has been anxious to bring this new dynamic to his live appearances and is looking forward to giving his hauntingly personal songs added depth and dimension.
The first of Long’s band shows will be at New York’s Highline Ballroom on Tuesday, June 15, followed by three other dates in the Northeast and a run of west coast dates in early July. His band is comprised of musicians he met while on a short run of US shows this May. In between the full band dates, he will perform solo.
Signed to ATO Records in April, Long has been making his self-financed studio debut under the helm of producer Liam Watson, who won a Grammy® for his work on Elephant by The White Stripes. They began recording at Watson’s analog Toe Rag Studios in London during Long’s short breaks from his hectic 2009 touring schedule – Bobby played 160 headline shows in seven months in seven countries.
Meanwhile, Bobby’s independent CDs, sold exclusively at his shows, have earned critical acclaim of their own. Selections from DIRTY POND SONGS, the 10-song collection he recorded in his London apartment, have made their way onto AAA radio playlists in the U.S., becoming the catalyst for his inclusion on NPR’s “World Café” national broadcast in April and his live performance at the Non-Commercial Radio Conference (Non-Comm) in Philadelphia on June 3. The Columbia (MO) Daily Tribune, in a recent show preview, wrote: “…’Dirty Pond Songs,’ musically, is a revelation – both in its simplicity and strength of songwriting. Most of the album is occupied simply by Long, his gentle, steady acoustic guitar strum and lonesome harmonica. But, Long holds enough talent to keep fans' attention without any extravagant bells and whistles.”
Additionally, “Left To Lie,” Long’s first digital release from DIRTY POND SONGS, reached #1 on the iTunes “Unsigned” chart and #8 on the Folk chart, while “My Darling Belle,” his latest digital single culled from the DANGEROUS SUMMER 2009 live compilation, reached #2 on the iTunes Singer-Songwriter chart by the end of its first day of release. Such affirmation has only served to build anticipation for the studio debut to be released via ATO Records.
Bobby Long 2010 Summer Tour
Long’s live performances have been receiving more notice as he carves out strongholds in U.S. markets that have welcomed him back repeatedly. Until now, it was just him and an acoustic guitar, but that has never left his audiences wanting. As Jambase described a recent live performance: “The majority of the catalog builds off relatively simplistic chord progressions, but he shows a remarkable knack for adding color via accent notes with his unorthodox two-fingered picking attack and construction of fuller, brighter chords than the standard singer-songwriter fare.” Another writer for jitzul.com summed it up: “…just with his voice and his guitar, he fills the space and commands the stage. His voice was made to hear live and it never waivers.”
Adding the band will allow Bobby to stretch out a bit. “I’m looking at the shows with a band as another chapter in this adventure,” says Long. “I played guitar in a band when I first started performing music, but it was before I wrote my own material. It will be an exciting experience for me to add fresh elements to my songs like I was able to do when I was recording the album.”
Bobby Long’s summer shows (with band dates noted) include:
June 15—Highline Ballroom, New York City (band date); 16—Harpers Ferry, Boston (band date); 17—Stage One, Fairfield, CT (band date); 18—World Café Live (main room), Philadelphia (band date); 23—The Space, Evanston, IL; 24—The Basement, Columbus, OH; 26—Mixtape Venue, Grand Rapids, MI; 28—The Firebird, St. Louis; 29—Record Bar, Kansas City;
July 3—El Corazon, Seattle; 4—Backstage Bar, Vancouver, BC; 6—Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco (band date); 7—Anthology, San Diego (band date); 8—Wasted Space at Hard Rock Hotel, Las Vegas (band date); 9—The Troubadour, Los Angeles, CA (band date); 17—XPoNential Music Festival, Wiggins Park, Camden, NJ (band date); and August 14—Mile High Festival, Denver. More U.S. dates will be announced shortly.
Visit www.myspace.com/musicbobbylong for the most up to date tour schedule.
