Todd Snider has released another early look at his upcoming album 'Live: Return Of The Storyteller' today, giving listeners a snapshot of how his shows kicked off after returning to the road last year. Fittingly for these topsy-turvy times, Snider was keen to start with "Big Finish" - the humorously self-aware acoustic blues number originally released on 2012's renowned 'Agnostic Hymns and Stoner Fables.' Before the set-opening "Big Finish" kicks off, we hear the exhilarated eruption of the Fall 2021 audience experiencing live music for the first time in a long time, as Snider beams and triumphantly proclaims "it's good to be back among ya!"
Listen to "Big Finish" here: https://toddsnider.net/bigfinish
Todd Snider says: "I wanted to put out a live album of a one man band show to remind the people who listen to me that I know I am a troubadour and folk singer. I am a glorified busker first and foremost and always. The reason I get to explore music in the studio is because I can play it alone on the road. It's like an unspoken agreement between myself and 'The Shithouse Choir.' I feel like we have a thirty year inside joke going. It seems like the only thing they are counting on me to do is whatever I want and I wanted to make this album for them. It starts with this song that on one level is directly to them. You can listen to this as the first song of a new show from an old singer to an audience he's lucked into for years through good gigs and bad, and he's back again explaining his side of it. He says 'it always seemed like the right thing at the time' just like being here now does...welcome to the show."
'Live: Return Of The Storyteller' comes September 23, Snider's successor-in-spirit to 2011's 'Live: The Storyteller,' which led the New Yorker to praise him for his "perfect timing, mastery of tiny details and sharply funny, lyrical songs." The new album features material spanning from his 1994 debut album Songs From The Daily Planet through last year's First Agnostic Church Of Hope And Wonder. Throughout, Snider uses much of his storytelling in between songs to pay homage to friends gone too soon including John Prine, Jerry Jeff Walker, Neal Casal and Colonel Bruce Hampton - but typical of his live shows, Snider's stage banter also veers into one-of-a-kind road tales like conversing with haunted ghost children in California, raising hell with the inventor of Crocs in Montana and misadventures in the woods behind Johnny Cash's house in Tennessee.
Snider will also be hitting the road this fall for his 'American Troubadour Tour,' highlighted by a Nashville album release show at the Ryman Auditorium on September 24 with Ramblin' Jack Elliott. A full list of dates is below.
'LIVE: RETURN OF THE STORYTELLER' TRACKLIST
01. Big Finish
02. [Col. Bruce Hampton Ret.]
03. Turn Me Loose
04. [East Nashville]
05. Play A Train Song
06. [Old Man Shakes Fist At Sky]
07. Too Soon To Tell
08. Like A Force Of Nature
09. [John Prine]
10. Handsome John
11. [Hard Luck Love Song]
12. Just Like Old Times
13. [Spreadneck Speedball]
14. Roman Candles
15. The Very Last Time
16. Sail On, My Friend
17. [Being Outdoors]
18. Ballad Of The Devil's Backbone Tavern
19. Alright Guy
20. [Free Bird]
21. [Sock Water]
22. Just Like Overnight
23. [Alan Greenspan]
24. In Between Jobs
25. [Where Will I Go]
26. Working On A Song
27. Opening Statement
TODD SNIDER 2022 'AMERICAN TROUBADOUR TOUR' DATES
September 7 - Harvester Performance Center - Rocky Mount, VA*
September 9 - Infinity Hall Norfolk - Norfolk, CT*
September 10 - Narrows Center for the Arts - Fall River, MA*
September 11 - Infinity Hall Hartford - Hartford, CT*
September 13 - Swyer Theatre at The Egg - Albany, NY*
September 15 - StageOne - Fairfield, CT*
September 16 - The Center for Arts in Natick - Natick, MA*
September 17 - Sellersville Theater - Sellersville, PA*
September 18 - The Queen - Wilmington, DE*
September 24 - Ryman Auditorium - Nashville, TN&
September 29 - Paramount Theatre - Denver, CO+%
October 1 - The Wilma - Missoula, MT+
October 2 - The ELM - Bozeman, MT+
October 3 - Egyptian Theatre - Boise, ID@
October 4 - Tower Theatre - Bend, OR@
October 6 - Revolution Hall - Portland, OR@
October 7 - Soreng Theater at Hult Center - Eugene, OR@
October 8 - Neptune Theatre - Seattle, WA@
October 9 - The Bing Crosby Theater - Spokane, WA@
October 12 - Arcata Theater Lounge - Arcata, CA@
October 13 - Raven Theatre - Healdsburg, CA@
October 14 - Great American Music Hall - San Francisco, CA@
October 16 - Rio Theatre - Santa Cruz, CA@
October 18 - The Fremont Theater - San Luis Obispo, CA@
October 19 - The Coach House - San Juan Capistrano, CA@
October 21 - Paradise Performing Arts Center - Paradise, CA~
October 22 - Bally’s Lake Tahoe Casino Resort - South Lake Tahoe, NV~
October 24 - The State Room - Salt Lake City, UT~
October 25 - The State Room - Salt Lake City, UT~
October 26 - Washington’s - Fort Collins, CO
October 28 - Knuckleheads - Kansas City, MO
October 29 - Scottish Rite Hall - Omaha, NE
October 30 - Wooly’s - Des Moines, IA
October 31 - Jamf Theatre - Eau Claire, WI
November 2 - The Englert Theatre - Iowa City, IA
November 3 - Park West - Chicago, IL
November 4 - Barrymore Theatre - Madison, WI
November 5 - The Intersection - Grand Rapids, MI
November 9 - Lincoln Theatre - Raleigh, NC!
November 10 - Stuart's Opera House - Nelsonville, Ohio!
November 11 - Roxian Theatre - Pittsburgh, PA!
November 12 - Holland Theatre - Bellefontaine, OH!
November 16 - Bijou Theatre - Knoxville, TN!
November 17 - The Castle Theatre - Bloomington, IL!
November 18 - Egyptian Room, Old National Centre - Indianapolis, IN!
November 19 - Sheldon Concert Hall - St. Louis, MO!
November 25 - Marigold Auditorium for Arts and Culture - Winterville, GA
November 26 - The Ramkat - Winston-Salem, NC
November 27 - Walhalla Performing Arts Center - Walhalla, SC
December 5 - Main Street Crossing - Tomball, TX
December 5 - Main Street Crossing - Tomball, TX
December 7 - Main Street Crossing - Tomball, TX
* with Lilly Winwood
& with Ramblin' Jack Elliott
+ with Nicki Bluhm
% with Lilly Hiatt
@ with Ryan Montbleau
~ with Ray Wylie Hubbard
! with Tommy Prine
