Ian McFeron to play first UK/Ireland tour
aaamusic | On 07, Oct 2011
IAN McFERON accompanied by Alisa Milner
UK & Ireland Duo Tour · October-November 2011
Following an extensive three month tour of the United States, Ian McFeron will celebrate the release of his sixth studio album, Summer Nights with a month-long debut tour of the UK and Ireland during October and November, accompanied by Alisa Milner.
Summer Nights was produced by Patty Griffin’s long-time guitarist and musical collaborator Doug Lancio and features musical performances by Lancio as well as Ryan Adams and the Cardinals’ drummer Brad Pemberton, Ryan Adams’ former bassist Billy Mercer, keyboardist Micah Hulscher, and McFeron’s longstanding band mate Alisa Milner on fiddle and cello.
As an independent artist who books his own tours, finances his own album projects, and functions as his own management and record label, working with Doug Lancio in Nashville was an incredible opportunity. “Both Patty Griffin and Ryan Adams are two of my favorite contemporary songwriters and it was an honor to make music with members of their bands.” McFeron says. “By the end of the project, I felt like this sense of camaraderie and friendship had developed in the group and you can hear it in the music. We’re all very pleased with how the record turned out.”
The album features new musicians and explores new genres such as gospel, soul, early jazz and swing, but stays true to McFeron’s signature sound, with touches on folk, pop, alt-country and blues.
Chronicling a summer of insomniatic wandering, Summer Nights follows a restless individual through a world of fevered dreams, ghostly visions, and late-night ramblings through the shadowy side streets of Belfast, Cape Town, and Seattle. Initially an attempt to invoke the spirits of people and places lost to the past, the final message of the album is one of acceptance. “I feel like the chorus of the twelfth song, ‘Windchime’ represents where I ended up emotionally with this writing project. “It’s too late to turn back now / There’s nowhere left to go / It used to keep me lying awake / But right now I feel safe.” It took me a long time to feel that way.”
Bio
A prolific songwriter whose lyrical prose has drawn comparisons to Bob Dylan, Ryan Adams and David Gray, Ian McFeron broke into the Seattle music scene after his self-produced debut album Don’t Look Back (2003) was discovered by Seattle radio station, The Mountain. An independent and virtually unknown local artist at the time, McFeron’s poetic lyrics and tightly composed songs inspired the influential station to put the album’s first single, ‘Love Me Twice’, into rotation. Listeners responded strongly, and within months, McFeron and his newly formed band would share the spotlight with international and national artists such as Brandi Carlile, Patty Griffin, Nanci Griffith, Shawn Mullins, Amos Lee and Hayes Carll.
A compulsive tunesmith and writer since childhood, McFeron has continued to release a steady stream of albums since his debut. His blues-rock sophomore release, A Long Way To Freedom (2005), was followed by the rock-Americana record Fistfight With Father Time (2006), the rootsy-pop anthem Let It Ride (2007), and introspective folk-narrative Love Me Blue (2009).
Still a fully independent artist and self-functioning record label, McFeron has dedicated himself to building audiences the old fashioned way: on the road. Travelling the nation from city to city, state to state, and now internationally, McFeron performed more than 200 shows in 2010, inspiring listeners with his beautifully crafted songs and honest narratives. On stage, McFeron (vocals, guitars, piano) is joined by long-time musical collaborator Alisa Milner, a Texas-style fiddler, cellist, and harmony vocalist. Weaving together a variety of roots-American genres, threaded with contemporary rhythms and melodies, McFeron has created a unique form of singer-songwriter music that ranges from driving polyrhythmic rock to gospel-infused spirituals, from playful lyrical narratives to haunting, soulful ballads.
Press
“’Summer Nights’ is a strong, introspective collection of troubadour verse and McFeron is a man with impeccable musical values.” Americana-UK
“Strong songs, beautifully played and beautifully produced, what more could we want from our troubadours?” FlyinShoes Review
“’Summer Nights’ is real delight of an album, full of carefully crafted songs, weighty lyrics and a great ‘live in the studio’ band feel and is surely one of the most impressive independent releases of the year. Americana never sounded so good.” Get Ready To Rock
“A restless American road trip set to haunting melodies.” Maverick
“…perfect listening accompaniment to a balmy night under the stars musing on where the road leads in the morning.” NetRhythms
Ian McFeron · UK & Ireland Tour · October-November 2011
OCTOBER
Sun 9 London Come Down and Meet The Folks @ The Apple Tree with The Dreaming Spires
Clerkenwell 020 7837 2365 / www.comedownandmeetthefolks.co.uk Free, 4pm
Weds 12 London The Bedford
Balham 0208 682 8940 / www.thebedford.com Free, 8pm
Thurs 13 Bath Chapel Arts Centre
01225 461700 / www.chapelarts.org £8, 7.30pm
Fri 14 Robin Hood’s Bay Robin Hood’s Bay Folk Club at Ye Dolphin Inn
Nr. Whitby 0871 917 0007 / www.bayfair.co.uk/folkclub.html Free, 8.30pm
Sat 15 Gateshead The Central Bar
0191 478 2543 / www.theheadofsteam.co.uk/gateshead £6, 8.30pm
Sun 16 Rothesay The Victoria Hotel
Isle Of Bute 01700 500 016 / www.victoriahotelbute.com £4, 7pm
Tues 18 Leith Leith Folk Club at The Village with Ivan Drever
07502 024852 / www.leithfolkclub.com £6, 8pm
Weds 19 Edinburgh Edinburgh Folk Club, Pleasance Cabaret Bar with Dan MacKinnon
0131 556 6550 / www.edinburghfolkclub.co.uk £8, 8pm
Thurs 20 Harwich The Electric Palace
Essex 01255 553 333 / www.electricpalace.com £6, 8pm
Fri 21 Brighton The Lord Nelson Inn
01273 695 872 / www.thelordnelsoninn.co.uk Free, 8pm
Sat 22 Torquay The Blue Walnut Café
01803 394113 / www.bluewalnutcafe.com £8, 7.30pm
Sun 23 London The Luxe
Spitalfields 07886 412248 / www.theluxe.co.uk Free, 6pm
Weds 26 Coventry Taylor John’s House
024 7655 9958 / www.thetinangel.co.uk £1, 8pm
Thurs 27 Alfriston The Sussex Ox
East Sussex 01323 870840 / www.thesussexox.co.uk Free, 7.30pm
Fri 28 Southampton The Platform Tavern
023 8033 7232 / www.platformtavern.com Free, 9pm
Sat 29 Newport Gathered In Song @ Le Pub
Gwent 01633 221 477 / www.gatheredinsong.com / www.lepub.co.uk Free, 8pm
NOVEMBER
Sat 5 Castlerock Crusoes Coffee Shop
N. Ireland 028 7084 9618 / www.crusoescoffeeshop.co.uk TBC, TBC
Sun 6 Belfast Tom McGurran’s Bar at The Errigle Inn
028 9064 1410 / www.errigle.com Free, 8pm
Tues 8 Portstewart Shenanigans
028 7083 6000 / www.shenanigansportstewart.com Free, 8pm
Weds 9 Galway Róisín Dubh
091 586 540 / http://roisindubh.net Free, 9pm
Thurs 10 Dublin The Odessa Club
353 (0) 1 6703080 / www.odessaclub.ie €12, 8.30pm
Further Irish dates will be announced shortly
