New York – For those of us experiencing below-freezing temperatures for much of this winter, what gets us through these cold weather months are the dates we’re marking on the calendar for the vast and diverse number of acts that are touring this winter.
Helping us get from January to February to spring break in March are dozens of tours from worthy new bands like Jacco Gardner, Sam Smith, Imagine Dragons, Houndmouth, etc. It was hard to whittle that list down to a manageable few to focus on; we’ve chosen six for this winter tour preview.
Jake Bugg (shown above) begins a three-week North American club tour this month to promote his second album for Mercury, Shangri La. Still a teenager—he turns 20 next month—the British rocker with a country twang will then do a half dozen UK dates in February before getting his passport stamped around the world. Bugg will perform at Lollapalooza South America this spring in Chile, Argentina and Brazil, followed by April dates in New Zealand, Australia and Japan. Our staff loved his self-titled debut, naming it one of our Newbie Award nominees for 2013’s Best New Album. (Bugg was also nominated for our Best New Male Artist award.)
Island Def Jam digital marketing exec, Jazmine Valencia, noted: “We are very excited about having Jake play in the states again! Every time he plays we see how much his fan base is growing and we would love to continue to see his awareness among the public grow even further.”
Right around the New Year, we did a preview of the forthcoming album from The War On Drugs. The Philadelphia-based folk-rockers will release Lost In A Dream on Secretly Canadian March 18. Until then, fans will have to make due with first single “Red Eyes,” which our reviewer described as a “sonic landscape.” TWOD enthusiasts can also see them on their month-long US tour, beginning March 18, where they’ll be playing clubs like LA’s Troubadour, Philadelphia’s Union Transfer and Portland’s Wonder Ballroom. Co-founder/vocalist-guitarist Adam Granduciel, a self-professed perfectionist, spent eight months with bandmates Dave Hartley and Robbie Bennett on the LP.
On the opening night of their extensive 2014 club tour that takes them throughout the US sandwiched around a two-week European leg, the members of indie rock band, Speedy Ortiz, took the time to tell BestNewBands.com what they found out about themselves while on the road in 2013. Drummer Mike Falcone and bassist Darl Ferm were in agreement that they “all love puppies,” to which singer/guitarist Sadie Dupuis added: “The more dogs, the better.” The Northampton, Mass.-based band’s guitarist Matt Robidoux played straight man to his more whimsical colleagues:
“It feels like we were a baby band at the beginning of 2013, or at least more of one. Maybe we were like a 7- or 8-year-old in human years and we’re pre-adolescent now. We reinforced a lot of the connections we made in our infancy, played favorite cities (Kalamazoo, Richmond) and toured with musical heroes The Breeders and Chelsea LightMoving. We met Hayden K. I think we’re better at touring now. We buy granola bars in advance and I’m still not allowed to drive. We’re thankful for all the people that continue to show up at shows and make it possible for us to do this for work. 2013 was off the ‘chaiyne’. To all the puppies in 2014.”
The band will release a new ep, Real Hair, February 11 on Carpark.
The most important date on Lorde’s calendar is January 26 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, where she’ll be performing at the 56th annual Grammy Awards show, while also vying for four awards, including two of the biggest: Record of the Year and Song of the Year (for her hit, “Royals”). Last month, BestNewBands.com named her our Newbie Award winner for 2013’s Best New Female Artist.
The 17-year-old from New Zealand is returning to North America on March 4 for a major market tour that includes three dates at New York’s legendary (and soon-to-be-closed) Roseland Ballroom. As Billboard pointed out, the singer’s last NYC gig was at a 700-capacity club last August. That’s what having the #1 pop single for nine weeks will do for you.
Glasgow, Scotland-based Chvrches only met in 2011. Their debut album, The Bones Of What You Believe, was released in September and their synth pop sounds have been generating plenty of buzz worldwide, including BestNewBands.com: we named the trio 2013’s Best New Band (amid some strong competition.
Audiences worldwide will soon get to enjoy the group’s infectious songs (“The Mother We Share,” “Lies”) in-person. Chvrches begin an international tour on January 25 that’ll take them to the Far East, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, England, and Europe. On April 21, they’ll do a brief US visit, before commencing festival dates.
Los Angeles’ Local Natives have been on a steady rise for several years and 2014 might be the year that they truly break out. The indie rockers have long been fixtures on the festival circuit—we raved about their Lollapalooza performance last summer—but this year, they’ve scored the coveted opening slot on Kings of Leon’s US arena tour from March 19 – April 11, at which point they continue on the road, headlining their own tour including several dates with soul singer Moses Sumney.
Our former Featured Artist haven’t announced a follow-up to last year’s successful Hummingbird album (Frenchkiss/Infectious Music). Hopefully, it won’t be the same 3+ year wait that followed their 2009 debut.
