Thu Feb 25: Lewes, Con Club Fri 26: Salisbury, City Hall Sat 27: Birdport, Arts Centre Wed Mar 23: London, The Jazz Cafe Thu Apr 21: Birmingham, Hare & Hounds Fri 22: Bartin Upon Humber, The Ropery Sat 23: Bristol, The Fleece Thu May 12: Honiton, The Beehive Fri 13: Frome, Cheese and Graine Sat 14: Maidenhead, Nordern Farm Centre for the Arts
* with Luke Bryan and Dustin Lynch ** with Luke Bryan ***** with Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean and Eric Church Thu Feb 18, 2016: Evansville, Ford Center Fri 19: Peoria, Peoria Civic Center Arena * Sat 20: Cedar Falls. UNI Dome * Thu 25: Montreal, Bell Centre * Sat 27 – Sun 28: Canada, The Avalon Ballroom Theatre At Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort Niagara Falls Tue Mar 8: Las Cruces, Pan American Center * Thu Apr 7: Charleston, Charleston Civic Center Coliseum * Fri 8: Baltimore, Royal Farms Arena * Sat 9: Syracruse, Carrier Dome * Thu Apr 14: Toledo, The Huntington Center * Fri 15: Pennsylvania, Bryce Jordan Center * Sat 16: Charlottesville, John Paul Jones Arena * Thu 21: Missoula, MT Adams Center * Fri 22: Bozeman, Brick Breeden Fieldhouse * Fri 29: Concord, Concord Pavilion * San 30: Fresno, Save Mart Center ** Sun May 1: California, Stagecoach Festival Indio Thu 12: Omaha, CenturyLink Center ** Fri 13: Wichita, INTRUST Bank Arena ** Sat 14: Oklahoma, Chesapeake Energy Arena ** Thu 26: LA, LSU Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge Fri 27: Baton Rouge, Bayou Country Superfest *** Sun May 29: Florida, Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach Sat Jun 18: Wisconsin, Miller Park Milwaukee
Thu Feb 18: Ormskirk, The Arts Centre Wed 19: Barton Upon Humber, Ropery Hall Fri 26: South Petherton, The David Hall Sat 27: Havant, The Spring Arts & Heritage Mon 29: Nettlebed, The Village Club Fri Mar 4: Shaftesbury, Arts Centre Fri 11: Thames Ditton, Ram Club Sat 12: London, Blackheath Halls Fri 18: Nailsea, Tithe Barn Sat 19: Warrington, Parr Hall Sun 20 Bromsgrove: Artrix Thu 31: Omagh Strule, Arts Centre Fri Apr 1: Limavady Roe Valley, Arts & Cultural Centre Sat 2: Armagh, The Market Place Thu 7: Newbury, Arlington Arts Fri 8: Aberdare, Coliseum Theatre Sat 9: London, Arts Depot Fri 15 Fareham, Ashcroft Arts Centre Thu May 12: Bath, Arts Theatre in The Edge Fri 13: Kendal, Brewery Arts Centre Sat 14: Barnard Castle, The Witham Sun 15: Clitheroe, The Grand Sun Jun 5: Devizes, Devizes Festival Thu 9: Stony, Stratford Song Loft Wed 15: Goring, The Gap Festival
*with Andrew Combs Mon Feb 29: Stockholm, Cirkus * Tue Mar 1: Oslo, Parkteateret * Thu 3: Hamburg, Gruenspan * Sat 5: Munich, Tonhalle * Sun 6: Zurich, Kaufleuten * Tue 8: Amsterdam, Melkweg * Fri 11: Dublin, C2C Festival Sat 12: Glasgow, C2C Festival Sun 13: London, C2C Festival Sun 20: Kissimmee, Runaway Country Festival Sun Apr 10: Florence, Country Thunder Festival Sun 24: Frisco, Off The Rails Festival Fri 29: Indio, Stagecoach Festival Sat May 28: Baton Rouge, Bayou Country Superfest Sat Jun 11: North Lawrence, The Country Fest Sun 26: Dover, Big Barrel Festival Sat Jul 2: Lincoln, Dega Jam Festival Sat 9: Fort Loramie, Country Concert Sun 17: Saskatchewan, Craven Country Jamboree Craven Sun 24: Twin Lakes, Country Thunder Thu Aug 4: Detroit Lakes, WE Fest Fri Sep 2: Lexington, Red White & Boom Festival
Sat Apr 16: Antwerp, Lotto Arena Sun 17: Zurich, Hallenstadion Fri 22: Horsens, Forum Sun 24: Oslo, Spektrum Mon 25: Stockholm, Globe Arena Wed 27: Malmö, Arena Fri 29: Birmingham, Barclaycard Arena Sat 30: Manchester, Arena Sun May 1: London, O2
Sat Apr 2: Las Vegas Festival Grounds Fri 15: Florida, Tortuga Festival Thu 21: Dublin, Olympia Theatre Fri 22: London, Eventim Apollo Sat 23: Manchester, O2 Apollo Sun 24: Glasgow, Clyde Auditorium Sun May 29: LA, LSU Tiger Stadium Thu Jun 16: Wisconsin, Chippewa Valley Country Fest Fri 17: Minnesota, Moondance Jammin’ Country Fest Sat 18 – Sun 19: Ohio, Buckeye Country Superfest Thu 23: Kansas, Country Stampede Sat 25: Nebraska, Nebraskaland Days Sun Jul 31: Canada, Sunfest Country Festival Duncan Fri Aug 5: Canada, Boots and Hearts Music Festival
Sat Mar 26: York, The Basement Sun 27: Glasgow, The Palomino Mon 28: Manchester, The Castle Sat Apr 2: Leicester, Duffy’s Wed 6: Brighton, Green Door Store Thu 7: Bournemouth, Chaplin’s Fri 8: London, The Garage Sat 16: Colchester, Little Rabbit Barn
Review Date: November 7, 2015 Reviewed By: Liam Lynott Location: London, O2 The Dave Matthews Band might seem an odd choice to headline a blues festival, but that didn’t stop the boys from Charlottesville, Virginia from lighting up the O2 at this years’ Prudential BluesFest. From the opening middle-Eastern warble of Squirm, to the glorious encore rendition of The Space Between, humble introvert Dave Matthews and co are an unpredictable tour de force, lacing songs from the bands’ back catalogue with improvisational freedom. The greatest ten minute fiddle solo in the history of soft rock couldn’t stop drummer Carter Beauford from stealing the show for much of the set, though frontman Dave Matthews sang and played with an honesty and passion that captivated the O2, everyone singing along for crowd-pleaser, Satellite. The band played for two hours and 45 minutes of extended solos, intricate song-writing and masterful musicianship, delivered with a serious dose of funk. The night closed with a furious rendition of the song Two Step, Dave Matthews thanked the crowd for the twelfth time and the O2 slowly emptied, the crowd barely speaking as they contemplated what they’d just seen. There was a warmth in the O2, an atmosphere of togetherness brought on by the band and their music that stayed with those present long after the music stopped. Other highlights from the Saturday included European Blues guitarist of the year Lawrence Jones, a young guitar maestro who recently toured with Blues legend Buddy Guy. All youthful swagger and blistering lead guitar, Jones took to the stage like he was born there, tearing through his own songs and classics like Rory Gallagher’s Bullfrog Blues and All Along the Watchtower (featuring a reggae tinged Stairway To Heaven tribute). On the BB King stage, The Bluejays hammered out classic rock tunes like I Fought The Law, La Bamba and Eddie Cochrans’ Come On Everybody, and on the acoustic stage, singer-songwriter Verse Chorus Verse played his own brand of melodic guitar folk with tenderness. His cover of the Merle Travis classic Sixteen Tons was my favourite moment of the day, though Bernie Marsden singing Here I Go Again with his Blues Band was something that will stick with me for a long time (as was his cover of No Love In The Heart Of The City). All in all, my only regret of the weekend was missing out on Sundays’ lineup, which featured Canvey Island rockers Dr Feelgood, Van ‘The Man’ Morrison and Tom Jones, although there is a slight niggling feeling that for a blues festival, there was very little traditional blues on display. Photo: Christina Tsakiriou
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Review Date: 22 November, 2015 Reviewed By: Ian Horne Location: London, O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire Justin Davis and Sarah Zimmermann, otherwise known as Striking Matches, finished up their UK tour in November with a stellar set at the O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire. Utilising the acoustics and facilities of the venue, the duo were able to put on a show that serves as a strong marker for the progress they’re making, both in overseas popularity and as artists. It may well have been a Sunday night, but the looming prospect of Monday was lightened from the offset, with support act John & Jacob (John Davidson and Jacob Bryant) lighting up the stage as the warm-up act. This set, a generous half hour of material as slick as the red suits being worn, came close to meriting the entrance fee alone, and made it clear that the double act are ones to watch in 2016. And then, after a relatively lengthy pause, Striking Matches emerged, starting with energetic performances of Trouble Is As Trouble Does and Miss Me More, before launching into Hanging On A Lie. The rising stars hit every note sweetly and Davis’s guitar picking, in particular, was breathtaking. Zimmermann pointed out that he’s been steadily improving with every gig, and he’d surely saved the best till last. The gig turned out to be a gift that kept on giving, and the collaboration with John and Jacob for a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s Never Going Back Again was first rate. Sometimes people can get fussy when artists cover the songs of legendary acts, but surely nobody could complain having heard this version. Davis and Zimmermann then slowed things down for When The Right One Comes Along, their most popular song to date. With the obligatory mobile phone flashlight fiesta out of the way, they picked up the tempo again and appeared for the expected encore after finishing their main setlist with Make A Liar Out Of Me. All things considered, this was a gig that will have satisfied all newcomers, and indicates that the pairing could be set for some serious mainstream exposure. I’ve attended several of their shows over the past year and each has been better than the last. This one was such a tour de force that I can’t wait to see what they can do when they next visit the UK. Photo: Westney Photography
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