Christopher Paul Stelling's "Labor Against Waste", European tour starting NEXT WEEK
04-06-2015Singer-songwriter and musician Christopher Paul Stelling doesn’t need a backing band to convey power or intensity. There is a fearsome honesty to his music that matches the loudest electrified performances. A young man living the life of an old-school troubadour, Stelling has spent the last years on the road playing over 400 shows in just the last three years - and he plans to keep going. Stelling's European tour starts in Amsterdam next Wednesday, scroll down to find all dates!
You can see it in his new video premiering at Acoustic Guitar magazine. The song “Dear Beast” is from his forthcoming album "Labor Against Waste" out this month through ANTI- Records. Stelling stands in an abandoned Brooklyn warehouse he describes as a “church from the underworld” with just his worn guitar and a microphone. He performs live as a hand held camera gradually moves closer. The imagery conveys a fearlessness and unflinching sense of self, a command of craft earned from hundred of solo performances to everything from raucous crowds to lonely bars.
The song offers a moving examination of personal faith lost and then redefined. As Stelling explains, “It’s about turning the mirror back on itself. It’s about excepting our flaws completely, and moving on from there with them in our full embrace. It’s about taking responsibility and caring for the beast that lives in all of us and for the metaphysical beasts that we’ve created because of our inherent need to feel watched over and protected... Mostly it's a lullaby.”
Beyond the artful songwriting and timeless voice, Stelling’s virtuosic guitar playing can leave one in awe. Wandering from place to place, he says he would practice for up to ten hours, perfecting a melodic finger-picking style influenced by blues legends such as Skip James and Mississippi John Hurt, masters like John Fahey, and banjo greats Dock Boggs and Roscoe Holcomb. But when you combine it all, the sound and stories, you end up with something both timeless and new. It’s a music that reflects a new generation, the art of the unsettled, the passionate, brave and still searching.
TOURDATES:
10-06-2015: Amsterdam (NL) @ Paradiso with Joe Pug
11-06-2015: Middelburg (NL) @ Het Hof
12-06-2015: Asten (NL) @ In de Gloria
13-06-2015: Utrecht (NL) @ Molenerf de Ster (icw Ekko)
14-06-2015: Oostende (BE) @ De Zwerver
15-06-2015: Brussels (BE) @ House Concert
17-06-2015: Madrid (ESP) @ Boite Live with Steve Gunn
18-06-2015: Zaragoza (ESP) @ La Ley Seca
19-06-2015: Bilbao (ESP) @ Kafe Antzokia with Ron Sexsmith
22-06-2015: Tourcoing (FR) @ House Show
23-06-2015: Nottingham (UK) @ Guitar Bar
24-06-2015: Cardiff (UK) @ The Moon Club
25-06-2015: London (UK) @ The Garage (upstairs)
26-06-2015: Duisburg (DE) @ Grammatikoff
27-06-2015: Rotterdam (NL) @ Pijnackerplein Bluegrass Festival
28-06-2015: Witten (DE) @ Knuts
29-06-2015: Cologne (DE) @ Stereo Wonderland
30-06-2015: Essen (DE) @ Banditen Wie Wir
01-07-2015: Leipzig (DE) @ Waermehalle Sued
02-07-2015: Jablonec nad Nisou (CZ) @ Eurocentrum
03-07-2015: Hamburg (DE) @ Cafe Brooks
04-07-2015: Berlin (DE) @ Prachtwerk
05-07-2015: Munich (DE) @ Backstage (outdoor)
07-07-2015: Milano (IT) @ Unaltrofestival
08-07-2015: Bologna (IT) @ Botanique
09-07-2015: Rome (IT) @ Monk
12-07-2015: Olten (CH) @ Variobar
13-07-2015: Winterthur (CH) @ Andres Backyard
14-07-2015: Basel (CH) @ Hinterhof
15-07-2015: Zurich (CH) @ Bar Rossi
16-07-2015: Treichli (CH) @ Unterwiehnacht
17-07-2015: Pontresina (CH) @ Sporthotel Lounge Bar
18-07-2015: Zurich (CH) @ Fork & Bottle
19-07-2015: Lucerne (CH) @ Blueballs Festival