Johnny Dowd brings "Family Picnic" to Europe in April
04-12-2018Thirty years on from his remarkable, indescribably dark and damn right startling Americana debut Wrong Side Of Memphis, Ithaca, NY, legend Johnny Dowd returns to the roots rock arena with Family Picnic, his new album set for release on March 1st through Mother Jinx Records.
Over the last thirty years, Dowd has been releasing records that defy trends, a unique catalogue of work that stands head and shoulders above many of his lauded contemporaries. Now in his seventieth year on God’s good earth, Dowd has lost none of the vigour, enthusiasm, and attitude that has seen him forge his position as one of America’s most inquisitive musical minds, a musical explorer who has charted expeditions to genre-defying destinations that, at their heart, question, challenge, and dissect in their own way notions of the American Dream. Family Picnic — once again featuring long-time cohorts Michael Edmondson and Kim Sherwood -Caso - is the first time Dowd has really looked backwards in all that time, instead of plunging forward into a sonic unknown with the playfulness of a child.
As Dowd says himself: “I had to dig pretty deep for this one. Not sure how many more tunes I have in me. Tick tock. This record took an unexpected turn to the past — my past. It’s kind of like Wrong Side of Memphis 30 years down the road. Surprisingly little has changed for me (emotionally, that is). I’m still drawn to the same themes — unrequited love, murder, general foolishness. Waltzes and shuffles and boom chuck beats abound. Ice cream chord changes. Plus Kim Sherwood -Caso - and Mike Edmondson. What’s not to like? An Americana classic, if I do say so myself.”
With Family Picnic Johnny Dowd will be touring Europe in April:
06/04: Rotterdam (NL) @ Koffie en Ambacht
08/04: London (UK) @ The 100 Club*
10/04: Durham (UK) @ Launderette Sessions*
11/04: Bristol (UK) @ The Thunderbolt*
12/04: Leek, Staffordshire (UK) @ Foxlowe Arts Centre*
13/04: Bovey Tracey (UK) @ The Dolphin
14/04: Nottingham (UK) @ Running Horse
15/04: Sheffield (UK) @ Greystones**
17/04: Lewes (UK) @ The Con Club
18/04: Liverpool (UK) @ 81 Renshaw
19/04: Gent (BE) @ Café Het IJle Land
20/04: Zeist (NL) @ De Peppel
21/04: Karlsruhe (DE) @ Kohi
22/04: Helmond (NL) @ Lokaal 42
*with Park Doing
** with Jerry Leger