European Tour in Feb
Hello love,
I am awake in a house of sleeping. It is late in Vancouver, but it’s morning in Europe. Europe is where I am headed soon, and Europe is where I still have tickets to sell. They have weird breakfast meats there.
If I’m honest, I loathe promoting myself. My musician friends tell me I’m good at it, and I squirm. As though I have become overly bonded with my captor. Do I have Social Media Stockholm Syndrome?
Before my wife slipped off to bed, we watched the second segment of the new Arnold Schwarzenegger docu-series. In it, he mocks sensitive actors who complain when forced to go out and promote the movies they have made. I felt attacked and inspired.
I have made some peace with the idea that music is only half of this job, and that the other half is to manufacture visibility. And I understand how deeply fortunate and lucky I am to have stumbled into this life.
I worked like hell to score support opportunities with The Lumineers last year in Berlin, Warsaw, Prague, Stockholm and Copenhagen. It was an incredible experience. An education of sorts. I returned home victorious - feeling that I’d left a lasting footprint and that their wonderful fans would surely remember me. I couldn’t wait to return to those cities as a headliner.
We announced this European tour on October 10th - the very same week that a relentless display of shock, horror, unimaginable pain and struggle took hold of the worldwide news cycle. It has not let up.
How useless my tour felt when contrasted against the suffering. How pathetic. How meagre. How privileged. Even in more peaceful times, I wrestle with the complexities of promoting my music amidst the pain in the world. Even this email feels a bit tone deaf.
But I will go. Will people come to the shows? I don’t know. I’ve been at it for a long time and to be honest, I wish this was easier. I see younger musicians go viral. I do not want to be them, but I do wonder what they know that I do not know.
There are moments in my life that do feel easy. When I’m in the flow of writing or recording, or when a show is going particularly well and I forget that I exist for one-hundred-or-so minutes.
Or when I’m cuddling with my kids. I’m very good at it. I love people easily and it helps me.
I want goosebumps as many times as possible before I die. With increasing efficacy, it appears that they arrive most dependably in the pursuit of creating them for other people. I suppose that’s just a metaphor for life. That giving fosters purpose, and purpose fosters contentment.
If you live in one of the cities below, I hope you’ll join me. I will take requests and tell stories. I will be holding a guitar. And Lily Lyons will be supporting.
Thank you for your eyes and your ears.
x
Dan
SHOWS ON SALE
Feb 22. Graz, AT - Orpheum ^
Feb 24. Prague, CZ - Café v Lese ^
Feb 25. Warsaw, PL - Hydrozagadka ^
Feb 26. Berlin, DE - Frannz Club ^
Feb 28. Copenhagen, DK - Hotel Cecil ^
Mar 1. Stockholm, SE - Nalen Klubb ^
Mar 3. Hamburg, DE - Nachtasyl ^
Mar 4. Amsterdam, NL - Paradiso ^
Mar 5. Antwerp, BE - Trix ^
Mar 6. London, UK - Omeara ^
^ = with support from Lily Lyons
"How useless my tour felt when contrasted against the suffering."
The darkest of times are when illumination is most required.
Be that, and shine.
Dan,
It's not a tangible thing, but please don't underestimate how inspirational you and your music are to others.
It doesn't pay your bills but I just wanted you to know.
I'm in the UK and I've seen a few of your gigs in Brighton, and I buy your music, so in some small way I hope I'm helping on the business side.
You've inspired me to make and release my own music, it's been hard but you helped show the way. A way that retains artistic integrity with a need to make a living. No compromise on your art, that's what I find really inspiring.
Anyway, see you in London in March.