Andrew Combs confirms Europe tour; including mainland dates with Esther Rose

Dream Pictures - Andrew Combs' new album - was written for the quiet hours that bring each day to a close. At night, after putting his children to bed, he would go into his garage to write, play his guitar, paint, and escape the world for a while. It was during those stretches of solitude at the end of the day when Combs penned the 12 songs that would become Dream Pictures. 

Combs co-produced the record with drummer Dom Billett. The two musicians began touring together in 2017, and their friendship is almost audible throughout the record. With the exception of instrumentalist Spencer Cullum, who contributed to pedal steel, Dream Pictures was entirely recorded and performed by Combs and Billett. The two embraced all the imperfections that came with the homemade tracking process, balancing the rawness of recording with the finesse of Combs' songwriting. They even captured Combs' vocals with a series of live-in-the-studio performances, resisting the temptation to edit different takes together for a more polished product.

"This record is about contentment: being at ease with who I am and where I am at in my life and career," explains Combs. "It’s me sitting back at the end of each day and finding something that is inspiring, and embellishing on it. I don’t think many of these songs could’ve come if I was in turmoil. I think that dovetails with the album title, because being at ease with who I am lets my imagination run wild and gives me the ability to dream."

Everything clicks on Safe to Run, the fourth album from singer, songwriter and perpetual searcher Esther Rose. It’s the quiet culmination of years spent fully immersed in a developing artistry, and presents Rose’s always vividly detailed emotional scenes with new levels of clarity and control. As with previous work, her songwriting transfigures the chaos and uncertainty of a life in progress, but here she introduces a newfound pop element that attaches unshakably catchy hooks to even the darkest stretches of the journey.

After spending her formative years in Michigan, Rose relocated to New Orleans and got her start in music there while awash in the unparalleled energy of the city’s scene. Over the course of her first three records, an infatuation with traditional country gradually evolved into a more distinctive style and increasingly personal material. Rose’s music traced her changes as she moved through stages, studios, and home addresses, and she eventually left NOLA for New Mexico where the two year writing process for Safe to Run unfolded. Making the transition to this new environment after spending the better part of a decade building a life somewhere else demanded looking around and taking stock. All the heaviness, sweetness, levity, and self-discovery that had led up to that point began funneling into new songs that moved slower in order to dig deeper, taking on the intricate hues of a desert horizon as they came together.

These new advancements become twinkles of light in the background as they fold into the big picture impact of the songs themselves. With grace, subtlety, and a knowing grin, Esther Rose translates her world into eleven curious and captivating scenes. While the songs are stunning one by one, absorbing Safe to Run as a whole feels like witnessing something taking shape, experiencing the headspins of the elevation and the slow return to equilibrium as the clouds start clearing. It’s the sound of a singular voice reaching its purest form, finally emerging.

Andrew Combs and Esther Rose join forces on mainland dates, announced today.

30/04: Birmingham, UK - Kitchen Garden Café
01/05: Nottingham, UK - Chapel @ The Angel Microbrewery
02/05: London, UK - Dingwalls 2
03/05: Bristol, UK - The Lantern
04/05: Kilkenny, IRL - Kilkenny Roots Festival
05/05: Kilkenny, IRL - Kilkenny Roots Festival
07/05: Den Haag, NL - Paard º
08/05: Groningen, NL - Lutherse Kerk º
09/05: Amen, NL - Cultureel Café de Amer º
10/05: Breda, NL - Mezz º
11/05: Utrecht, NL - TivoliVredenburg º
13/05: Kristiansand, NO - Vaktbua º
14/05: Oslo, NO - Kampen Bistro º
15/05: Trondheim, NO - Bar Moskus º
16/05: Östersund, SWE - Jazzköket º
17/05: Stockholm, SWE - Nalen Klubb

º w/ Esther Rose