Jonny Fritz featuring Joshua Hedley to tour Europe on 'Sweet Creep'
10-01-2017With his thrift-shop wardrobe and unkempt hair, Jonny Fritz may look like the perfect specimen of the irony-first hipster, but the songs on his new fourth full-length are nothing if not sincere. And therein likes the sweetness of Sweet Creep, a collection of imagery-rich songs about resorts for dogs ("Chihuahua Rescue"), derelict Nashville motels ("Stadium Inn") and Fritz's penchant for skedaddling ("I Love Leaving"). For Fritz, his observational lyrics aren't gags – they're his way of making sense of an increasingly overstimulated America, where the mundane beauty of everyday life has been replaced by viral videos and memes.
Sweet Creep includes the lyricism of prior release Dad Country with an added air of hopefulness. Jonny throws himself into the new album by stripping things down to the essentials. He gathered Nashville’s Joshua Hedley and Dawes’ Taylor and Griffin Goldsmith and recorded the whole album in three days. The fresh air, freedom from studio pressures, and strong cups of tea all mix into the music, with ATVs briefly heard in the background and two senior tortoises listening at Hedley’s feet as he fiddles away.
Born in Montana and raised in Esmont, Virginia Jonny has passed weeks in nearly every city in the United States, and plenty others overseas, cramming ten lives into one. Despite the vitalism and exploits he’s gained a name for, most of his music comes from the smaller moments. He takes a little piece of life, unnoticed by most, then steeps it in song until it’s ready for vinyl. In contrast to the heartsick Dad Country, the songs of Sweet Creep are, if not always brimming, at least fully accepting of his fortunes.
Jonny is a torchbearer in that celebrated country music tradition of giant-sized personalities overflowing into song. John Hartford, Roger Miller, Billy Joe Shaver – fans look to these country musicians for more than just music. They look for life, for outrageous legend, for a showmanship on and off stage that Jonny Fritz will never fail to deliver. He might not have shot anybody, or spent any considerable time in prison, but on Sweet Creep, he reminds himself and his fans, that sometimes great lives can also be pretty good ones. We're excited to share the first bunch of European tourdates today. Jonny Fritz will take out Joshua Hedley on this tour too. According to Rolling Stone, Hedley is "a nuanced, heart-tugging fiddle ace – he was playing in bars before age 11 – Hedley has been the go-to sideman for Justin Townes Earle and Jonny Fritz. And his voice – he guests on the new track "Shadows" by Southern rapper Yelawolf – is just as striking, a warm, smooth baritone that's nonetheless capable of hitting honky-tonk highs."
TOURDATES:
22-MRT: Glasgow (UK) @ O2 ABC2 Glasgow
24-MRT: Bristol (UK) @ The Exchange
26-MRT: London (UK) @ The Moth Club
28-MRT: Krefeld (DE) @ Kulturrampe
29-MRT: Amsterdam (NL) @ Paradiso
30-MRT: Utrecht (NL) @ Molen de Ster presented by Ekko
31-MRT: Rotterdam (NL) @ V11 presented by Rotown
04-APR: Gothenburg (SWE) @ Pustervik
05-APR: Orebro (SWE) @ East West
06-ARP: Oslo (NO) @ Buckleys
07-APR: Malmö (SWE) @ Folk å Rock
08-APR: Borlänge (SWE) @ Broken Dream
09-APR: Stockholm (SWE) @ Southside Bar