10/26/2011 – Grass Valley, CA
We just recently arrived home from The 2011 Revival Tour held overseas. This year we crossed the borders of Ireland, England, Scotland, Austria, Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands and Switzerland. We hammered out 19 gigs in 21 days, sold out half of them, packed out the rest and made it home alive and well. Haggard but well. I have to say that each and every year we’ve been able to bring this special tour, it’s becoming more and more inspiring and special each and every year. This year we saw the likes of Brian Fallon, Dan Andriano, Dave Hause, Jon Gaunt, Joe Ginsberg, Ian Perkins w/Brian performing Horrible Crows acoustically, special guest appearances from some of the UK’s up and coming underground artists such as Helen Chambers, Sam Russo and Jimmy Islip, Dublin’s own Brian Brody, a magnificent and inspiring Franz Nicolay who dropped by in Switzerland, plenty of crowd participation along with a few endearing appearances (and performances) from a few special kids from 5yrs old to 10yrs old!
We can’t thank everyone enough for coming out and supporting this tour and what it’s all about. Our hats off to all of the show-goers, supporters, Lee Jeans, our friends and promoters, the refugee children and caregivers at Refugio, Mirko, Thomas Dreux, Side One, Andy our driver, Jill Ragan, Chris Trovero and The Revival Camp, The Agency Group and the whole crew and crews who kept the show running when we were running on empty! We’ll certainly work hard and look forward to the next time around!
Folks have always asked why this tour is called The Revival Tour. Simply put, this music and the way that it’s shared has re-established my faith in the camaraderie of music, touring, writing and the reasons and importance of sharing music with the world by way of connecting with the people who care about it. Not to mention the challenge of learning a ton of songs within a week and performing them in front of a live audience! This is The Revival Tour and I’m revived and happy to say that it’s made an impact on my life and lives around me. Let’s aim to keep it steady for quite some time! Till the next time my friends, fare thee well!
Chuck Ragan
