Tales from the Rails – Champaign, Confetti and the last day of May

I’m on the train to Cromford, via Derby. Tonight I’m playing an adventure gig, meaning I have no idea what to expect, even less so than usual, at a venue called The Boat’s Inn. It’s the last day of May, which has been a rather special month in my books. I’ve just finished my debut record release tour, although admittedly it doesn’t really feel like it seeing as I’m back on the rails “heading to another joint”, as Bob Dylan once said.

As part of the record release tour I got to visit Amsterdam for the first time. The gig was at a venue called ‘Skek, a twee student hangout with a little stage & piano tucked away in the corner. My experience went something like this: rolling suitcases, canals, narrow stairways, music, peepshow, moustache-see-saw, sunshine, smallest coffee in the world, old friends, new friends, duck, The Kinks, Bicycle, tulips, hash, bed, train to Cologne.

I don’t often allow myself a taxi ride, but I didn’t have much time left as I arrived at Cologne station, so I flagged down a cab to take me to the venue. The taxi driver spent the 10-minute journey telling me that it surely must be tough to have relationships as a travelling musician and then proceeded to tell me that the last true great artist was Michael Jackson. Needless to say, we weren’t exactly two pees in a pod, which cannot be said for myself and Michael and Michael, the two chaps running Café Lichtung. They were excellent hosts and the entire gig was really enjoyable. The venue was packed full of attentive and fun people – a really special night, especially considering it was my first ever gig in Cologne. I also made a new furry friend:

On the five hour train ride from Cologne to Berlin, all my batteries had died, mine, those in my phone and in my laptop. I was so tired and would have surely slept the entire ride had it not been for the very loud French couple sat right behind me. I would have changed seats, but Germans are funny when it comes to seat reservations… it wasn’t worth the hassle. So five demi-sleep hours later I arrived at Berlin Hauptbahnhof with only a couple of hours to spare before sound check at the Grüne Salon for the Berlin record release gig. I can’t tell you how great it was to play to a full room full of new and familiar faces. Thank you so very much for coming along and for making it such a fun party. Special thank you for the sparkles and Champagne – I have the best friends in the world. In true Berlin fashion, Raphael (my Cello player) and I made it home at around 9am in the morning after a well-deserved celebration.

So here we are! I’m really looking forward to playing some Festivals this summer and also to seeing how this living-room tour unfolds. If you’d like me to come play in your living room, just get in touch! If you haven’t got your copy already, you can buy my album “The Real Thing” digitally from itunes or a physical copy + lyric booklet from here.

Here’s sending you lots of sunshine vibes and hope to see you all again soon! Love,
Roxanne