Off Kultur

#56 – Folk Road Show

Once upon a time live roadshows were a staple of the music industry with the likes of Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, and Buddy Holly setting out on the road together to fill up community halls across North America.

For years, friends Olaf Caarls (Long Conversations) and Benjamin James Caldwell (Broken Down Suitcase) fantasized of reviving this concept with each act performing a handful of songs before banding together for a grand finale, offering a diverse and exciting show to each audience.

Finally the stars aligned with the interest and subsequent addition of Canadian folk pop artist Dominique Fricot and the brilliant up-and-coming Dutch songwriter Pieter Van Vliet (Port of Call).

With all on board they set out on a rigorous tour in the fall of 2014 playing a head-spinning 30 shows across 7 European countries in little over a month. Moving as they did from street corner to theater, from bar to living room, the four gentlemen of the Folk Road Show mastered the art of transforming any location into an intimate venue.

“Too often modern artists get caught up in the competition of “making it” and forget about the joy and inspiration of playing music together” explains Caldwell. “This is the focus of the Road Show, to bring an old time approach to new music”.

Despite having never been in the same room until one hour before their first show, Caldwell, Van Vliet, Caarls and Fricot immediately started collaborating on each other’s songs, joining in for backing vocals or extra instrumental parts. The result is a mesmerizing show, what Ben Wysocki of the Grammy nominated and Billboard Chart topping band “The Fray” described as “The closest you’ll get to seeing Crosby Stills Nash and Young in the comfort of your living room”.

After these European adventures, the members of the Folk Road Show have their sights on Canada playing an equally rigorous string of shows and festivals in the summer of 2015, before returning to Europe new album in-tow to repeat 2014’s good times, only this time bigger and better.