Frank Turner hasn’t put out music in almost two years,
Click here to read the full article on SPIN.
but now he’s breaking that silence with a vengeance. Not only did he just release a brand new track, “The Gathering,” which features both Grammy-winning alt-country star Jason Isbell and Dominic Howard (the drummer of a little band called Muse), but the English folk-punk standout also launched both a limited edition beer and UK tour to go with it.
Of course, after spending most of the last year streaming live shows from his living room, the singer-songwriter wasn’t looking to be like everyone else and write a song about life in quarantine.
More from SPIN:
- Muse’s Matt Bellamy Gave Nandi Bushell a Guitar After Covering Them Twice
- Nandi Bushell Continues Hot Streak With Cover of Muse’s ‘Plug In Baby’
- Q-Tip, Questlove, Lenny Kravitz Remember Hank Aaron: ‘Thank You King for Your Strength!’
“[‘The Gathering’ is] about that moment when you come together in a room full of people, and you lean on a stranger and sing along with the chorus and get the words wrong,” Turner said in a statement.
Check out the new track below.
As for the upcoming UK tour, Turner and the Xtra Mile Records crew are throwing nine outdoor festival-like shows stretching from June until September. It may not be an easy feat to pull off, but as someone who points out that “this is the longest period of time [he’s] slept in the same bed continuously since [he] was seven,” it only makes sense for Turner to do the work himself to bring his show back on the road.
“At a time when the pandemic has wreaked havoc all across the live music industry, I feel like it’s important to get back to the basics – playing live music to entertain a crowd,” Turner said in regards to the show. “This summer, with Xtra Mile and friends, I’m taking the punk approach – do it yourself, find a way. I can’t wait.”
Full dates for the “Gathering” shows are below.
JUNE
19 – Bideford, The Big Sheep *
20 – Bideford, The Big Sheep *
26 – Frome, Cheese & Grain *
27 – Frome, Cheese & Grain *
JULY
08 – Liverpool Top Rope Brewery * – competition winners only
17 – Gloucester Llanthony Secunda Priory*
18 – Gloucester Llanthony Secunda Priory*
AUGUST
21 – Manchester Urmston Sports Club (full band show)
SEPTEMBER
03 – Hull, Zebedees Yard *
* duo shows with Matt Nasir
To see our running list of the top 100 greatest guitarists of all time, click here.
