Bobby Long’s Long Spring

Things appear to be going Long’s way. In addition to finding U.S. audiences through his Dirty Pond Songs CD, which he recorded in his bedroom, Long built a sizeable fan base after a song he co-wrote with Marcus Foster – “Let Me Sign” – ended up on the “Twilight” movie soundtrack where it was sung by his good friend and star vampire Robert Pattinson.

Long has also made use of YouTube and MySpace, proving that artists can do it for themselves.

Long has compiled a collection of individual live performances from last year for a CD called Dangerous Summer Tour. Like Dirty Pond Songs, Long will be selling the CD at his upcoming shows. Tracks include new compositions such as “The Borough Mill,” “In The Frost,” “My Darling Bell” and “Girl From The Keys.”

Let’s talk about his dates. First of all, he’s scheduled to play World Cafe Live March 12-13. While the Saturday night show is a regular gig, the March 12 appearance is for Philadelphia public radio station WXPN’s Free@Noon broadcast.

Long also plays NYC’s Mercury Lounge March 15 and Dallas at Poor David’s Pub before heading to Austin and SXSW where he’ll play the Hilton Garden Inn Creekside as part of “The Bedford At SXSW” March 18 at 11 p.m.; the Bug Music show at the Continental Club March 19 at 2 p.m.; and the SXSW Second Play Stage at the Hilton Hotel Austin later that day at 7 p.m. Long’s last SXSW appearance is at the UHCU Headliner Stage March 21 at 1 p.m.

Long is also playing The Bamboozle on both coasts – Anaheim at Angel Stadium March 28 and New Jersey at Meadowlands Sports Complex May 1. In between the two Bamboozle appearances he’s scheduled to play Jammin’ Java in Vienna, Va., April 28.

Then he hooks up with Matt Pond PA for a series of shows beginning in Lancaster, Pa., at the Chameleon and continuing through May 25 when the tour lands at Baltimore’s Ottobar. Other stops include Lansing, Mich. (May 7), Milwaukee (May 10), Memphis (May 17) and Chapel Hill (May 22).

Long also has a Wikipedia page. Last week in a posting about Long’s initial SXSW appearance, we noted that the artist did not have a Wikipedia entry. We based that observation on the simple fact that when you search for “Bobby Long” on Wikipedia, the online, user-contributed encyclopedia returns with six choices, including two football players, a former MLB pitcher, a painter, a 2004 movie and a murderer, but no British singer.

However, as Long’s representative told us, one must search Wikipedia for “Bobby Long (musician).” Long’s Wikipedia entry includes an explanation that it is an “orphan” because “few or no other articles link to it,” which is probably why we couldn’t find it simply by typing “Bobby Long.” And yes, not being able to find the page last week was embarrassing. Especially since the page cites Pollstar as one of its sources. Live and learn.

For more information on Bobby Long, click here for his MySpace page, here for his YouTube channel and here for his Wikipedia entry. For more information on his WXPN Free@Noon March 12 appearance, click here for the radio station’s Web site.