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Bobby Long’s Been Thinking
Bobby Long locks in a few performance dates as the British singer/songwriter prepares for the release of his third album, made possible via a Pledge Music campaign. Destinations include Philadelphia, Louisville, New York City and Evanston, Ill.
There was a time when Long was recording songs in his bedroom, posting the recordings online and playing London clubs. Then one of his songs that he co-wrote with Marcus Foster – “Let Me Sign” – ended up in the soundtrack for the first “Twilight” movie where it was sung by film heartthrob Robert Pattinson. Suddenly his club gigs became very crowded.
“It was weird,” Long told Pollstar in 2010. Just before the [film’s] release I was doing a show in London and the sound check got announced. I had played this bar like 20 times.
“I went there and it was packed, about 150 people. And my friends were saying they had just been in the subway or sandwich store and they heard people talking about me. Then I started to panic because I hadn’t rehearsed and I thought I should have written new songs for the night. I felt myself getting stared at.
“After the show there was a queue to come meet me. It was really weird, confusing and uncomfortable.
“Then waking up one day and [seeing] 20 plays on MySpace go up to 2,500. And when I walked in [the club] the sound guy was like, “What the bloody hell happened? What’s changed?”
Photo: John Davisson
Austin City Limits Music Festival, Zilker Park, Austin, TX
Turns out a lot has changed since then. Having released A Winter Tale in 2011 and Wishbone in 2013, Long will soon deliver his third album, Ode To Thinking, recorded at the Congress House Studios in Austin, Texas, where he worked with producer/musician Mark Hallman (Carole King, Ani DiFranco).
“I’ve been cultivating these songs live for the last year,” Long said. “So when I came into the studio with them, I was ready to go.”
Ode To Thinking was made possible through a successful PledgeMusic campaign. When the album is released later this year, more than 750 pledging fans will receive downloads along with other items.
“The pledgers have followed every part of the process of making the record, and it will be truly exciting to finally deliver it to them.”
Meanwhile, Long has a few gigs coming up, including his first time appearing in Communion Music shows in Philadelphia, Louisville and Nashville. Here are the dates:
March 4 – Philadelphia, Pa., MilkBoy (Communion Music)
March 11 – Louisville, Ky., Zanzabar (Communion Music)
March 12 – Nashville, Tenn., Mercy Lounge (Communion Music)
March 14 – New York, N.Y., The Mercury Lounge
March 27 – Portsmouth, N.H., The Music Hall Loft
March 28 – Cambridge, Mass., Club Passim
April 1 – Evanston, Ill., SPACE
April 2 – Fort Atkinson, Wis., Cafe Carpe
Some shows are already on sale. Visit BobbyLong.info for everything you need to know.