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Singer/songwriters join in on the Various & Sundry Tour
Fans in West Coast cities can look forward to an acoustic treat in June when Southern California-based singers/songwriters Glen Phillips , Grant-Lee Phillips , The Watkins Family and Luke Bella go out together on The Various & Sundry Tour.
Each performer will play an all-acoustic batch of songs from their various album catalogs during the trek, which kicks off June 5 in Santa Barbara, CA. The outing will hit eight cities in California, three in Washington, and make another stop in Portland, OR. Details are listed below.
The idea for the tour was hatched earlier this year when Glen Phillips (formerly of alt-rock band Toad the Wet Sprocket) invited his musical friends to join him at the Lobero Theatre in Santa Barbara.
"It's a refreshing experience to get together with a bunch of people who respect each other and just play music for the pure joy of it," Phillips said in a statement. "We all started doing this because we loved hanging out with friends and making noise, and it's a good thing to get back to that purity."
Phillips, whose music has been described as "thinking man's pop," released his third solo album, "Mr. Lemons," last year.
The other Phillips on the tour, Grant-Lee Phillips, is the former leader of alt-rock outfit Grant Lee Buffalo. He has since forged a solo career that includes albums, film and television scores, and a recurring role as the town troubadour on the TV series "The Gilmore Girls." Phillips recently released his fifth solo album, "Strangelet," on which he plays nearly all of the instruments.
Both of the Phillipses have previously performed with The Watkins Family, which comprises Sean and Sara Watkins of Grammy-winning bluegrass/folk/pop trio Nickel Creek. The Watkins' popular residency at Los Angeles' Largo has brought in a surge of fellow musicians, including their Various & Sundry Tour partners, according to a press release.
"I'm grateful for this tour because it gives us an opportunity to learn and arrange one another's songs. And its so much fun to sing with all of them!" Sara Watkins said in a statement, with brother Sean adding, "There is a lot of musical synergy between all of us and we're really excited to take that on the road."
Singer/fiddler Luke Bulla, who also has a considerable history of playing with The Watkins Family, recently settled in Southern California by way of Nashville. A Grand Master Fiddler Championship winner, Bulla is also known for his velvet baritone voice.
"It is unusual that such a talented group of writers and musicians come together on a tour like this," Bulla stated. "The variety of backgrounds in music truly make this one of the most unique experiences of my career."
