JohnJones - Feet Don't Fail Me Now tour

Subject: JohnJones - Feet Don't Fail Me Now tour
From: Ruth Archer
Date: 26 Feb 09 - 03:32 AM

John Jones of folk rock legends Oysterband is about to set off on the most challenging tour of his life – as he'll be WALKING to each of the venues on the route.

Part endurance test, part completely mad idea, and part celebration of the British countryside he loves, Feet Don't Fail Me Now will see John walking the tour – appropriately, in two legs – from his home in the Welsh borders to two of the country's best folk festivals, and stopping to play gigs at around a dozen venues along the way. The first leg, in May, will bring him from Herefordshire to Wychwood Festival in Oxfordshire. The second leg sees him hiking to The Big Session, the festival hosted by the Oysterband at De Montfort Hall in Leicester.

Some days will see John powering more than 20 miles over rugged terrain to reach the evening's destination – only to play a full-blown gig on arrival. He'll be joined en-route by various Reluctant Ramblers – surprise celebrity guests from the music world who will be pulling on their walking boots and trying to match John step for step. Various Reluctant Ramblers will even be joining him onstage at each of the gigs.

So is hiking the new rock and roll? "You'd be surprised," John laughs. "I'd always thought serious walking must be a bit boring, but I've been a keen walker for about 10 years now. I've spent so much of my working life travelling, but it's mostly been sitting in a tour bus, watching the countryside out my window and trying to catch a glimpse of the hares in the fields. It felt like a missed opportunity."

John is particularly passionate about the border country where he lives, the untamed Welsh woodland contrasting so strongly with the tidy black-and-white villages of Herefordshire and Worcestershire. The first leg of the tour will see him stopping in the celebrated book town of Hay-on-Wye, the pretty little village of Titley in Herefordshire, Leominster, Hereford, Worcester, Cheltenham and Nettlebed.



The tour cuts a swathe right through some of Britain's most beautiful countryside, and John says that re-connecting the music with the landscape has been one of the main inspirations behind the tour and his soon-to-be-released solo album: "A lot of the songs I'm singing are traditional, and some of the ones I've written for the album have a real sense of place. I'm not a very urban animal; I feel folk music to be rural and open. When I sing, I'm visualising the story, and the landscape is a big part of that. These songs, and this tour, are completely different from what I do with the Oysterband. It's almost a way of coming at the music at a different pace."

There certainly won't be any of the usual rock-star embellishments - a hot bath and a hearty pub meal are the most thrilling items on the rider, but John finds this surprisingly appealing: "You know, we've come through an extraordinary period of self indulgence – and musicians are always quite indulged! There's something about walking; it makes you conquer your selfishness and meet very personal challenges. And there's a great exhilaration in finishing things when there's pain and a bit of a struggle involved. But you get through that, and it's an amazing feeling."


Tour dates for the first leg of Feet Don't Fail Me Now are:
Thursday 21 May, The Globe, Hay-on-Wye / 01497 821 762 / www.globeathay.co.uk

Friday 22 May, Titley Village Hall, Titley / 0154 423 1383

Saturday 23 May, The Blue Note, Leominster / www.thebluenote.co.uk

Monday 25 May, The Barrels, Hereford / 01432 278118 / 01432 274968

Wednesday 27 May, Huntingdon Hall, Worcester / 01905 611427 / www.worcesterlive.co.uk

Friday 29 May, Wychwood Festival, Cheltenham / 01993 772580 / www.wychwoodfestivalcom

Monday 1 June, The Village Club, Nettlebed / 01628 636620 / www.nettlebedfolkclub.co.uk

Subject: RE: JohnJones - Feet Don't Fail Me Now tour
From: theleveller
Date: 26 Feb 09 - 04:12 AM

What a fantastic idea. Pity we live the other side of the country - bit oo far for a stroll.

Subject: RE: JohnJones - Feet Don't Fail Me Now tour
From: Ruth Archer
Date: 26 Feb 09 - 04:21 AM

The second leg of the tour will go from Oxford to Leicester in June...

Subject: RE: JohnJones - Feet Don't Fail Me Now tour
From: bubblyrat
Date: 26 Feb 09 - 06:23 PM

Must book tickets for 1st June right away !!

Subject: RE: JohnJones - Feet Don't Fail Me Now tour
From: Ruth Archer
Date: 04 Mar 09 - 06:31 AM

John has recently started a blog about the tour on his new Myspace - he'll be updating as it gets closer!

John's Myspace

Subject: RE: JohnJones - Feet Don't Fail Me Now tour
From: irishenglish
Date: 05 Mar 09 - 11:11 AM

I saw this when I joined John's myspace page, and thought, what an amazing idea! I can't wait to hear what he comes up with for his first solo record either. BTW, for you Oyster fans out there, Alan Prosser, Chopper, Lee, and new boy Dil Davies all have myspace pages as well. In fact, Chopper is working on a solo album as well.

Subject: RE: JohnJones - Feet Don't Fail Me Now tour
From: Ruth Archer
Date: 05 Mar 09 - 02:51 PM

And Chopper will be walking part of the route with John!

Subject: RE: JohnJones - Feet Don't Fail Me Now tour
From: Folkiedave
Date: 05 Mar 09 - 06:47 PM

John once described Sheffield City as "My kind of Morris"

What excellent taste in morris he has!

Subject: RE: JohnJones - Feet Don't Fail Me Now tour
From: Ruth Archer
Date: 08 Apr 09 - 06:23 AM

In case you missed it, John did an interview with Genevieve Tudor for Radio Shropshire about the upcoming tour. It's been uploaded to his Myspace, along with new blogs about the forthcoming album:

http://www.myspace.com/johnjonesoyster

Subject: RE: JohnJones - Feet Don't Fail Me Now tour
From: GUEST,Cath Mackie Loughborough Folk Club
Date: 20 Apr 09 - 02:49 PM

Hi Ruth,
Do you know whether any future Loughborough Folk Festivals are on the cards?
Cath

Subject: RE: JohnJones - Feet Don't Fail Me Now tour
From: GUEST,Ruth Archer
Date: 20 Apr 09 - 07:19 PM

I left the Town Hall last July, Cath, so I'm not really party to their plans. I do hope so.

Subject: RE: JohnJones - Feet Don't Fail Me Now tour
From: Acorn4
Date: 20 Apr 09 - 08:02 PM

We're going to the Big Session in June so will enquire about the itinery.

Subject: RE: JohnJones - Feet Don't Fail Me Now tour
From: GUEST
Date: 21 Apr 09 - 05:00 AM

If anyone is hoping to walk with John, the route has just been announced on his myspace:


http://www.myspace.com/johnjonesoyster

Walk a day, or be really hardcore and walk the whole tour! There is also more info about the second leg of the tour, and some ew blog posts.

Subject: RE: JohnJones - Feet Don't Fail Me Now tour
From: GUEST,Ruth sans cookie
Date: 21 Apr 09 - 05:00 AM

guest above: me.

Subject: RE: JohnJones - Feet Don't Fail Me Now tour
From: GUEST,Ruth
Date: 28 Apr 09 - 06:10 AM

The first track from John's new CD is up on his Myspace. Have a listen! The album is called Rising Road, and the track is called Ithonside.

www.myspace.com/johnjonesoyster

Subject: RE: JohnJones - Feet Don't Fail Me Now tour
From: Colin Randall
Date: 21 May 09 - 06:37 AM

Salut! Live has been silent during my recent moves halfway across the world but I have spoken to John today and, in case anyone is interested, his great idea gave me an excuse for the first proper new item (as opposed to apologies for there being none) on the site in weeks.

It's at this link

Subject: RE: JohnJones - Feet Don't Fail Me Now tour
From: Ruth Archer
Date: 21 May 09 - 07:43 AM

Due to demand, a new date has been added to the tour in Braunston, Northants, on 16 June. There are still a few Nettlebed and Banbury tickets left, so if you don't have yours yet, don't hang about!

John will also be doing the BBC Folk Blog from 10 - 19 June in the lead-up to the Big Session, and his new album will be previewed on 3 June on Mike Harding's show.

Subject: RE: JohnJones - Feet Don't Fail Me Now tour
From: irishenglish
Date: 21 May 09 - 01:36 PM

GOOD LUCK JOHN!!! Wish I could be there

Subject: RE: JohnJones - Feet Don't Fail Me Now tour
From: GUEST
Date: 21 May 09 - 03:05 PM

I am hoping to join him for at least some small part of the walk but his level of fitness and experience suggests that he'll reach the next night's gig before I make it to the previous venue.

Subject: RE: JohnJones - Feet Don't Fail Me Now tour
From: Colin Randall
Date: 21 May 09 - 03:23 PM

Apologies. Was not logged on to Mudcat. The last post was from me.

Subject: RE: JohnJones - Feet Don't Fail Me Now tour
From: irishenglish
Date: 21 May 09 - 03:42 PM

Wrong band and singer here, but John, Walk Awhile, Walk Awhile.......

Subject: RE: JohnJones - Feet Don't Fail Me Now tour
From: Ruth Archer
Date: 21 May 09 - 04:02 PM

good luck, Colin! It will be an adventure.

Subject: RE: JohnJones - Feet Don't Fail Me Now tour
From: Ruth Archer
Date: 22 May 09 - 08:31 AM

If you are following John's walking adventure from the comfort of your favourite armchair, check out his Myspace blog, where he'll be reporting on each day's walking and gigging and any interesting encounters along the way. If you're feeling adventurous (and reasonably fit), why not join him for part of the journey? Details of the route are on his myspace.

www.myspace.com/johnjonesoyster

Cheers!

Subject: RE: JohnJones - Feet Don't Fail Me Now tour
From: Ruth Archer
Date: 02 Jun 09 - 07:49 AM

If you've missed any of the blog posts by John, Boff (Chumbawamba) or Dil, you can read all about the first leg of the tour here:

John's Myspace


John's on his way home for a well-deserved break now before the next leg, but you can catch a song from the new album and some info on the tour on Mike Harding's programme next week (not tomorrow night as previously advertised).

It's been a great experience by all accounts - so much so that the wheels are already turning about doing it all again in the autumn! Watch this space...

Subject: RE: JohnJones - Feet Don't Fail Me Now tour
From: Ruth Archer
Date: 10 Jun 09 - 03:32 PM

Hi there,

John is Mike Harding's new guest blogger, starting 10 June and going right through to the Big Session Festival in Leicester on 19 June. Follow his exploits on the road and from gig to gig on The BBC Folk Blog

The second half of the Feet Don't Fail Me Now tour gets underway on Sunday, and there are more chances to see the Reluctant Ramblers live:

14 June, The Mill, Banbury / 01295 279 002 / www.themillartscentre.co.uk
16 June, The Admiral Nelson, Braunston / 01788 891265 / http://www.admiralnelsonbraunston.co.uk/
17 June, Merchant's Inn, Rugby / 01788 567338 / www.rugbyroots.com
19 June, Big Session Festival, De Montfort Hall, Leicester / 0116 233 3111 / www.bigsessionfestival.com /

If you fancy walking with John any part of the route from Banbury to Leicester, it is posted on John's Myspace
. See you out there!

Subject: RE: JohnJones - Feet Don't Fail Me Now tour
From: Ruth Archer
Date: 20 May 10 - 10:49 AM

John Jones is gearing up for his next Feet Don't Fail Me Now tour in July, from Lyme Regis to Larmer Tree Festival! As with last year, fans are welcome to join in for all or part of the walking, just like John's Reluctant Ramblers, musical mates who will match him step for step and then join in the the gigs each night.

Mon 12th July Meet Lyme Regis [maps, drinks, possible session]. Venue t.b.c.

Tues 13th Walk to Broadwindsor, gig in Comrade's Hall with special guests from The Oyster Band, Show of Hands and The Imagined Village

Wed 14th Walk to Cerne Abbas, gig at the Giant Inn

Thurs 15th Walk to Larmer tree, Tollard Royal, gig at the Social

Friday 16th John Jones interviewed at Larmer Tree Festival (afternoon); Oysterband at Larmer Tree Festival (mainstage evening).