Tour Diary:

23rd July - New York NY - Rumsay Playfield, Central Park
There's no denying it's risky to book an outdoor show in the summertime in New York city and today the city felt more like a tropical rain forest than anything else. With strong thunderstorms in the f....

22nd July - Vienna VA - The Filene Center
Our second visit to Wolf Trap wasn't quite blessed with the lovely weather we experienced in 2005 when we played in balmy summer weather. Today was a case of dodging thunderstorms and rain on the way ....

20th July - Syracuse NY - Landmark Theatre
Premier entertainment palace...Yes I can see where the title comes from. A truly beautiful theatre as the picture below confirms. A little history....Site acquisitions, costing $1.9 million, began on ....

19th July - Boston MA - Bank of America Pavillion
What a fabulous day this turned out to be. Another one of our favourite venues, the Boston pavillion is very close to the centre of the city and being on the waterside enjoys the occasional salty bree....

18th July - Ottowa ON - National Arts Centre
Waking up in Toronto, a few of us obviously felt the call of the gym and I found Glenn in there pounding away. Just as I got back to the room, Tim called to say we needed to scramble as there had been....

17th July - Toronto ON - Molson Amphitheatre
Toronto is another of those cities we all look forward to visiting. A huge sprawling place on the northern shoreline of Lake Ontario. The Four Seasons, where we traditionally stay is definitely a litt....

16th July - Kettering OH - Fraze Pavillion at Lincoln Park Center
Another visit to the delightful Fraze Pavillion in leafy Kettering, Ohio. Almost a carbon copy of our last visit in terms of the weather, yes I know I keep on about the weather but that's just me. I w....

15th July - Nashville TN - Ryman Auditorium
Another day off was upon us before we knew it and uniquely, for the band it was a travel day. To Nashville. The crew spent the day off in the same hotel that we were checking in to, the Leows Vanderbi....

13th July - Chicago IL - Auditorium Theatre
The grandeur of The Chicago Theatre often leaves its visitors breathless. The elegant lobby, majestic staircase and beautiful auditorium complete with murals above the stage and on the ceiling, are co....

12th July - Minneapolis MN - Orpheum Theatre
It seems like only yesterday we were here, in fact it was two years ago (and a bit). A lovely theatre in downtown Minneapolis and one we always enjoy as the people here really seem to love their music....

11th July - Winnipeg MB - Concert Hall
Our day off in Chicago finally arrived, much anticipated because we planned a return visit to the most amazing ball park, Wrigley Field to see a ball game. We did this once before in 2001 and enjoyed ....

9th July - Regina SK - Conexus Centre of the Arts
Regina is the latin word for queen and also happens to be the second largest city in the province of Saskatchewan after the town we played yesterday, Saskatoon. Once again, I can't ever recall visitin....

8th July - Saskatoon SK - Sid Buckwold Theatre
Hubbing out of Edmonton Alberta today to the small town of Saskatoon in Sasketchewan. I'm pretty sure I've never been here although Mark says he has, albeit a long time ago. Flying in you can clearly ....

7th July - Edmonton AB - Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
The days off are coming thick and fast now and I couldn't think of a better city than Vancouver in which to spend one. We were all grateful for a sunny day in this beautiful city and Mark, Glenn, Rich....

5th July - Calgary AB - Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
I'm not quite sure of the last time we visited Calgary, could it have been with the Straits? a long time ago it seems. One thing I remember from the last time here is the incredible scenery with the b....

4th July - Kelowna BC - Prospera Place
I must confess to a glitch in my geographical knowledge-base, until this tour, Kelowna in British Columbia is not a town I'd heard of. It's a beautiful town with a population of a quarter of a million....

3rd July - Vancouver BC - Orpheum Theatre
The Orpheum Theatre in Vancouver was opened November 8, 1927 as a vaudeville house. At the time was the largest and most opulent theatre on the Pacific Coast. The City of Vancouver purchased the theat....

2nd July - Seattle WA - Chateau St. Michelle Winery
The Chateau St. Michelle Winery was voted 'Restaurant and Wine' winery of the year the last time we visited in 2005 and has been a champion of Reisling for more than 40 years producing more than any o....

1st July - Portland OR - Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
We had a very late checkout from the hotel in San Francisco this morning so Dan and I visited Mels diner for late breakfast where I inhaled the 'Elvis scramble' (managed to resist the hash browns) the....

29th June - Jacksonville OR - Britt Pavilion
We woke up in San Francisco to an almighty din coming from the streets below. The 2008 Gay pride parade was underway. After a while catching up on the computer and a ridiculously overpriced breakfast ....

28th June - San Francisco CA - The Greek Theatre (Berkeley)
The spectacular University of California Greek theatre is another one of those venues much anticipated by both band and crew. Literally the only slight drawback to playing here is that it can get a li....

27th June - Los Angeles CA - The Greek Theatre
It's always a delight coming to the beautiful Griffith Park is the site of one of the nicest venues to play on any tour, but tonight we had the added excitement of the possibility that John McCusker w....

26th June - Las Vegas NV - The Joint
After waking early again to the sound of crashing waves in Santa Monica, I still feel that I haven't quite kicked the jet-lag yet but there's no point in trying to get back to sleep so I open the curt....

25th June - Salt Lake City UT - Abravanel Hall
Salt Lake City became known as the crossroads of the west at the time of the great mining booms a century ago but more famously was the location chosen by Brigham Young and the Mormon pioneers of 1847....

24th June - Denver CO- Red Rocks
It's difficult to imagine our last show in Athens was a mere nine days ago and here we are in Colorado having kicked off the US. leg of this amazing tour. The UK. contingent flew out from London on Su....

15th June - Athens - Lycabettus Open Air
They say that 'time flies when you're having fun' and I think that's a fairly accurate gauge of how much we've enjoyed this leg of the tour, it's just flown by. Sixty three shows and every one complet....

13th June - Istanbul Kurucesme Open Air
Certainly this must be the most anticipated visit on the tour as none of us in the band have been here before. With a population reported to be between 12 an 16 million, the city formerly known as Byz....

11th June - Sofia - Culture Palace
This is our first visit to Sofia, one of the oldest cities in Europe. Bulgaria is one of the largest Balkan countries and has 5 others on it's borders, Romania, Serbia, Macedonia, Greece and Turkey. W....

10th June - Belgrade Arena
Today was quite a day for the crew. First thing this morning, the lighting/catering truck was incapacitated just over an hour out from Belgrade. Of course, this truck is usually the first to load in a....

9th June - Zagreb - Dom Sportiva
I'm pretty sure the Straits played here back in 1986 but I could be wrong. An old 60's sports hall with all the accompanying style and odour. We checked out of the Rome hotel, one of our favourites..a....

8th June - Codroipo Villa Manin (nr. Pordenone) Open Air
Today's day trip from Rome took us to the far Nort-Eastern corner of Italy, near Udine. We flew into Trieste and headed North west towards Pordenone and the small town of Codroipo. A thoroughly beauti....

7th June - Pesaro - BPA Palace
A short hop today from Rome due North to Rimini airport on the Adriatic coast. Then a 30 minute drive South to Pesaro and the slightly sci-fi looking Adriatic Arena. Our first visit to Pesaro and our ....

6th June - Rome - Palalottomatica
Richard and I thought that today's diary entry should be a combined effort since it's inevitable our entries would be similar for our day off in Rome. RB. A day off in Rome.  I was awake at the u....

4th June - Luxembourg - Rockhal
As we checked out of the Brussels hotel and made our way to the airport we talked about the fantastic run of shows we've just enjoyed, 6 fab Albert's and these four latest steamers. Bernie's driving t....

3rd June - Brussels - Forest National
We always look forward to the Forest National. On the Emmylou tour it was our first show and it's always a real treat and tonight was no exception. Danny and I had a little wander around the town, and....

2nd June - Koln - Arena
Our final show in Germany promised much today as we hear it's another sellout in the fabulous Koln arena, the largest indoor venue of this type in Germany. It's the first time we've played in Koln and....

1st June - Sonderborg - Augustenborg Castle
After the exhausting week at the Albert Hall, it was something of a relief to find ourselves back out on the road in Europe again. As usual, we all met at Northolt for our flight on the Legacy over to....

25th - 30th May - Royal Albert Hall
Rather than post a separate diary entry for each night at the Royal Albert Hall, I will update this entry daily. As it was quite a hectic first night, there aren't many pics yet but I will add more as....

24th May - Brighton Centre
Firstly I'd like to thank everyone who posted birthday wishes on the forum and to all those who sang happy birthday at the show last night, cheers. It was a bit of a full-on day for me so I didn't tak....

22nd May - Cardiff - CIA
As we left Newcastle we all agreed we'd had a fabulous couple of days even if the hotel wasn't quite up to the mark. Breakfast on room service was well below even a mediocre Holiday Inn standard and t....

21st May - Newcastle - City Hall
Onwards to Newcastle and the city Hall, Mark's hometown and one of the favourites of the tour. Once again, a difficult load-in for the boys in the crew. I'm always in awe of just how they manage to sq....

20th May - Belfast - Odyssey
A very short flight from Dublin to Belfast for the band today and driving team B pick us up from the airport near Antrim in northern Ireland. I confess to suffering a little from the after-effects of ....

19th May - Dublin - RDS
As we took off from Edinburgh this afternoon, we had a great view of the 2.5 km. (1.5 mile) Forth Railway Bridge, the world’s first major steel bridge, with its gigantic girder spans of 1710 ft. Ranki....

18th May - Edinburgh - Playhouse
One of the high points of any tour, Edinburgh is a place we all really enjoy visiting and staying. The venue is just a short walk from our hotel so Danny and I wandered down there for a cup of tea all....

17th May - Manchester - MEN
It's always great to wake up in the town we're playing and today in Manchester there's plenty of time to go for a wander around the shops. Unfortunately, it's raining but Danny and I go in search of a....

16th May - Birmingham - NEC
Our UK tour commences. Yesterday's day off for the crew was spent in Birmingham and the UK band members got to go home for a day. The fantastic weather has finally given way to the more usual British ....

14th May - Munich - Olympiahalle
Show number 6 in a row in Munich today. As we wake in Prague, Danny and I decided we would interview our driving team here, Bernie, Dominika and Fabian. All three drivers rise to the challenge, stay t....

13th May - Vienna - Stadthalle
It was decided yesterday that we should 'get out more', so today we did. Richard, Danny and myself went for a walk around the town in search of the trad. jazz band that appear in the summer on the fam....

12th May - Budapest - Arena
I think it's safe to say that Summer is now here in earnest as we wake to yet another beautiful warm day. We meet in the lobby in Prague for our day trip to Budapest but there's a brief hold up as Kyl....

11th May - Prague - T-Mobile Arena
Woke this morning to yet another perfect day in Prague but got straight to work on the diary etc. Danny called and we had breakfast together in my room whilst I typed. Pete called to say our departure....

10th May - Oberhausen - Arena
Today we said goodbye to Frankfurt. For sure one of the nicest hotel stays of the tour and a great town for a 'hub'. After a morning swim and a little bit of sunshine we checked out in the early after....

9th May - Hannover - TUI Arena
Yesterday was a delightful day off in Frankfurt, with most countries it seems in Europe experiencing the first heatwave of the summer it felt great to get outside and into the sun. A swim in the morni....

7th May - Stuttgart - Schlayerhalle
Quite an early start for some of us today as the plan was to make our regular pilgrimage to the Boss VIP store near Stuttgart. In the end it was myself, Mark, John, Paul and Pete who decided to go. We....

6th May - Leipzig - Arena
a message from Dan.. For those who are interested in my drums here is a photo of me at sound check in Berlin taken by Mike Humeniuk. The kit is a "Sonor Designer" set which I've had a few years. The s....

5th May - Hamburg - Color Line Arena
As the tour progresses we all drift into our daily routines and after morning tea yesterday it was another big swim for me in the hotel pool. Thankfully we've enjoyed a pool at pretty much every hotel....

4th May - Frankfurt - Festhalle
Everyone woke this morning with the music of last night's after-show session in my room still reverberating in their heads. The best DJ session of the tour so far methinks. (playlist below).  A l....

3rd May - Berlin - Velodrom
Fond memories of Berlin before Germany's reunification in 1990 means it's always interesting to return to see what's changed. Berlin still seems to be growing at a lightning pace. The German capital h....

2nd May - Warsaw - Torwar
Back on the road for another 6 in a row after four whole days off. 'It's only when you stop that you fully realize how exhausted you are,' this sentiment was echoed by band and crew when discussing th....

27th April - Moscow - Olympiski
Moscow just has to be one of the most fascinating cities in the world and in the three years since our last visit, it has clearly changed immeasurably. One of the first things which strikes you is the....

26th April - St. Petersburg - New Ice Arena
Onwards into Russia today. We left Helsinki in the early afternoon and flew the 184 miles to St. Petersburg in completely perfect flying weather. Overtaken on the inside by a car with a bath on the ro....

25th April - Helsinki - Hartwall Arena
Our 5th day off of the tour, and we find ourselves in the beautiful city of Helsinki.  A few of us hit the hotel gym which was great. The temperature drop was a little shocking as Mark, Danny, Gl....

23rd April - Stockholm - Hovet
Checking out of the (not-so) Grand hotel in Oslo this morning not a moment too soon. It's actually a very pleasant place but has over the years become a bit tired and struggles in comparison to the le....

22nd April - Karlstad - Lofbergs Lila
Apologies to residents of this beautiful town for the earlier incorrect spelling of Karlstad. We seem to have been following the sunshine around for days now and this morning in the glare, the boys ta....

21st April - Bergen - Vestlandshallen
What a day. I'm up at the 'crack of sparrows' and Pete, the accomplished professional calls me at 04:08am, just to check I'm awake and will be downstairs at 04:15am.. I have my hand on the receiver (a....

20th April - Oslo - Spectrum
Arriving in Oslo on a Saturday night can be quite an experience. Our hotel is sited on one of this beautiful city's main squares and the weekend revelry doesn't seem to calm down until at least 4:00 a....

19th April - Copenhagen - Forum
There's quite a lot to write about in today's entry and sitting here in Oslo, Italy seems an absolute age ago. I'll start by describing our day off in Verona yesterday. During our stay in Verona at th....

17th April - Bolzano - Palaonda
Caption Contest below... I'm not sure we've ever visited Bolzano before, situated in the far North of Italy quite close to the Austrian border, you can immediately sense the German influences even tho....

16th April - Mantova - Palabam
The hotel we are staying in for four nights is worthy of a few words. One of the few occasions I think where opinions within the band are split. I think this place is fabulous. Set in the heart of the....

15th April - Milan - Datchforum
After waking admirably late in Zurich and having my daily meusli, Dan called to ask if I fancied a stroll before we left for Italy. Downstairs in 10 mins and we were outside in a surprisingly chilly 4....

14th April - Zurich - Hallenstadion
We arrived in the beautiful city of Zurich to a much appreciated day off. A few band members are still reeling from a gastro-bug but fingers crossed we should be back up to full strength in a few days....

12th April - Erfurt - Messehalle
Show day number 13 and the sixth show in a row today we found ourselves in Erfurt, lying exactly between Dortmund and Dresden and equidistant from Frankfurt and Berlin it is pretty much right in the h....

11th April - Mannheim - SAP Arena
It was a short drive down to Mannheim from Frankfurt this afternoon and the Mercedes S500L simply demolishes the miles. The 80 kilometer journey feels like 20 and before we know it we're pulling into ....

10th April - Strasbourg - Zenith
None of us were particularly reluctant to leave the Hotel Fouquet's Barriere this morning. What should be a spectacular experience ends up being more of an annoyance in terms of service. It wouldn't b....

9th April - Paris - Bercy
Paris. THE most beautiful city on the planet in my book and Bercy, one of the best gigs historically for us. The band has been hubbing from here for the past five nights culminating in this show. Alth....

8th April - Nantes - Zenith
Situated in Brittany on the banks of the Loire river and very close to the west coast and the Atlantic, Nantes was naturally one of France's major historic ports. As we flew in one couldn't help notic....

7th April - Toulouse - Zenith
After the marathon trip from Portugal, yesterday was a day off in Paris and just about everyone in the band spent it sleeping. When we did finally surface a few of us lounged in the pool and/or went t....

5th April - Granada - Coliseo Atarfe
What a day. Four cities!  Lisbon - Granada - Malaga - Paris We all woke up pretty late after the soiree in my room apres-gig in Lisbon. It was nearly 5 am when I said the the caps "I don't mean t....

4th April - Lisbon - Campo Pequeno
A word about the Madrid show before I go on with the Lisbon entry. We learned that at the end of the show in Madrid, when there was a rush of fans towards the front of the stage, some joker decided to....

3rd April - Madrid - Palacio De Portes
If you've been to any of our shows so far and sent me photo's attached to e-mails in the last 2 days, I won't have received them. This is because my mailbox was shut down due to it being overloaded. S....

2nd April - Barcelona - Palau St. Jordi
I suppose he had to laugh..Pete sent me this picture as Glenn arrived safely albeit a little battered after his 'epic' journey with Pete from Rotterdam via Paris on sumptuous Spanish trains. The great....

31st March -Rotterdam - Ahoy
Ahoy! Show number three. There was a slightly different transportation setup today as we traveled to Rotterdam from Amsterdam by train. We always enjoy European trains (except of course the UK). The t....

30th March - Amsterdam - HMH
With two shows under our belts now it feels like we're on the road proper. The gig was as relaxed as anything last night. We had discussed a few very minor changes after the first show and put them to....

29th March - Amsterdam - HMH
Under way at last. The week off after production rehearsals took some getting used to. Richard and Glenn both flew home to Nashville before joining us in Amsterdam for the final run through on Friday.....

15th - 18th March - Production Rehearsals (Deepest Berkshire)
Production Rehearsals - Bray film studios As you'd imagine, production rehearsals exist to test the entire production including lights and PA before we set off on the road. As much as I'd love to I ca....

2nd - 14th March - Rehearsals LONDON
2nd - 14th March - Rehearsals LONDON Once again dear friends, the tour diary is under way. I will be writing entries for each and every show, posting pictures and running contests with stunning prizes....

Upcoming entries:

USA and CANADA (8 shows still unannounced)
25th July - Newark NJ - New Jersey Performing Arts Centre
26th July - Philadelphia PA - Mann Centre for the Performing Arts
27th July - Charlotte NC - Ovens Auditorium
29th July - Atlanta GA - Chastain Park Amphitheatre
30th July - Tampa FL - Ruth Eckerd Hall
31st July - Miami FL - Filmore Miami Beach @ Jackie Gleason