I want to extend my greatest Thanks and gratitude to all of the venues, promoters, bands, and people I met along the way on
The Freedom Sessions East Coast Tour.
You have all made this an amazing memorable and successful experience that will stick with me forever.
I look forward to returning back to the East Coast this Spring!
After the Launch Party on October 6th at the Rivoli
we packed our bags and loaded all the the gear and BSD merch into the VW and headed out on the road.
The first stop on the tour was the very 1st Fire Lite Music Sessions at the beautiful
Fronterra is located in Prince Edward County. This was one of the most beautiful settings I have had the honour of staying and playing in. I had the opportunity to camp in one of their luxury tents, relax, canoe, and cook outdoors.
We held a beautiful intimate fire lite harvest concert in the Burgen family's organic garden under the stars.
I want to thank Jens, the Burgen family, and crew at Fronterra for your generosity and hospitality.
From Fronterra we headed to the town of Perth, Ontario. The Hawk Vale Antiques and Old Stuff was closed but looked like a neat place!
Pulling into Perth on a Tuesday night after Thanksgiving weekend things in town were VERY quiet , but didn't stop the Golden Arrow Pub from Rocking.
Playing the Golden Arrow Pub & Eatery was a fantastic night.
Thanks to everyone who came out! You guys were awesome!
Perth was rockin' on a Tuesday night!
We took some great pizza to go and ate it the next day on the road.
Next stop on the tour was the Avant-Garde Bar in Ottawa. After a delicious breakfast at Baker Street Cafe, where I had the privilege of sitting next to some of my favourite musicians, we strolled through the streets of Ottawa. It was pretty cool to walk through the city and see myself on the entertainment boards!
It was good to be back at L'Escalier in Montreal. The Jardins Gamelin across the street always has something cool going on.
We took some time to explore the circus themed attraction and ride the shopping cart carousel!
After some hearty Carrot Cake Pancakes at L'Avenue Restaurant we hit the road.
Then off to
Quebec City,
one of my favourite Canadian cities.
I had to stop at Chez Jules for some French Onion Soup before my set at Bistrot Le Pape Georges!
The drive to New Brunswick was absolutely breath-taking! The fall colours were bright, the air was crisp and cool and the mountain ranges were awe inspiring.
We pulled into the Northern town of Petit-Rocher, which will forever hold a special place in my heart. We were immediately welcomed at the Auberge et Bistro D'Anjou by owners Marc & Mimi.
This building has so much history, and each room of the inn has been named after a local figure. The town is a travel hub for tourists and the Auberge has been welcoming travellers for over a century.
They have a great stage and set up for performers and treat them like gold. The night that I performed every table was booked and the house was packed. What a fantastic crowd of people. I was so humbled by the standing ovation.
Thank You Petit-Rocher, from the bottom of my heart.
Your generosity and hospitality with stay with me forever.
The next leg of the tour brought us to Fredericton for 4 days.
What a great community of musicians!
I had the pleasure of sharing the stage with some talented musicians at Grimross Brewery.
A Huge Thank You goes out to Eddie Young at Roots & Soul Music Promotions for everything! It was great hanging out and getting to know you. I look forward to coming back in May for the Living Roots Music Festival!
On the Sunday afternoon I opened up for Patrick Murray who was releasing his debut album 'New Beginnings' and singer/songwriter Colin Fowlie who is currently working on his much anticipated full length album. These two guys have some serious Talent, check them out!
A big thanks also goes out to Tammie Hayward! I appreciate your dedication to supporting the music community. It was a lot of fun to be on your morning show on CHSR 97.9.
On Wednesday night I shared the stage with some great young Canadian talent. Taylor Holden & The Law of Averages from London, Ontario and Quinn Bonnell & his fantastic blues band from Fredericton. We all shared a really special moment singing
"Ahead By A Century" in honour of Gord Downie.
It was great to meet you all, keep on rockin'!
Our stay in Fredericton would not have been the same without The Abbey Cafe!
Wow. What a venue!
David & James have a really great thing going .
They have a world class venue and are such down-to-earth people set in rural New Brunswick between Fredericton and Moncton in Clark's Corner.
We stopped through Miramichi to play at O'Donaghue's, a lively bar with great food.
All week I had quite the time trying to pronounce the town name. Got it now.
Thank you Steph for having me, and Brenden it was great to meet you and talk after the show.
Nova Scotia was beautiful. Halifax has such a cool laid back culture and great music scene. I scored some great Vinyls at Taz Records. We just missed the big Pop Explosion festival but got to relax and take in the sights.
I had the opportunity to play in Wolfville at Charts Cafe before heading off to Prince Edward Island.
We took the ferry over and headed into Stratford to play an intimate show at Now n Zen Coffehouse. Skilled Barista, Kelsey asked my favourite animal and made this cool sloth in my cappuccino and also recommended some cool spots in town to check out.
Thank you Yvette & Uma for having us and Brad-keep playin' brother!
It was a packed house on the Wednesday night that I played the Gahan House. It was hot under those Edison lights but a great show none the less!
I had to grab an ice cream from the famous Cow's Ice Cream shop!
We returned to Petit-Rocher for a second show at he The Auberge et Bistro D'Anjou before heading back to Ontario, it was great to see familiar faces, thanks to those who came out again to hear me perform!
It was a very long 9.5 hour drive back to Cornwall to play La Maison Tavern for their Acoustic Friday.
It had such a great stage and cool atmosphere.
Playing the final show of the tour at the Agrarian Bistro & Speakeasy truly feels like coming home.
I have been very fortunate to spend a lot of my summer weekends playing in Prince Edward County and having a few Saturday night residencies at The Agrarian. Big Thank You to Calvin and Patricia!
Black Suit Devil's Freedom Sessions East Coast Tour was an absolute success! Lots of friends (and U-turns) made along the way:) I look forward to seeing many of you again in the spring!
Peace & Love
Andy
Black Suit Devil