Lead singer and songwriter from "mythical mongrel Christchurch folk/country band" The Eastern
returns to the Tuning Fork this June.
Adam will be joined by a small backing band
made up of players from The Eastern
who call themselves The Roaring Days.
With support from Tasmania's soulful folk-singer
Claire Anne Taylor and local Poet Hadassah Grace.
Tickets on sale now from Ticketmaster
THE TUNING FORK,
AUCKLAND
Sat Jun 8th, 2019
Adam McGrath, lead singer and songwriter from mythical mongrel Christchurch folk/country band The Eastern, returns to the big city
of Auckland as part of his forty-something date Autumn ‘Ragged Ramble’ Tour.
Described by influential country magazine No Depression as “One of the best modern roots acts from any country period”, by the NZ Herald as “NZ’s toughest-minded songwriter” and by Radio NZ National as a “National Treasure”, an Adam McGrath show is primed and proud to reach your heart, head and boots.
Confused when he drives into Auckland by the traffic and the volume of everything, he always leaves lifted by the people
who show up who let him know that the big city can be as intimate and community-focused as anywhere else in the country.
Having shown up on the Tuning Fork stage more than a few times, he knows what a hub it’s been for folk-country music,
and feels both privileged and excited to get up for another round.
This time he’ll be joined in support by Australian Claire Anne Taylor and local poet Hadassah Grace, as well as a small backing band made up of players from The Eastern who insist on calling themselves The Roaring Days.
McGrath presents as a folk singer in the truest, traditional sense, but one whose songs speak to the times we find
ourselves in and the people with whom we share them with. McGrath has spent a virtual lifetime on the road in NZ and
everywhere beyond. He sees it as his job to pick up the stories he finds, siphon them down to the bone and bring them to
the next location.
Adam has toured and played with everyone from Fleetwood Mac to Steve Earle to Paul Kelly to Old Crow Medicine Show and many, many more. Barry Saunders from The Warratahs simply described him as “the truth”.
A people's player with a blue-collar work ethic, McGrath treats any opportunity to play, big or small, as a gift which
he intends to earn. He always looks forward to returning to the road, especially after his last well-received run last
spring. McGrath says “somewhere between Waimamaku and Bluff, just over there on the left side of the road, that’s where things tend to make
the most sense”. He hopes friends of both The Eastern and his solo work will make it to the shows, in part so he can keep the truck
gassed and the rent paid, but mostly so both him and his audience can feel (at least for a couple of hours) that they
aren’t alone in this mixed-up, shook-up, weird-ass place we inhabit together.