Last month, Ryley Walker announced his Dead Oceans’ debut, Primrose Green (out March 31st), and shared the excellent title track, “Primrose Green,” Today, he’s back with another of the many Primrose Green standouts, “Sweet Satisfaction,” which presents some of his most intricate and ecstatic fingerpicking. It’s hard not to recall John Martyn’s early 1970s work, though session musician Ben Boye’s piano work is particularly revelatory here. The band on Primrose Green is a mixture of new and old Chicago talent, blending both jaded veterans of the post-rock and jazz mini-circuits together with a few eager, open-eared youths. The album title sounds pastoral and quaint, but the titular green has dark hallucinogenic qualities, as does much of the LP. No one knows what the future holds for young Ryley Walker. A short lifetime of interminable practice and discipline have resulted in a masterpiece of an album, an album of a sort we haven’t seen since the 1970s. Now is the time to get on the Ryley Walker bandwagon.
Ryley will tour in support of Primrose Green starting this week playing shows with Hiss Golden Messenger, Kevin Morby, Moon Duo, Steve Gunn, Heartless Bastards, Real Estate and more, and perform at many festivals including Pitchfork Music Festival, Levitation, Big Ears Festival, SXSW, NXNE, Savannah Stopover Festival, Mission Creek Festival, Nelsonville Music Festival and Suoni Festival. A full list of dates is below with more to be announced soon.
RYLEY WALKER TOUR DATES:
Thu. Feb. 26 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Bunkhouse Saloon (w/ Heartless Bastards)
Mon. Mar. 2 – Cincinnati, OH @ MOTR Pub
Tue. Mar. 3 – Lexington, KY @ Als Bar
Thu. Mar. 5 – Savannah, GA @ Savannah Stopover Festival (w/ Hiss Golden Messenger, Paving Gravvy)
Sat. Mar. 7 – Buffalo, NY @ Mohawk Place (w/ Kevin Morby)
Sun. Mar. 8 – Columbus, OH @ Double Happiness (w/ Kevin Morby)
Mon. Mar. 9 – Chicago, IL @ Schubas (w/ Kevin Morby)
Tue. Mar. 10 – Bloomington, IN @ The Bishop (w/ Kevin Morby)
Wed. Mar. 11 – Nashville, TN @ Stone Fox (w/ Kevin Morby)
Thu. Mar. 12 – Asheville, NC @ The Mothlight (w/ Kevin Morby, Moon Duo)
Fri. Mar. 13 – Washington, DC @ DC9 (w/ Kevin Morby)
Sat. Mar. 14 – Philadelphia, PA @ Boot & Saddle (w/ Kevin Morby)
Sun. Mar. 15 – Brooklyn, NY @ Baby’s All Right (w/ Kevin Morby)
Thu. Mar. 19 – Houston, TX @ Walter’s Downtown (w/ Steve Gunn)
Fri. Mar. 20 – New Orleans, LA @ Gasa Gasa (w/ Steve Gunn)
Sat. Mar. 21 – Mobile, AL @ Brookley Aeroplex (Aerofest w/ Steve Gunn)
Sun. Mar. 22 – Columbus, GA @ Studio Theater at RiverCenter for the Performing Arts (w/ Steve Gunn)
Mon. Mar. 23 – Birmingham, AL @ Bottletree (w/ Steve Gunn)
Thu. Mar. 26-Sat. Mar. 28 – Athens, GA @ 40 Watt Club (Slingshot Festival)
Fri. Mar. 27 – Knoxville, TN @ Big Ears Festival (w/ Steve Gunn)
Sat. Mar. 28 – Louisville, KY @ The New Vintage (w/ Steve Gunn, Watter, Nathan Salsburg)
Sun. Mar. 29 – Columbus, OH @ The Spacebar (w/ Steve Gunn)
Thu. Apr. 2 – Iowa City, IA @ Mission Creek Festival (w/ Real Estate)
Sat. May 9 – Austin, TX @ Levitation
Fri. May. 29 – Nelsonville, OH @ Nelsonville Music Festival
Thu. June 18 – Montreal, QC @ Suoni Festival (w/ Myriam Gendron)
Sat. June 20 – Toronto, ON @ NXNE (w/ Angel Olsen)
Fri. July 17 – Chicago, IL @ Union Park (Pitchfork Music Festival)
