John Calvin Abney Announces 2022 Tour Dates Ahead of New Album 'Tourist'

Acclaimed singer-songwriter John Calvin Abney has is set to embark on a lengthy 2022 tour in support of his highly-anticipated new album Tourist, due out on Aug. 5 via Black Mesa Records.

The trek will kick off on Tuesday, July 12 in Houston, Texas as Abney begins a month-long slot as support for Hanson's Red Green Blue 2022 Tour. On Aug. 3, Abney will head to Texas for the beginning of a stretch of headlining gigs that includes an Aug. 5 Album Release Show at Austin's Sagebrush with Kathryn Legendre. You can see a full list of Abney's 2022 tour dates below.

The announcement follows the July 8 release of "Watch Me Go (Back In Time)," the final pre-release single from Tourist. Filmed and edited by Rahul Chakraborty, the engaging, colorful clip also marks Abney's first directing credit. Watch the full music video via YouTube.

Anchored by Abney's trademark lyrical candor, "Watch Me Go (Back In Time)" was born from an especially notable period of reflection during his solo travels across the country during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Written after I made my way to Austin, Texas and took up residence in a small room near city limits, the song speaks of our ubiquitous desire to go back in time and change events instead of accepting how the cards fell and moving forward," Abney says. "Information technology has made nostalgia a currency that puts many folks in an emotional debt for a time that no longer exists anywhere except memory. This song is about acceptance, and communicating through the cold lights of tech."

"I could call me a cab / Run up another tab / But I think I'll stay," Abney quietly declares, choosing a different path -- at least for the night. "Work and sleep have been thin / And high street line seems so far away."

"Watch Me Go (Back In Time)" is the fifth and final pre-release single from Abney's upcoming record Tourist, due out Aug. 5 via Black Mesa Records. In June, Abney shared the reflective track "Call Me Achilles," which explores that intensive urge to make a fresh start and leave your past behind. The song earned acclaim from Americana UK, calling it "a song that has life in it - not so much a toe-tapper as a hip-shaker with an irresistible groove, as Abney sings like one slinking effortlessly from location to location."

Penned on Christmas Day of 2020 in Tulsa, "Call Me Achilles" finds Abney reflecting on past weaknesses while making plans for a fresh start. "I'm a cloud of dust / I'm out of this town," he proclaims. "I got hung up / I know better now."

Previously, Abney shared the captivating tracks "Sleepwalkers," "Full Moon Friend" and lead single "Holy Golden West." Each song gives listeners a glimpse into the whole of Tourist, a project born amidst a journey Abney first started shortly after the pandemic began, taking him from San Francisco to Austin.

At each town and pit stop along the way, Abney paused to take in his surroundings and all the characters who weaved in and out of those new backdrops. The songs on Tourist paint those scenes onto a new canvas, poetically examining the passage of time, the places we call home and how even the smallest of moments can leave a lasting mark.

Instead of hunkering down in a studio, Abney recorded the tracks on Tourist remotely from the hotel rooms and spare rooms of friends' homes that he stopped in during his long, explorative journey. He found inspiration from the soundtrack that eminated from his car speakers along the way, with a wide-ranging playlist that included Elton John, The War On Drugs and Harumoi Hosono. Longtime friend and creative collaborator John Moreland added his own contributions to the tracks from afar, using modern technology to shorten the distance between them.

Tourist continues a thread first sewn with his 2020 release Familiar Ground, again evolving his sound with the addition of layered synthesizers and drum machines. Through his engaging lyrics, Abney transports the listener into his passenger seat, allowing us to experience and savor every blurred, fleeting second as we pass through.

JOHN CALVIN ABNEY'S 2022 TOUR DATES

July 12 - Houston, Texas @ House of Blues ^
July 14 - New Orleans, La. @ Joy ^
July 15 - Nashville, Tenn. @ Ryman Auditorium ^
July 16 - Atlanta, Ga. @ The Eastern ^
July 17 - St. Petersburg, Fla. @ Jannus Live ^
July 19 - Birmingham, Ala. @ Alabama Theater ^
July 20 - Raleigh, N.C. @ The Ritz ^
July 22 - Richmond, Va. @ National ^
July 23 - Silver Spring, Md. @ The Fillmore Silver Spring ^
July 24 - Philadelphia, Pa. @ The Fillmore Philadelphia ^
July 26 - Pittsburgh, Pa. @ Palace Theatre ^
July 28 - Albany, N.Y. @ Empire Live ^
July 29 - Boston, Ma. @ House of Blues ^
July 30 - Hampton Beach, Va. @ Casino Ballroom ^
July 31 - New York City @ Beacon ^
Aug. 3 - Galveston, Texas @ Acoustic Cafe
Aug. 5 - Austin, Texas @ Waterloo Records (In-Store Performance @ 5 p.m.)
Aug. 5 - Austin, Texas @ Sagebrush (Album Release Show with Kathryn Legendre)
Aug. 6 - Fort Worth, Texas @ Magnolia Motor Lounge
Aug. 7 - Denton, Texas @ Dan's Silverleaf
Aug. 9 - Bentonville, Ark. @ House Show
Aug. 10 - Iowa City, Iowa @ Trumpet Blossom
Aug. 11 - St. Louis, Mo. @ Heavy Anchor
Aug. 12 - Chicago, Ill. @ Golden Dagger
Aug. 13 - Champaign, Ill. @ Bentley's
Aug. 15 - Indianapolis, Ind. @ Indianapolis Church of Cannabis
Aug. 19 - New York City @ Skinny Dennis
Aug. 20 - Baltimore, Md. @ Club 603
Aug. 21 - Washington, D.C. @ House Show
Aug. 22 - Greensboro, N.C. @ Little Brother
Aug. 23 - Greenville, S.C. @ Radio Room
Aug. 24 - Asheville, N.C. @ Divination Tattoo
Aug. 25 - Chattanooga, Tenn. @ Cherry Street Tavern
Aug. 26 - Nashville, Tenn @ Bowery Vault
Aug. 27 - Columbia, Tenn. @ RPM Live Music Nights
Aug. 29 - Florence, Ala. @ All The Best
Aug. 30 - Tuscaloosa, Ala. @ Druid City Brewing Company
Sept. 1 - Mobile, Ala @ Callaghan's
Sept. 2 - Waverly, Ala. @ Standard Deluxe
Sept. 3 - Hattiesburg, Miss. @ T-Bone's Records (In-Store Performance)
Sept. 3 - Hattiesburg, Miss. @ Thirsty Hippo
Sept. 5 - Little Rock, Ark. @ White Water Tavern
Sept. 8 - Fort Worth, Texas @ The Post
Sept. 9 - Pittsburg, Kansas @ Town Plaza
Sept. 10 - Tulsa, Okla. @ Vox Pop
Sept. 14 - Santa Fe, N.M. @ El Rey Court
Sept. 15 - Ridgway, Colo. @ Sherbino Theater
Sept. 16 - Ft. Collins, Colo. @ Red Fox Run
Sept. 17 - Divide, Colo. @ Paradox
Sept. 18 - Crested Butte, Colo. @ The Breadery
Sept. 20 - Ft. Collins, Colo @ Surfside 7
Sept. 22 - Salt Lake City, Utah @ Thornbrue House
Sept. 23 - Bozeman, Mont. @ Live From The Divide
Sept. 24 - Butte, Mont. @ Pisser's Palace
Sept. 25 - Missoula, Mont. @ Ear Candy Music
Sept. 26 - Bremerton, Wash. @ Rimbert Illustration
Sept. 30 - Portland, Ore. @ Laurelthirst
Oct. 5 - San Rafael, Calif. @ Mink Meadow
Oct. 6 - Reno, Nev. @ 7th Street Station
Oct. 8 - Petaluma, Calif. @ Sunny Hill House Concert
Oct. 9 - Sacramento, Calif. @ Claimstake
^ Supporting Hanson

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