Old Crow Medicine Show Welcomes Back Critter Fuqua and Announces New Tour Dates
The band will be performing at the Grand Ole Opry on May 17 and 18.
By: Josh Sharpe May. 13, 2024
Old Crow Medicine Show has announced the return of founding member Christopher “Critter” Fuqua to the two-time GRAMMY Award-winning band.
Following a four-year hiatus, Fuqua will be re-joining the group on their current Jubilee Tour in support of their GRAMMY-nominated album and 25th anniversary, with new dates just announced, including two performances at the Grand Ole Opry on May 17 and 18. A full list of shows and tickets can be found HERE.
Since co-founding Old Crow Medicine Show, Fuqua has performed with the band on seven studio albums including the GRAMMY Award-winning Remedy. Fans know him as a songwriter and lead vocalist on favorites including “Take ‘Em Away” and “Big Time In the Jungle.” The group showcased the revamped lineup during their recent Paste Magazine session at this year’s MerleFest, featuring highlights from Jubilee as well as the previously unreleased song, “The Donkey and the Elephant,” which playfully pokes fun at the American political system.
“It stirs me to my very soul to share the good news that my oldest and dearest friend is coming back to join Old Crow onstage,” says Ketch Secor about the return of Fuqua. “We started this band together as teenagers out of a shared love for traditional music, songwriting, rock ‘n’ roll, and the road. All these years later and we’re still harmonizing, what a joy.”
“My relationship with the band is a bit like a Saturn 5 rocket,” says Fuqua. “For whatever reason, I need to leave sometimes. I achieve an escape vector from the gravitational pull of Old Crow, then I’m off into space, orbiting, floating in zero gravity in my capsule. But I always seem to come around again, shooting through the atmosphere, my pod landing in the ocean. The boys picked me up again. I’m so glad they did. I really missed them.”
The highly anticipated follow-up to Old Crow Medicine Show’s acclaimed 2022 album Paint This Town, Jubilee was co-produced with Matt Ross-Spang and features special guests including Mavis Staples, Sierra Ferrell, and Willie Watson, who recorded with the band for the first time in over 10 years on their single “Miles Away” (watch their recent performance here). The single spent nine weeks in the Top 10 at Americana Radio during an 18-week chart run.
To date, the album has garnered widespread acclaim including Consequence, SPIN, BrooklynVegan, American Songwriter, No Depression and more. Last year, Secor spoke with Rolling Stone and NPR’s Here & Now about the album and shared more insight into the band’s activism. Last year, the group released a powerful protest anthem called “Louder Than Guns,” and Secor penned a compelling guest essay for The New York Times.
Old Crow Medicine Show is Ketch Secor, Morgan Jahnig, Cory Younts, Critter Fuqua, Mike Harris, Dante’ Pope, and PJ George.
Old Crow Medicine Show Tour Dates:
May 17 – Nashville, TN @ Grand Ole Opry
May 18 – Nashville, TN @ Grand Ole Opry
May 24 – Charleston, SC @ Spoleto Festival USA
May 25 – Charleston, SC @ Spoleto Festival USA
May 26 – Cumberland, MD @ DelFest
June 12 – Tucson, AZ @ Fox Tucson Theatre
June 13 – Scottsdale, AZ @ Virginia Piper Theater at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts
June 14 – Escondido, CA @ Concert Hall at California Center for the Arts Escondido
June 15 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater *
June 16 – Bend, OR @ Hayden Homes Amphitheater *
June 18 – Livingston, MT @ Pine Creek Lodge ^ (SOLD OUT)
June 19 – Sun Valley, ID @ Sun Valley Pavilion *
June 20 – Sandy, UT @ Sandy Amphitheater
June 21 – Dillon, CO @ Dillon Amphitheater *
June 22 – Bellvue, CO @ Mishawaka Amphitheatre &
June 23 – Bellvue, CO @ Mishawaka Amphitheatre &
June 29 – Nashville, TN @ Grand Ole Opry
July 5 – Jackson, WY @ Snow King Mountain =
July 7 – Orillia, ON @ Mariposa Folk Festival
July 9 – Huber Heights, OH @ Rose Music Center at The Heights *
July 10 – Grand Rapids, MI @ Frederik Meijer Gardens * (SOLD OUT)
July 11 – Interlochen, MI @ Kresge Auditorium at Interlochen Center for the Arts *
July 12 – Cincinnati, OH @ The Andrew J Brady Music Center +
July 13 – Indianapolis, IN @ Everwise Amphitheater at White River State Park %
July 17 – New York, NY @ The Rooftop at Pier 17 *
July 18 – Deerfield, MA @ Tree House Brewing Company
July 19 – Portland, ME @ State Theatre **
July 20 – Trumansburg, NY @ Finger Lakes Grassroots Festival
July 21 – Boston, MA @ Roadrunner *
August 9 – Charlotte, NC @ PNC Music Pavilion #
August 10 – Roanoke, VA @ Elmwood Park Amphitheater ~
August 16 – Richmond, VA @ Maymont $
August 17 – Cary, NC @ Koka Booth Amphitheatre
August 18 – Selbyville, DE @ Freeman Arts Pavilion
August 30 – Vienna, VA @ Wolf Trap *
August 31 – Mill Spring, NC @ Earl Scruggs Music Festival
September 1 – Charlestown, RI @ Rhythm & Roots Festival
September 12 – Corbin, KY @ The Corbin Arena
September 13 – Ann Arbor, MI @ Michigan Theater
September 14 – Fort Wayne, IN @ Embassy Theatre
October 11 – Gainesville, GA @ Atlanta Botanical Garden - Gainesville
October 12 – Live Oak, FL @ Suwannee Roots Revival Festival
November 8 – Jim Thorpe, PA @ Penn’s Peak
November 20 – St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant **
November 21 – Des Moines, IA @ Val Air Ballroom **
November 22 – Milwaukee, WI @ The Riverside Theater **
November 23 – Iowa City, IA @ Hancher Auditorium at the University of Iowa **
December 30 – Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium
December 31 – Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium
February 22-28, 2025 – Miami, FL @ Outlaw Country Cruise 9
* with Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway
^ with Timber Rattlers
& with JD Clayton
= with Will Carlisle
+ with The Del McCoury Band
% with The Del McCoury Band and Brennen Leigh
** with Willie Watson
# supporting Hank Williams Jr.
~ with The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys
$ with Town Mountain
Photo credit: Brendan McLean
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