Here we are, Rough Side Out worldwide release day. This EP is a collection of songs I wrote and/or recorded with some of my favourite writers and dearest friends working primarily in the Canadian country music world these days. Donovan Woods and Todd Clark are two of the most well-rounded musicians and songwriters in the biz and I am blessed to have been granted so much of their time and talents in the past year or so. I so happily gathered with them and a few others and in between laughs and tacos, these songs were born. There’s a country feel that is new for me and yet these songs are undeniably tied to my traditional Celtic home on an Island in the sea. You can take the Boy out of the Bay, but… well, you knows

The songs are about topics dear to me, from the love of the concert in We’re Gonna Love Tonight, to the tip of the hat to the pub singer in Anywhere You Wanna Go, and onto the never-ending conflict of wanting this night to never end while longing for the next one to come in I Gotta Go. I’ve always wanted to do a big, brokenhearted duet and was so glad that one of the country’s great voices Jess Moskaluke agreed to sing with me on What the Whisky Won’t Do. I was equally grateful when our old pal Dean Brody answered the call to join me on We Don’t Wanna Go Home, so we could finally explain to the world how tough it can be for a touring musician to find an open bar after the gig. It’s OK is really a whisper to people suffering with mental health issues to let them know a better day is coming, and Paper in Fire is, simply put, one of the most influential songs of my life and I’ve always wanted to record it.

Of course, all these songs are really designed to make a grand night out and I hope to see you out there as we tour these tunes and a whole bunch of favourites from my own records and the Great Big Sea catalogue on the Rough Side Out Tour. All the Beautiful Beautiful Band are on the go as well as the wonderful Kelly Prescott as special guest in Canada and Chris Trapper for the US shows. All should combine to make for the greatest Kitchen Party ever.

Thanks so very much for all of this. As Ever.

Cheers,
Alan

Folks, today you can pre-order, pre-save and pre-add the Rough Side Out EP:

Anyone who pre-orders will receive my cover of John Mellencamp’s “Paper In Fire” as a download. Lonesome Jubilee by Mellencamp remains one of the most influential records of my life. When it came out in 1987, I was just 18 years old and had a pretty solid foundation in traditional music from my parents and Newfoundland heroes like the Wonderful Grand Band. I was a massive fan of Mellencamp, or Cougar Mellencamp’s more rock and roll tunes from the early 1980s, but when his new single Paper in Fire came on the radio and video stations, I saw and heard something that spoke to me like never before. I saw an internationally renowned singer-songwriter on international TV fusing rock and roll instruments with fiddles and mandolins and banjos and accordions. All the instruments I grew up with in my own Newfoundland fishing town, played on MTV in a song that fused rock and roll and folk music. I was entranced. I still am. I’ve been wanting to cover Paper in Fire my whole career, but you really can’t do a good job on that song live unless you have an ace fiddler, and a banjo player, and an accordion player standing next to each other. In the Beautiful Beautiful Band we finally had the right combination and we are stoked to play a song that so few have covered and so many have loved.

Hey all,

Very excited to start the most extensive tour I’ve ever launched. The Rough Side Out Tour will roll from California to Newfoundland and all parts in between with some brand new music and bunch of old favourites, too. I’m stoked to tell you about the first two Canadian legs of the tour with stops as far West as Vancouver and as far East as Halifax. The Beautiful Beautiful Band are ready to roll and our special guest, the incredible Kelly Prescott will be opening the shows. Gonna be a Time!

Every ticket purchased for this tour includes a physical CD of my new EP (getting released on February 14, 2020) and one dollar from each ticket sold for this show will go to support the A Dollar A Day Foundation. Every dollar collected goes directly into the hands of proven Mental Health and Addictions programs across the country. We’ll help with the opioid crisis in Vancouver and homelessness in St. John’s and a whole lot more in between. Pre-sales start early on October 23!

And if you haven’t yet, you can LISTEN to my new single with Dean Brody now, We Don’t Wanna Go Home!

Cheers,
Alan