Newsletter - The string band magic of Friends of the Road 🎻

Sometimes the stars align perfectly.

This week I got to sit down with Sadie and Elliot from Friends of the Road right before they head out on a massive East Coast and West Coast tour. A while back these folks sent me a record that hit right in my sweet spot - that perfect intersection of traditional American string band music and the drone-heavy improvisation that artists like Pelt pioneered.

We dive deep into their journey from old-time curious dabblers to something much more expansive, talk about their upcoming vinyl release (mastered by Andrew Weathers, naturally), and get into the nitty-gritty of DIY touring in 2025. Plus Elliot drops details about an absolutely insane three-day Drongo Fest happening this summer.

Also quick mention - Ashley Belouin and Ben Bracken's stunning String Songs record has CDs available again through the band, and we're planning another vinyl pressing soon. That record remains one of the most overwhelmingly beautiful things we've put out.

Catch Friends of the Road on tour, support real community-building music, and get ready for some serious string band revelation

https://drongodrongo.bandcamp.com/ 

https://friends-of-the-road.bandcamp.com/

FOTR East Coast Tour Dates!

sat 5/24 - brooklet GA @thehollow.haus 

sun 5/25 - chapel hill NC @thecavenc

tue 5/27 - richmond VA @circle_rva

wed 5/28 - washington DC @rhizome_dc

thu 5/29 - philadelphia PA @ little red library

fri 5/30 - boston MA @pastaplanet666

sat 5/31 - providence RI @redinkpvd

sat 6/7 - 9-11am - @wfmu w/ @cricket.wav

Also coming up

June 19th: The Chapel, Seattle with Customer

June 21st: Cascadian Midsummer Festival

Drongo Fest Announcement: https://www.instagram.com/p/DJ66r0SRAsc/

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