Southall

They came, played and won: rarely has a completely unknown support act been celebrated as frenetically as the Read Southall Band during the last Blackberry Smoke tour through Europe in spring. So it's no wonder that the six-piece group around namesake Read Southall has announced its own headlining tour here in Germany. As part of their "World Tour 2024", the sextet will not only be playing in the Netherlands, France, Italy and the UK, but will also be coming to Germany for four shows, bringing their latest album "For The Birds" with them.

It's been a long road for the twenty-something to this point: Read Southall grew up in a suburb of Oklahoma City, finished high school in 2010 and began studying. He recorded his first album, "Six String Sorrow", in 2015 and founded the band named after him in 2016. They tour with their own material and attract more and more fans each time. Their energetic country rock brought a breath of fresh air to the scene, and the hit single "Why" from their second album "Borrowed Time" now has almost 18 million streams on Spotify. The band members are making the most of the pandemic and the subsequent isolation, focusing fully on their third album "For The Birds" (2021). It is ambitious and combines the powerful energy of rock with elements of country and southern rock, a mixture of classic and contemporary rock for fans of Gary Stewart, Joe Walsh, Rival Sons and Chris Cornell. The reviews of "For The Birds" are also consistently positive: 'American Songwriter' calls the album "a kind of exploratory journey through previously unknown musical terrain" and 'Raised Rowdy' explains that there is hardly a band at the moment that is causing such a stir. Riff magazine also notes that the "Read Southall Band combines the guitar sound of the late grunge era with southern rock vocals and a country sensibility to create a sound that lies outside the expectations of these individual genres." This comes as no surprise to the bandleader: "We wouldn't be a real band without this album. Because for a long time we just concentrated on touring without thinking about the music as much as we should have. Somehow we needed the year without touring to make this album. And that worked. We had to focus."

The final line-up has also been found. With the return of John Tyler Perry, the Read Southall Band is complete: Southall (v, g), Perry (g), Reid Barber (dr), Jeremee Knipp (b), Ryan Welman (g) and Braxton Curliss (k). Fun fact: The latter started out as the band's merchandise salesman. "It took a few years; he took this old keyboard with him everywhere and was a pain in the ass, but he's gotten really good now," Southall explains. "He's kept us together as a band, stuck with us through thick and thin. That's why we're so strong." With this team spirit, the band will also delight fans in February 2024, that is already certain.

Photo Credit: Russell Stitt