Packing up all my stuff ready to set off tomorrow for three weeks touring in Germany; guitar, piano, cello, harmonicas, mandolin and a bunch of vinyl LPs and CDs. The studio feels especially empty now after the demise of my much appreciated studio companion Charlie. Charlie passed away peacefully in his sleep last week and we buried him in the garden. Charlie was an Australian bearded dragon who had seen me through the last three albums and countless days playing and writing in the studio; he was an unwanted pet that I took over and nurtured, a ‘rescue lizard’; he died at the ripe old age of fourteen which is very old for his breed. I am hoping he gets reborn out in the desert and does not have to spend another lifetime in captivity.
Speaking of pets, our Maine Coon cat has been missing for the last two days at the same time that a wolf has been filmed taking away another cat just half a kilometer from here. It sounds far fetched, but we seem to be in the centre of the most dense wolf population for some reason; the problem is now so bad that you can’t have a dog off the lead out in the forest or even in some nearby fields. We have two wolf flocks very nearby and they have moved on from sheep and chickens and now they have discovered that Malmkoping is a convenient place to get a cat take-away. (As I am writing this I get a message to say that 6 cats in the village have been reported missing in the last 3 days).
Tomorrow I will leave behind the joys of rural life to live on the autobahns for a while. The venues coming up could not be more different and are all interesting places: theatres, a blues club, a couple of village halls, a town festival, a couple of house concerts, two churches and more. I have not played live for a while so I have been getting restless and am raring to go; ‘ich freue mich’, as they say in Germany.
After this tour, I have four days at home then off to England to rehearse with June Tabor and Oysterband. I start my solo tour of England and Wales on 10th October at The Green Note in London, plus the shows with June Tabor and Oysterband.
I love my job.
EVEN FOR A SHADOW AUTUMN TOUR 2024
4 Sep Silkeborg house concert DK
6 Sep Rotta der Gassmühle (Kemberg) DE
7 Sep Hannover Blues Club Zum Stern
8 Sep Stralsund St Jacobi Kulturkirche
11 Sep Walsrode house concert
12 Sep Schwalbach am Tanus Cowhide
14 Sep Weinheim Durrerplatz At Weinheimer Herbst Festival
15 Sep Riedstadt Buchner Buehne
17 Sep Schleswig Gemeinschaftshaus St Jürgen
18 Sep Stolpe (Kiel) Dorfgemeinschaftshaus
19 Sep Flensburg St Johannis Kirche
October
10 Oct London Green Note
11 Oct Cranbrook St Dunstans Church
16 Oct Birmingham Red Lion
17 Oct Barnoldswick Arts with Virginia Kettle
18 Oct Bury St Edmunds Milkmaid
21 Oct Boarhunt Forest Folk
23 Oct York Museum St Tavern
25 Oct Otley UpCo
26 Oct Leamington Spa Temperance Cafe
27 Oct Rhayader The Lost Arc
+ more TBA. Details: https://www.raycooper.org/shows/
