Big Big Train has recruited Alberto Bravin as lead vocalist following the tragic death of David Longdon in November 2021.
Based in Trieste in Italy, Bravin’s career includes performing around 200 shows with progressive rock legends PFM between 2015 and January 2022, both in Italy and internationally, singing lead and backing vocals and playing keyboards.
Alberto Bravin says: “I am extremely honored to have the opportunity to join Big Big Train. I was already a huge BBT fan and am looking forward to play my part in taking this great band forward while also honoring the memory of David Longdon.”
Big Big Train bassist and founder Gregory Spawton comments: “Before Covid-19 hit, Nick D’Virgilio and I had both seen Alberto perform with PFM. We were very impressed with his abilities as a vocalist and multi-instrumentalist and therefore approached him earlier this year.
“We know that David is irreplaceable and we miss him deeply both musically and personally,” Spawton continues. “We were very clear that we didn’t want to bring someone into the band who would seek to mimic David; that just felt fundamentally wrong. Instead, we wanted someone who could do justice with their own musical skills and personality to the songs that David sang for Big Big Train as well as being able to help to drive the band forwards. From his first audition singing some BBT classic songs and subsequently his work on some new material that we’re working on, we’re confident that we’ve found the right person in Alberto.”
“Aside from Alberto’s great voice and all-around musical skills, it was also vital for us to find the right personal fit, particularly after being struck with David’s sudden death,” drummer Nick D’Virgilio comments. “We flew Alberto to London several weeks ago so we could hang together for a few days and the chemistry immediately felt right.”
AboutAlberto Bravin
Alberto was born in Trieste, on Italy’s north-eastern border with Slovenia.
His involvement in music began at the age of three when he started taking piano lessons. Later on, he developed an interest in electronic keyboards and synthesizers and this paved the way for his love of progressive rock music.
At the age of 17, Alberto began studying opera singing at the Trieste Conservatory and after a couple of years, he moved to London where he graduated in modern singing. Alongside his singing and piano playing, Alberto is also a self-taught guitarist, bassist, and drummer.
After his studies in London, Alberto returned to Trieste where he opened his own recording studios (Echoes Recording Studios) and released two albums (Sinestesia and The Day After Flower) with his band Sinestesia (featuring Alberto, Roby De Micheli, Alessandro Sala, and Paolo Marchesich of Rhapsody Of Fire). Both albums were produced by Franz Di Cioccio of Italian progressive rock legends PFM – Premiata Forneria Marconi. Alberto also recorded and mixed Rhapsody Of Fire’s eleventh album, 2016’s Into The Legend.
In 2015 Alberto joined PFM (alongside Marco Sfogli) as a singer and additional guitarist and keyboard player. With PFM he played around 200 shows, both in Italy and worldwide, and released two albums (2017’s Emotional Tattoos and 2021’s I Dreamed Of Electric Sheep). Alberto is a Beatles fanatic and at the same time a progressive rock and metal aficionado.
Big Big Train is pleased to confirm that their two previously announced UK shows in September 2022 will take place. In addition, the band has scheduled six further shows for September in the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, and France.
Keyboardist/vocalist Carly Bryant is unable to tour with the band in September 2022 for family reasons. “After over two years of being part of Big Big Train and involved in two studio albums, I was extremely keen to go on the road with the band. However a recent change in my family situation means that sadly I cannot be away from home in the autumn,” Bryant explains. “I love being part of BBT and will be on stage with the band at the earliest opportunity when my family commitments permit.”
Alongside Bravin, D’Virgilio, Spawton, and longstanding guitarist Rikard Sjöblom, the Big Big Train line-up for the September 2022 shows will consist of guitarist Dave Foster, violinist/vocalist Clare Lindley, keyboardist Oskar Holldorff and the Big Big Train brass section led by Dave Desmond. Holldorff leads Norwegian band Dim Gray, whose debut album Flown was much acclaimed last year and who are preparing to release their second album later this year.
“Oskar came to our attention from his work with Dim Gray and is another tremendous talent to involve in Big Big Train,” Sjöblom says. “We’re very grateful to him for stepping in while Carly is unavailable. It’s also exciting that Big Big Train is becoming an increasingly international band – in September we will have an American, a Swede, an Italian, and a Norwegian on stage with the Brits.”
During the September tour, Big Big Train will be playing material from various stages of their career and also one new song.
“We were originally scheduled to play live shows in spring 2020 but then Covid-19 derailed our live plans repeatedly and since then we’ve prepared numerous different setlists,” Sjöblom continues. “We’ve released two full albums since we last played live and are spoilt for choice with the setlist for September.”
“In addition to our UK shows, I’m really looking forward to getting back into continental Europe,” D’Virgilio adds. “As well as visiting the prog strongholds of the Boerderij and Z7, we thought it would be cool to play some smaller venues in France and Germany as we re-establish BBT as a live band. We can’t wait to get out and play again and show what this band can do!”
Legendary Guitarist With Frank Zappa, David Bowie, King Crimson, Talking Heads
First Single “a13” Now Available!
Adrian Belew is a legendary guitarist well-known for his diverse travels around the musical map. He is a multi-instrumentalist whose solo records are critically acclaimed. His moving singing voice and prolific songwriting has endeared a loyal fan base of music lovers. His music is being discovered everyday by more and more listeners thirsty for great music with a creative standard not often pushed by the commercial music industry.
Adrian has signed with Bliss Entertainment, distributed exclusively by Ingrooves Music Group. “Elevator” will be the first Adrian Belew solo recording released through streaming. Adrian and management chose the Ingrooves Music Group channel based on the Ingrooves technology and the Universal global distribution channel. As with all artists, the optimization of music sales revenue is key to picking their distribution and marketing partners. The first single “a13” is now available!
“Elevator” is Adrian’s 25th solo record and as with most of his solo releases, he writes the songs, produces the record, and plays and sings everything. “Elevator” includes 38 of Adrian’s recent digital paintings as well as the lyrics to his songs. There are 12 new songs, ranging from delicate ballads to raging art rock as well as Adrian’s unique brand of avant-pop music.
To promote his new solo album and digital distribution deal, Adrian will be touring the US and Canada this summer starting July 13th in St. Paul, MN. Adrian’s touring trio will include bassist Julie Slick and drummer Johnnie Luca. Adrian describes the “Elevator” show as “part ‘classic’ power trio, new power trio songs never performed before, and a short solo acoustic performance of favorites and new songs from ‘Elevator.’” Adrian will be performing fan favorites spanning his whole career!
Adrian also continues to perform with the Remain In Light tour featuring Adrian and Jerry Harrison, and will finish out the year touring the states as guest artist alongside Todd Rundgren for the “Celebrating David Bowie” show.
Adrian Belew first appeared on the guitar-world radar when he toured with Frank Zappa in 1977 who later said, “Adrian reinvented electric guitar”. Adrian’s signature tones, unique use of effects and whammy bar remains completely different, and his techniques continue to be a huge influence on today’s guitarists. He was guitarist, songwriter and frontman Progressive Rock Powerhouse King Crimson for over 30 years. “Discipline”, Adrian’s first record with King Crimson, is listed among the most important rock records ever made.
Adrian has had a career that commands both awe and respect from fellow musicians and loyal fans, from his first solo record “The Lone Rhino” to the Atlantic Records hit album “Mr. Music Head” or any of his other solo records (25 total) that push sonic boundaries while maintaining artistic integrity. Adrian shreds on guitar but also writes beautiful songs that will make you cry. Yes, Adrian has taken his fans on a wild ride through countless world tours and albums with David Bowie, Talking Heads, Laurie Anderson, and Paul Simon. He truly is the Twang Bar King!
Tour Dates:
7/13/22 – Turf Club, St. Paul, MN 7/14/22 – Shank Hall, Milwaukee, WI 7/15/22 – Arcada Theatre, St. Charles, IL 7/16/22 – Hi-Fi Annex, Indianapolis, IN 7/18/22 – City Winery, Chicago, IL 7/19/22 – City Winery, Chicago, IL 7/21/22 – The Ludlow Garage, Cincinnati, OH 7/22/22 – Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland, OH 7/23/22 – Magic Bag, Ferndale, MI 7/24/22 – The Oaks Theater, Oakmont, PA 7/26/22 – City Winery, Nashville, TN 7/27/22 – City Winery, Atlanta, GA 7/29/22 – The Grey Eagle, Asheville, NC 7/30/22 – City Winery, Washington, DC 7/31/22 – Rams Head, Annapolis, MD 8/1/22 – Ashland Theatre, Ashland, VA 8/3/22 – Higher Ground, South Burlington, VT 8/4/22 – The Flying Monkey, Plymouth, NH 8/5/22 – City Winery, Boston, MA 8/6/22 – The Newton Theatre, Newton, NJ 8/14/22 – Center for the Arts of Homer, Homer, NY 8/16/22 – City Winery, Philadelphia, PA 8/18/22 – City Winery, New York, NY 8/19/22 – The Egg, Albany, NY 8/20/22 – Ridgefield Playhouse, Ridgefield, CT
Continuing the celebration of their 20th band anniversary, Polish rock masters RIVERSIDE will soon embark on a comprehensive tour across North America and Latin America.
Unfortunately, the band has been forced to cancel some shows and is now announcing a revised, shorter tour schedule for North America.
The band shared this message:
“Dear Friends,
We have some bad and some good news.
The bad news is, for bureaucratic and logistic reasons beyond our control we cannot go to the USA in the first half of April 🙁
Unfortunately, because of that, we have to cancel the shows from the first part of our tour:
Nashville (TN), Dallas (TX), Austin (TX), Phoenix (AZ), Pomona (CA), San Francisco (CA), Portland (OR), Seattle (WA), Salt Lake City (UT), Boulder (CO) and St. Paul (MN).
Tickets will be refunded where you purchased them.
We want to apologize to everyone who has incurred additional travel expenses in connection with those concerts 🙁 We promise to make it up to you with shows in…early 2023!
The good news is that we managed to save all shows from Chicago (IL) onwards. And, we were able to save the Atlanta (GA) date by moving the show to April 16. What’s more, we were able to add a last-minute show on April 18 in Cleveland (OH) at the Beachland Ballroom (on sale in the next few days)!
Please check the amended tour dates on the updated poster.
We are truly sorry about the whole mix-up. We were very close to canceling the whole tour, but by some miracle, we managed to save at least a part of it, and we are definitely going to be there. We hope to meet as many of you as possible.
RIVERSIDE – North American Tour 2022
With special guests Keith Semple of The Cyberiam (for USA dates) & Randy McStine (for Canada dates)
Stay tuned for more special, international anniversary shows to be announced soon…
RIVERSIDE have recently released a special Digital Single entitled “Story of My Dream” to enhance the anniversary celebration. This brand-new track was recorded and mixed at The Boogie Town Studio in Otwock, Poland during two days in July and five days in September 2021, engineered and mixed by Paweł Marciniak as well as mastered by Paweł Marciniak at Manximum Records in Łódź, Poland.
The Story of My Dream” single features artwork by Travis Smith (Opeth, Katatonia, etc.) and can also be checked out in a video clip directed by Tomasz Pulsakowski / Sightsphere here:
Additionally, RIVERSIDE also released two digital “best of” compilations via to showcase the comprehensive and rich back-catalogue from across the last two decades of band activity. Featuring material all especially remastered by Magda and Robert Srzedniccy (Serakos Studio) for this occasion, “Riverside 20 – Vol.1, The Shorts” includes 19 tracks and “Riverside 20 – Vol.2, The Longs” includes 14 songs each.
Both individual “Riverside 20” compilations as well as a bundle are available here:
RIVERSIDE previously also re-issued their debut album “Out Of Myself” as well as the “Lost’n’Found – Live in Tilburg” release via InsideOutMusic, following the launch of their acclaimed latest studio album “Wasteland” in 2018. Check out the various available back-catalogue titles by RIVERSIDE from the IOM webshop here: https://www.insideoutshop.de/Search?q=riverside
After too long a wait we are pleased to announce the Dialogue Tour in the USA this summer. Howard (with his electric band) will be touring with his good friend Midge Ure .
On the upcoming tour, Howard states “I am beyond excited to be touring the US this summer with my great friend Midge Ure. The tour will be a celebration of being together, enjoying the power of live music again. Expect plenty of hit songs as well as cuts from my new album DIALOGUE”.
Midge Ure added, “What a joy to be touring North America with my friend Howard Jones again. With the emphasis on technology, quality and performance I am looking forward to dusting off the synthesizers, cranking up the guitar, and playing with the brilliant musicians who will be sharing the stage with me. We first collaborated live together back in 1989 on Howard’s ‘Cross the line Tour’ which holds nothing but great memories for me, so I am hoping to not only rekindle those but add new ones to the memory bank”.
JUNE 17 Tulalip, WA Tulalip Casino 18 Portland, OR Aladdin Theater 21 Sacramento, CA Ace Of Spades 22 San Francisco, CA Bimbo’s 365 23 San Diego, CA Humphrey’s By The Bay 24 Los Angeles, CA Ace Hotel Theater 26 Mesa, AZ The Venue At Farnsworth Hall 28 Salt Lake City, UT TBA 29 Denver, CO Ogden Theatre
JULY 1 Milwaukee, WI TBA 2 Des Plaines, IL Des Plaines Theater 3 Detroit, MI Magic Bag 6 Cleveland, OH House Of Blues 8 Pittsburgh, PA Carnegie Of Homestead MusicHall 9 Wilkes-Barre, PA F.M. Kirby Center 13 Boston, MA Wilbur Theater 14 Norwalk, CT Wall Street 15 Philadelphia, PA Keswick Theater 16 Red Bank, NJ Count Basie Theater 17 Patchogue, NY Patchogue Theater 19 Washington, DC 9:30 Club Theater 21 Savannah, GA District Live 22 Atlanta, GA Buckhead Theater 23 Clearwater, FL Bilheimer Capitol Theatre 24 Sanford, FL TBA 26 Houston, TX House Of Blues 27 Dallas, TX Amplified Live
Today sees the release of the animated video for PROPER JACK FROSTER, the latest single from BIG BIG TRAIN, taken from the forthcoming WELCOME TO THE PLANET album. Proper Jack Froster is based on a story from Gregory Spawton’s childhood in the Midlands in the UK in the 1970s.
Work on the video by Swedish animator Love Andreas Gson Fagerstedt began before the untimely, tragic passing of Big Big Train’s singer David Longdon on 20th November 2021. David’s partner and the band have decided that the video should still be released to help to promote the forthcoming album to the fullest extent possible.
Watch the video here:
Big Big Train’s March 2022 UK tour will now not take place; ticket holders should contact their point of purchase for information on refunds. Prior to David’s death the band had been on the verge of announcing a North American tour consisting of over 20 shows in May and June 2022. This projected North American tour will also not be taking place.
The band will be making an announcement next year about its future, including regarding the September 2022 shows that are scheduled to take place in the UK. Ticket holders for these September shows are encouraged to retain their tickets for the time being pending that further announcement. No further comment will be made about the band’s future before next year.
As with COMMON GROUND, WELCOME TO THE PLANET sees Big Big Train retain their progressive roots but also take influence from all spheres of music. The four recent singles “Proper Jack Froster’, ‘Made Of Sunshine ‘The Connection Plan’ and ‘Lanterna’ are also included along with keyboard player Carly Bryant’s first Big Big Train writing credit and lead vocal on the captivating title track. The album is completed by the delicate acoustic ‘Capitoline Venus’, the beautiful ‘Oak And Stone’ and a pair of dazzling instrumentals, ‘A Room With No Ceiling’ and ‘Bats In The Belfry’, written by guitarist/keyboardist Rikard Sjöblom and drummer Nick D’Virgilio respectively.
Six months after the release of the critically acclaimed album ‘COMMON GROUND‘, Big Big Train are pleased to announce a new album ‘WELCOME TO THE PLANET’, due out on January 28th, 2022 on their own label, English Electric Recordings.
The band have recorded a video announcing the new album, which you can watch here:
Big Big Train founder Gregory Spawton explains the short time between albums: “The experience of the pandemic has shown us that we need to make the best use of our time on Earth. With that in mind and with new band members on board giving us a fresh head of steam, we decided on a speedy return to the studio to write and record Welcome To The Planet.”
As with ‘COMMON GROUND’, ‘WELCOME TO THE PLANET’ sees Big Big Train retain their progressive roots but also take influence from all spheres of music. The album’s opener ‘Made From Sunshine’, co-written by guitarist Dave Foster and singer David Longdon, has guitar lines redolent of Johnny Marr and vocal harmonies reminiscent of the Finn Brothers/Crowded House, with violinist Clare Lindley sharing lead vocals with Longdon.
Elsewhere on the album, keyboard player Carly Bryant gets her first Big Big Train writing credit and lead vocal on the captivating title track. The two recent singles ‘The Connection Plan’ and ‘Lanterna’ are included along with a winter themed song ‘Proper Jack Froster’, a bittersweet tale of childhood. The album is completed by the delicate acoustic ‘Capitoline Venus’, the beautiful ‘Oak And Stone’ and a pair of dazzling instrumentals, ‘A Room With No Ceiling’ and ‘Bats In The Belfry’, written by guitarist/keyboardist Rikard Sjöblom and drummer Nick D’Virgilio respectively.
For their March 2022 UK tour, which will be their most extensive to date and which will culminate with a show at the prestigious London Palladium, David Longdon (lead vocals, flute), Nick D’Virgilio (drums, vocals), Rikard Sjöblom (guitars, keyboards, vocals), Greg Spawton (bass), Carly Bryant (keyboards, guitars, vocals), Dave Foster (guitars) and Clare Lindley (violin, vocals) will be joined by a five piece brass ensemble. In addition to two further UK shows in September, the band expects to announce North American and continental European tour dates shortly.
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