Entertainment

The Liberty Tour

About The Liberty Tour

The next Liberty Tour runs from 2nd-11th of April. This particular and particularly healthy dose of Freedom Music will be brought to you by Gareth Icke, Jono and Alan Frew...

Come down and drink to Liberty!!!


The Liberty Tour puts together some of the UK's finest up and coming acoustic artists, throws them in the back of a car and sets them out on the loose across the Country.

It features Glasgows finest - JONO
"Acoustic music never really sounded as good as this. One of the finest singer songwriters to emerge in recent years"
Jim Gellatly, BBC Radio Scotland

The Isle of Wights wordsmith - GARETH ICKE
"The problem with being a failed musician is that whenever you find yourself listening to pure talent you feel jealous and perhaps a little nauseous as you realise that you’ll never be that good. As a failed musician, when I listen to Gareth Icke, I feel like I’m in the throes of death…..but it’s a happy death."
Alex Baker, KERRANG!

Norwich based uber songstress - JESS MORGAN
"The glorious energy and lyricism of Bruce Springsteen's very early material"
Steve Lamacq, BBC Radio One

London based straight talking acoustic troubadour - WILL KEVANS
"The drinking man's Johnny Cash"
Matt Reed, Universal

Ayrshire's finger-picking nylon-strung genius - ALAN FREW
"Alan Frew's 'Go Easy' (pick of the week) is a gentle and uplifting, laid-back folk-pop album that's worth checking out"
Avril Cadden, Daily Record

THE LIBERTY TOUR ARCHETYPE:
There are so many talented musicians. You can write the best song in the world, but if you're just stuck in your bedroom, down the local pub or venue, you're not going to get too far. We need to be pro-active in many ways, including getting out onto the road and into the media.

RSW Concerts came up with the idea of the Liberty Tour to get their favourite solo artists out on the road together. The first tour, which involved Jono, Gareth Icke, Raymond Hackland and Jess Morgan was organised in 2008. The second in 2009, saw Will Kevans and Alan Frew joining Jono and Gareth Icke on a 20-date UK tour.

There is no headlining act. We rotate by playing three songs at a time, as opposed to the traditional idea of a "Line Up". It's really good for the atmosphere, bringing a living room feel to each gig. It suits the acoustic vibe very well and people seem to enjoy that. It also puts across the idea that we are a collective.

The record industry has changed since the advent of downloadable music. CD sales were the main source of funding that a label would use to promote its own artists and invest in new ones. As a result of this, the opportunities to sign and promote new original acts are diminishing very quickly and a lot of the time the labels dictate what kind of acts the public get to see.

The Liberty Tour addresses this by involving independent musicians who individually and collectively look into and do all the things that a record label does for its own artists. In other words, we actively create the same opportunities that a signed act would have created for them by their label. Members bring to and take from the table in equal amounts so that all can benefit from group knowledge.

The Liberty Tour is about the freedom to express music, empowering musicians to go to the public without necessarily needing a record labels involvement. In modern times our liberties are slipping away both individually and globally. It is up to us to take liberty back and make things happen for ourselves. This philosophy can apply to all walks of life.