Listen to Darlin' Baby, the new, Jimmy Buffet-inspired single by The Sheepdogs
By Fraser Lewry,
2024-08-01
Canadian rock kings The Sheepdogs , who are celebrating their 20th year as a band, have released a new single. Darlin' Baby is a lilting acoustic ballad with the sort of upbeat, sun-dappled harmonies on the chorus that are rather at odds with the overall sadness of the song.
"I went through some tough life things and just disappeared for a while," explains frontman Ewan Currie . "I went down to Miami and eventually found myself in the Florida Keys. It was a very strange trip. Here I was walking around paradise all by myself, feeling like shit, drinking lite beers and mescal and listening to 80s and 90s country: Alan Jackson, the hits of Brooks and Dunn and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, that kind of thing. Eventually I pulled up my socks and came back to Canada and started writing some songs. Darlin’ Baby was the first thing I wrote.
"Spiritually I think it has something in common with the Foundations’ Now That I’ve Found You which is peppy as hell, yet very sad when you really consider the lyrics. I was kind of envisioning, "the Eagles go to Margaritaville" when I sang the song. I had this fascination at the time with Jimmy Buffet, how he had this whole lifestyle based around chilling in paradise that he turned into a multi-million dollar empire. My joke was “I love everything about Jimmy Buffet but the music”. So I took some of his chill vibe but tried to write something a bit more heartfelt. I think it truly reflects my sad time in Paradise Alone."
“Here’s a first offering from a new Sheepdogs project which we will share with you in time for the UK/EU tour this autumn," adds bassist Ryan Gullen. "Looking forward to you hearing more. While it may not come as a surprise that not much has changed stylistically, we have made some changes behind the scenes that we hope will usher in a bit of a new era for the band."
The Sheepdogs' European tour kicks off in Spain this November and includes six UK dates, culminating in a show at London's Islington Assembly Hall on December 5. This week the band begin a series of festival dates in Canada before embarking on a lengthy US tour in September. Full dates below.
The Sheepdogs: 2024 tour dates
Aug 02: Lévis Festivent, QC, Canada Aug 04: Mani-Utenam Festival Innu Nikamu, QC, Canada Aug 09: Rouyn-Noranda Festival Osisko en Lumière, QC, Canada Aug 10: Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu Festival de Montgolfieres, QC, Canada Aug 14: Saskatoon Delta Bessborough Gardens, SK, Canada Aug 16: Cold Lake Extreme MudFest, AL, Canada
Sep 13: East Aurora Borderland Festival, NY Sep 14: Spring Green Shitty Barn, WI Sep 15: Minnesota Fine Line, MN Sep 17: Denver Bluebird Theatre, CO Sep 18: Salt Lake City Urban Lounge, UT Sep 20: Seattle Neumos, WA Sep 21: Portland Wonder Ballroom, OR Sep 23: San Francisco The Chapel, CA Sep 25: Los Angeles Lodge Room, CA Sep 26: San Diego Music Box, CA Sep 27: Phoenix Crescent Ballroom, AZ Sep 29: Austin 3TEN ACL Live, TX Sep 30: Dallas Kessler Theater, TX Oct 02: Indianapolis HI-FI, IN Oct 03: Cleveland Beachland Ballroom, OH Oct 04: Kitchener Oktoberfest Koolhaus, ON, Canada Oct 06: Woodstock Levon Helm's Studios, NY Oct 07: Boston The Sinclair, MA Oct 08: Hamden Space Ballroom, CT Oct 10: New York Racket, NY Oct 11: Ardmore Music Hall, PA Oct 12: Washington Black Cat, D.C. Oct 14: Atlanta Vinyl, GA Oct 15: Nashville Basement East, TN Oct 17: Chicago Metro, IL
Nov 09: Santiago de Compestela Outono Codax Festival, Spain Nov 10: Madrid Mon, Spain Nov 11: Barcelona La Nau, Spain Nov 13: Munich Strom, Germany Nov 14: Dresden Beatpol, Germany Nov 15: Berlin Frannz, Germany Nov 17: Hamburg Bahnhof Pauli, Germany Nov 18: Aarhus Headquarters, Germany Nov 20: Stockholm Debaser, Sweden Nov 21: Oslo John Dee, Norway Nov 22: Copenhagen Loppen, Denmark Nov 24: Groningen De Oosterport, The Netherlands Nov 25: Utrecht Tivoli Vredenburg, The Netherlands Nov 26: Cologne Luxor, Germany Nov 27: Paris Badaboum, France Nov 29: Trecco Bay Planet Rockstock, UK Nov 30: Bristol Strange Brew, UK Dec 01: Manchester Band on the Wall, UK Dec 02: Glasgow Oran Mor, UK Dec 04: Leeds Brudenell Social Club, UK Dec 05: London Islington Assembly Hall, UK
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