Damien Jurado Launches His 50 State Tour, “If you are an artist, a musician, poet, or if you want to host a show, please reach out”

Indie singer/songwriter Damien Jurado recently launched his unorthodox 50 State Tour that will see the musician perform in standard venues, churches, community centers, art spaces and possibly at someone’s home. Back in April, a video was released to go along with the initial tour announcement and can be viewed above.

“It started as a dream as I drove past so many neighborhoods and towns on my way the “major market”. I have watched our choice to connect to the experience in front of us dwindle away, only to be replaced with connection to a screen,” he says in an official statement. “We are told what is success, sold what is the “it” thing, and fed what people think we should know. Its not that any of those are bad, but on their own, they are nothing. We are nothing without the connection to one another. We are blesssed to live in a beautiful world FULL of incredible people. If that isn’t worth getting together and celebrating, I dont know what is. Join me in celebrating our country and the things that not only make us the same but also the beauty of our differences.”

Inspired by Woody Guthrie, Jurado commented, “This is a guy who is traveling across America, sometimes hitchhiking with a guitar and he is showing up at labor camps, union strikes, picket lines. I thought, ‘man, this is really cool. This is the guy who wrote “This Land is Your Land” and here he is playing in someone’s living room.'”

As Jurado contemplated the tour, he began ruminating on the idea of nesting in a state for an entire week. “Let’s hang out in Texas for an entire week and play as many places as we possibly can,” he says. “Let’s have an opener from that state….create posters for each individual state as well, recruiting a local artist to get involved.” Toward the end of the video, Jurado even extends an invitation, “If you are an artist, a musician, poet, or if you want to host a show, please reach out to us and get involved.” You can visit his official website, located here.

Where’s the complete list of tour dates?  Jurado says, “your state will be chosen like a lottery-style, you won’t know until it’s announced.”  A list of confirmed dates can be viewed below.

For those of you who may be unfamiliar with his work I have embedded one of my favorite tracks, ‘Museum of Flight’, located in the clip below. The song appears on Jurado’s 2012 album Maraqopa.

Confirmed Damien Jurado 50 State Tour Dates

JUN
16
50 State Tour in Newark, Ohio
Fri 8 PM EDT · by Damien Jurado
Thirty One West

JUN
17
50 State Tour in Canton, Ohio
Sat 7 PM EDT · by Damien Jurado
Deli Ohio

JUN
18
50 State Tour in Youngstown, Ohio
Sun 2 PM EDT · by Damien Jurado
Historian Recording Co.

JUN
18
50 State Tour in Akron, OH
Sun 7 PM EDT · by Damien Jurado
Hive Mind

JUN
20
50 State Tour in Indanapolis, Indiana
Tue 7 PM EDT · by Damien Jurado
Indy Alliance Church

JUN
22
50 State Tour in Griffith, Indiana
Thu 7 PM PDT · by Damien Jurado
132 N Broad St, Griffith, IN 46319-2219, United States

JUN
23
50 State Tour in South Bend, Indiana
Fri 8 PM PDT · by Damien Jurado
1302 High St, South Bend, IN 46601-3709, United States

JUN
24
Damien Jurado’s 50 State Tour at The Brass Rail in Fort Wayne, IN
Sat 8 PM EDT
The Brass Rail