Urban folk singer-songwriter Darren Hanlon has returned from a life-affirming jaunt to the US, and he’s brought a new album back with him. The Aussie troubadour’s fifth studio effort, Where Did You Come From?, will also make its way around Australia, with Hanlon embarking on a marathon national tour.
Kicking off at the Nannup Festival at the end of February, the trek will see the Gympie-based tunesmith criss-cross the country during March and April, playing festivals – including a spot at Tasmania’s PANAMA Festival – and regional venues in between every major city.
The album itself, Hanlon’s first solo LP in five years, was conceived in the isolated town of Broken Hill, but managed to span two continents and countless cities, towns, and recording studios within America’s southern states before its ultimate completion. It’s being billed by the songwriter as a testament to the joys of travelling and the mysteries of fate.
“One ambitious and under-prepared Queenslander, one battered old guitar, one Amtrak pass, five recording studios, fifteen or so musical strangers, six bullet holes,” he describes in an official fan mailout.
“I went on an exploratory adventure in the American southlands and the whole thing grew up around me like rogue lantana. I spent 20 or so nights sleeping on the train with my jumper rolled up under my head. When I hopped off I walked the cracked pavements of the great Southern cities and met buskers, thieves, tap-dancers, roadside preachers, drunks and dealers, all of whom had something worth saying to learn about.”
“All that fed into the writing of the songs and onto these recordings… The songs wrote themselves, and often were meant for these characters I met along the way specifically.”
Where Did You Come From? officially hits the streets on Monday, March 2nd but eager fans can pre-order the disc on CD and vinyl.
Tickets to Darren Hanlon’s Where Did You Come From? National Tour are also on sale now.
Watch: Darren Hanlon – When You Go
Darren Hanlon – Where Did You Come From? Tour Dates
Friday, 27th February – Sunday, 1st February
Nannup Festival, WA
Tickets: darrenhanlon.com/tours
Monday, 2nd March
Mojos Bar, Freemantle
Tickets: darrenhanlon.com/tours
Thursday, 5th March
Republic Bar, Hobart
Tickets: darrenhanlon.com/tours
Friday, 6th March – Sunday, 8th March
Panama Festival
Tickets: darrenhanlon.com/tours
Thursday, 12th March
Railway Club, Darwin
Tickets: darrenhanlon.com/tours
Friday, 20th March & Saturday, 22nd March
Yackandandah Folk Festival
Tickets: darrenhanlon.com/tours
Tuesday, 24th March
Clarendon Guest House, Katoomba
Tickets: darrenhanlon.com/tours
Wednesday, 25th March
Gallipoli Legions Club, Newcastle
Tickets: darrenhanlon.com/tours
Thursday, 26th March
Manning Bar, Sydney
Tickets: darrenhanlon.com/tours
Friday, 27th March
Street Theatre, Canberra
Tickets: darrenhanlon.com/tours
Saturday, 28th March
Candelo Festival
Tickets: darrenhanlon.com/tours
Thursday, 2nd April
Jive Bar, Adelaide
Tickets: darrenhanlon.com/tours
Friday, 3rd April
Karova Lounge, Ballarat
Tickets: darrenhanlon.com/tours
Thursday, 9th April
The Spotted Cow, Toowoomba
Tickets: darrenhanlon.com/tours
Friday, 10th April
The Zoo, Brisbane
Tickets: darrenhanlon.com/tours
Saturday, 11th April
Majestic Theatre, Pomona
Tickets: darrenhanlon.com/tours
Friday, 17th April
The Corner Hotel, Melbourne
Tickets: darrenhanlon.com/tours
Darren Hanlon – Where Did You Come From? Track Listing
1. Salvation Army
2. When You Go
3. Trust Your Feelings (When You Wake)
4. There’s Nothing on my Mind
5. Letter From an Australian Mining Town
6. Fear of the Civil War
7. My Love is an Ocean Away
8. Manhole Cover Tap
9. The Chattanooga Shoot Shoot
10. The Will of the River
11. Awkward Dancer
12. Halley’s Comet, 1986
13. Shine A Light
