Hamish Anderson Blog #3: European Tour
SWITZERLAND: I landed in Switzerland on September 25th with my band for my first European club tour. Luckily we had the rest of the day to regroup, but by the next day it was non-stop for what would be 24 shows in the next 29 days.
Headlining anywhere for the first time can be nerve-wracking, especially out of the country in new places. You never know what to expect (or if anyone will show up!). Thankfully, we had a packed house from show #1 in Einsiedeln, Switzerland. We played two shows in Switzerland before heading out to Belgium.
BELGIUM:
The day started with an in-store performance at a great record store in Oostende called Compact Center. Was fun to sign a Fender Telecaster just like mine for a young fan, too.
The day ended at De Zwever in Leffinge, Belgium with our first sold out show of the tour- thankfully there were many more to come! This was definitely a tour highlight for me.
GERMANY & THE NETHERLANDS:
From Belgium, we headed to a small town in Germany called Twist. The next 10 shows were in Germany and The Netherlands. In 2018, we came over to Europe to play a few festivals in both countries (Moulin Blues, Bevrijdings, Grolsch Blues Festival, and Ribs & Blues Festival) so we already knew we could expect a good time with great people who appreciate blues rock.
One place in Germany we hadn’t been before was Norderstedt, at a very special venue called Music Star where we played a video recorded show (you can watch “U” here!)
SWEDEN AND DENMARK:
A few long drives and a ferry ride later, we were in Sweden, followed by Denmark. Kristianstad, Sweden was a unique city with great people, plus a small fantastic record store called Kompakt Disk and a hotel with a Grand Budapest vibe.
We rolled into Copenhagen, Denmark the next day to play a small blues club right in the heart of the city. Unfortunately, we were in and out of the city quickly, but hope to explore more next time around.
SLOVAKIA:
We were in and out of Copenhagen so quickly because there was a 13+ hour trip to Slovakia ahead of us. We arrived in Bratislava which was another city we didn’t know what to expect. We were welcomed immediately and the crowd made us feel at home.
BACK TO GERMANY:
We came back to Germany for two more shows, including Anlagencafe in Schwabisch Hall where a sold out crowd joined us in singing Happy Birthday to our drummer!
AUSTRIA:
We played a couple of shows around Austria, including a definite highlight of playing in a beautiful old cinema called Kino Ebensee! The sound was amazing and the crowd was wild!
ITALY:
Italy was great, and not just because it was one of the two places we had off days during the month long tour and got to explore. Great food and wine, great people, great sound engineers..what more could you ask for?
We’re excited to go back in 2020!
Hamish Anderson
