Tour by Ben Rector | |
Location | United States |
---|---|
Start date | February 27, 2020 |
End date | December 1, 2023 |
Legs | 3 |
No. of shows | 33 |
Ben Rector concert chronology |
The Old Friends Acoustic Tour is a 2020, 2023, and 2024 concert tour from American singer-songwriter Ben Rector. The original tour, featuring Cody Fry, was slated to perform throughout the first half of 2020, but enforced lockdowns amidst the growing COVID-19 pandemic in the United States saw the tour cancelled after 4 performances, compromising 12 concerts. The tour was later revived in 2023 featuring Jordy Searcy and Stephen Day, performing an additional 27 concerts. Two additional dates were performed in October 2024. The concert is named after Rector's single "Old Friends".
Having missed his acoustic performances from his college years, Rector headlined the Old Friends Acoustic Tour to perform laid-back, stripped versions of his music. The concert would feature music mainly from his two albums prior, Magic and Brand New . Following enforced national lockdowns and the cancellation of the tour, he would find the open schedule relieving and would rework his upcoming album The Joy of Music in the meantime, among other releases. Some of his new music he released since 2020 would be featured in the 2023 revival.
When Ben Rector was in college, he would tour with just an acoustic guitar, an experience he missed. [1] Rector announced the tour in November 2019; the tour was designed to perform stripped versions of his songs, mainly those from 2018's Magic and 2015's Brand New , with a more relaxed atmosphere. [2] The tour featured Cody Fry. [3] In January 2020 he recorded the songs for his upcoming album following Magic, and began touring for the concert the following late February. [4] At the same time, the COVID-19 pandemic began spreading in the United States, and national lockdowns started to take effect, enforcing stay-at-home orders. Most entertainment fields were impacted around the same time. Rector had just flown to Dallas, Texas to perform at the Majestic Theatre that night, but was forced to return home in Nashville, Tennessee. [5] Attempts to postpone dates failed, and he ultimately cancelled the tour in August 2020. The following September, he held a pay-per-view livestream of the concert. [6] [7]
Although he was disappointed about the tour being cancelled he found the lack of a schedule to be liberating for him creatively. The day after flying home he immediately wrote "It Would Be You" via voice memos during quarantine with record producer John Fields. [8] With the free time, he would re-write and re-record most his next album from scratch, [4] as well as release A Ben Rector Christmas among other singles. [9] Meanwhile, Fry returned to production work; shortly afterward his song "I Hear a Symphony" from the 2017 album Flying became a viral hit on the social media platform TikTok, helping advance his career. [3]
The tour was revived in 2023, with musicians Jordy Searcy Stephen Day, and Austin Goodloe. [1] [10] The new tour received a new set, updated to include songs from The Joy of Music and Rector's single "Range Rover". [11] He cites The Old Friends Acoustic Tour as his favorite tour to perform. [6]
The following setlist was obtained from the concert held on February 28, 2020, at The Magnolia in El Cajon, California. It does not represent all concerts for the duration of the tour.
The following setlist was obtained from the concert held on March 29, 2023, at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. It does not represent all concerts for the duration of the tour. [11]
Date | City | Venue | |
---|---|---|---|
North America | |||
February 27, 2020 | Riverside, California | Fox Performing Arts Center [12] | |
February 28, 2020 | El Cajon, California | The Magnolia [13] | |
March 6, 2020 | Denver, Colorado | Paramount Theatre [14] | |
March 7, 2020 | Rexburg, Idaho | BYU-Idaho's Center Stage [15] |
Date | City | Venue | Reason |
---|---|---|---|
North America | |||
March 13, 2020 | Dallas, Texas | Majestic Theatre [16] | COVID-19 pandemic |
March 18, 2020 | Nashville, Tennessee | Ryman Auditorium [17] | |
March 20, 2020 | Little Rock, Arkansas | Robinson Center Stage [18] | |
March 27, 2020 | Minneapolis, Minnesota | State Theatre [19] | |
March 28, 2020 | Chicago, Illinois | Athenaeum Theatre [20] | |
April 4, 2020 | Boston, Massachusetts | Boch Center [21] | |
April 9, 2020 | Charlotte, North Carolina | North Carolina Blumenthal Performing Arts Center [22] | |
April 10, 2020 | Atlanta, Georgia | Atlanta Symphony Hall | |
April 17, 2020 | Greenville, North Carolina | Peace Center [23] | |
April 18, 2020 | Birmingham, Alabama | Alabama Theatre [24] | |
April 23, 2020 | College Station, Texas | Rudder Auditorium [25] | |
May 1, 2020 | Grand Rapids, Michigan | Fountain Street Church [26] | |
Date | City | Venue | |
---|---|---|---|
North America | |||
October 11, 2024 | Waco, Texas | Magnolia Silos | |
October 12, 2024 | Orlando, Florida | Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts | |
Nicholas Alan Searcy is an American character actor best known for portraying Chief Deputy United States Marshal Art Mullen on FX's Justified. He also had a major role in the Tom Hanks–produced miniseries From the Earth to the Moon as Deke Slayton, and directed Gosnell: The Trial of America's Biggest Serial Killer, a film released on October 12, 2018.
The Script are an Irish rock band formed in 2001 in Dublin, Ireland. The band currently consists of Danny O'Donoghue, Glen Power, Benjamin Sargent and Ben Weaver (guitar). Mark Sheehan was a member of the band up until his death in 2023. The band moved to London after signing to Sony Label Group imprint Phonogenic and released their first album The Script in August 2008, preceded by the debut single "We Cry" as well as other singles such as "The Man Who Can't Be Moved", "Breakeven" and "Before the Worst". The album peaked at number one in both Ireland and the UK. Their next three albums, Science & Faith (2010), #3 (2012) and No Sound Without Silence (2014), all topped the album charts in Ireland and the UK, while Science & Faith reached number two in Australia and number three in the United States. Some of the hit singles from the albums include "For the First Time", "Nothing", "Hall of Fame" and "Superheroes". The band's fifth studio album, Freedom Child, was released on 1 September 2017, and features the UK Top 20 single "Rain". Their sixth studio album, Sunsets & Full Moons, was released on 8 November 2019, and features the single "The Last Time". A Greatest Hits album was released on 1 October 2021.
Cody Robert Simpson is an Australian singer, actor, and competitive swimmer. Since his debut as a recording artist, he has released four solo studio albums: Paradise (2012), Surfers Paradise (2013), Free (2015), and Cody Simpson (2022). He portrayed the lead role of Dmitry in the Broadway musical Anastasia from November 2018 through April 2019. The same year, he won the first season of The Masked Singer Australia as "Robot".
Into the Morning is the third full-length studio album released by Ben Rector.
Benjamin Evans Rector is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer based in Nashville, Tennessee. Rector is an independent artist, and releases music under his own label OK Kid Recordings. A self-taught instrumentalist, Rector began songwriting and learning guitar at age 16, and began performing locally in high school. While attending college at the University of Arkansas he would tour within an 8 hour driving radius on the weekends. An early success saw him being the youngest grand prize winner of the John Lennon Songwriting contest in 2006 with the song "Conversation" from his self-titled extended play (EP). He released his first studio album Twenty Tomorrow in 2007, followed by Songs that Duke Wrote in 2008. 2010's Into the Morning would peak at No. 11 on Billboard's Top Heatseekers chart. The year following saw Rector debut on the Billboard 200 with Something Like This.
Something Like This is the fourth studio album released by American singer-songwriter Ben Rector. It was his first album after graduating from the University of Arkansas and relocating from Tulsa, Oklahoma to Nashville, Tennessee. It peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard Top Independent Albums charts and No. 41 on the Billboard 200, and charted 1st on the Singer-Songwriter chart on iTunes and 4th overall.
Set It Off is an American rock band formed in 2008 in Tampa, Florida. The band consists of lead vocalist Cody Carson, guitarist and bassist Zach Dewall, and drummer Maxx Danziger.
The Walking in Between is the fifth studio album released by American singer-songwriter Ben Rector, released in 2013. It was partly produced by Jamie Kenney and Charlie Peacock, and partially self-produced. It is the first release by Rector on his self-founded label, Aptly Named Recordings. In recent years, Rector found his high levels of success to be overwhelming. He expected the success to satisfying, though found it instead in "walking in between" moments of daily life. This would inspire the direction of The Walking in Between. The album was built around accessibility and honesty in Rector's feelings.
Spencer Sutherland is an American indie pop singer, songwriter, and actor from Pickerington, Ohio, United States.
Brand New is the sixth studio album by Ben Rector. It was released on August 28, 2015. It is the second album he has released under his own record label, Aptly Named Recordings. The first single "Brand New" which was produced by Ed Cash & David Hodges, debuted at number 94 on the Billboard Hot 100 and then peaked at number 9.
Magic is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Ben Rector, released on June 22, 2018 through OK Kid Recordings. Rector co-produced the album alongside Tony Hoffer, John Fields, Chad Copelin, Jeff Pardo, and Konrad Snyder. It was the longest gap between one of Rector's releases due to the success of the previous album, Brand New. After completing tours for Brand New Rector found time to reminisce on the progress of his music career, being overwhelmed by feelings of nostalgia. Themes of nostalgia and reminiscing would, as a result, be the theme of Magic.
Cory J. Wong is an American guitarist, songwriter, and producer based in Minneapolis. He has released many works as a solo artist and in partnership with others. His background spans several genres including jazz, rock, and funk. He has performed with Vulfpeck, Dave Koz, Stay Human, The Fearless Flyers, Ben Rector, Dr. Mambo's Combo, Chris Thile, Dave Matthews Band, and Dirty Loops. He released several albums in 2020, including Live in Amsterdam, a collaboration with the Metropole Orkest, and Meditations, a new-age album with Jon Batiste. His recent works include two albums released in conjunction with his variety show.
"Old Friends" is a 2018 song by American singer-songwriter Ben Rector. It released as a single alongside "I Will Always Be Yours" on May 18, 2018, and is the fourth song on Rector's seventh studio album Magic, released on June 22, 2018 via OK Kid Recordings. The song is a reflective piece reminiscing on old friends and memories.
Cody Fry is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer based in Nashville, Tennessee. He gained national attention on the 14th season of American Idol making it to the top 48. He has released several solo albums since 2006. His work spans many genres including pop, orchestral pop, and soul. He is known for his orchestral pop compositions, including orchestral versions of covers. In 2021, he was nominated for a Grammy Award at the 64th edition in the category of Best Arrangement, Instrumental and Vocals for his cover of The Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby."
The discography of American singer, songwriter and record producer Ben Rector consists of eight studio albums, three live albums, one compilation album, three extended plays (EP), sixteen singles and seventeen music videos. He has been featured on five songs and has credits on eight others.
The Joy of Music is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Ben Rector, released on March 11, 2022, through OK Kid Recordings. Rector co-produced the album with John Fields. The first draft of music was recorded in January 2020, but most of the album was scrapped and recorded throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and completed in December 2020. The pandemic cancelled his ongoing tour at the time and withheld other deadlines, leaving Rector to focus exclusively on the album's creation.
A Ben Rector Christmas is a compilation studio album by American singer-songwriter Ben Rector, released on November 13, 2020, through OK Kid Recordings. It is a collection of popular Christmas songs, including "The Thanksgiving Song", an original piece based on the holiday of the same name; "The Thanksgiving Song" released October 27, 2020, and the album followed on November 13, 2020. Due to lockdowns amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Rector had time to make and release a Christmas album with the lack of scheduled conflicts, ahead of his reworked studio album The Joy of Music.
"Range Rover" is the name of two songs by American singer and songwriters Devin Dawson and Ben Rector. The original draft was co-written by Dawson, Rector, and songwriter Mark Trussell, and two singles were released: Dawson's version in 2020, and Rector's version in 2021.
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Jordy Searcy is an American singer-songwriter based in Nashville, Tennessee. He began pursuing music by age 14 and saw early national success from a competitive run on season 7 of NBC's The Voice while attending college. He has since released three albums—Dark in the City (2018), Love? Songs (2020), and Daylight (2022)—which have seen viral success on social media. By 2022, he had written over 1,000 songs and amassed 51 million song streams. He has performed opening acts for artists such as Mat Kearney and Ben Rector, alongside a persistent touring base of about 150 shows nationwide per year.