Western AF tour with Chris Acker, Northcote & Rachel Baiman

About the event

In a genre full of tall tales and marketable lies, Chris Acker crafts candid songs – weaving his wit and woes into a body of work that exposes the stale plight of the American Songster to the honest, and sometimes hilarious, light of day.Since leaving his childhood home of Seattle, Washington, Chris Acker has called the haggard decadence of the New Orleans Americana world his purlieu. In the tradition of Guthrie and Prine, Chris lends a quavering voice to the half-rotten romance of the unremarkable and unrefined. Regardless if you’re sitting by a backyard fire on a muggy Louisiana night or standing stage-side in some far flung town, when you hear Chris Acker playing, you’re hearing the end result of countless hours of observing the masters of the craft…and the end result of repeating their mistakes.Some hard-times don’t happen behind plows, they happen behind dish-pits and cash registers. Some ramblers don’t feel the hot breath of freedom, just the smell of car exhaust and a couch for a bed. From the folk revival through the golden age of country music, deafened by punk shows and brass bands alike, Chris’s songwriting is a nod to the absurd yet muted brilliance that inhabits the molded corners of the bars he patrons and cratered street he treads, paired with a pained honesty that merits a long second look. Northcote is the musical project of Canadian singer-songwriter Matt Goud, known for his heartfelt songwriting and dynamic live performances. Since launching in 2008, Northcote has toured internationally, performing alongside artists such as The Gaslight Anthem, Frank Turner, Hot Water Music and many more while building a loyal fanbase across North America and Europe.In 2026, Northcote is set to release To Cherish, a full-length album recorded at Rain City Studios in Vancouver and produced by Jesse Gander (Japandroids, White Lung). The project showcases an evolved sound with contributions from a talented ensemble of musicians including Paul Rigby (Neko Case) and long-time collaborator Stephen McGillvray.Northcote has released seven studio albums and multiple singles, steadily growing an audience through powerful, emotionally resonant performances in intimate venues and major festivals alike. With over 42,000 monthly listeners on Spotify and a strong social media presence, Northcote continues to expand his reach, aiming for a sustainable international career while contributing meaningfully to the music community. Raised in Chicago, Rachel Baiman made her way to Nashville at 18 with the dream of being a professional fiddle player and has since released two solo records and an EP, alongside session and side-person work with Kacey Musgraves, Kevin Morby, and Molly Tuttle among many others. As a songwriter, she has garnered a reputation for her specific brand of political and personal lyricism, which Vice’s Noisey described as ‘Flipping off Authority one note at a time”."I've been looking for a new well of inspiration, outside of myself," Rachel Baiman told Wide Open Country in early 2024. "Every time that you work with someone you admire there's a lot of growth that happens from being around their creative process and how they approach a song. It brings a new energy to my own work when I can find a new perspective I hadn’t seen before”.

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