Steve Wynn, leader of The Dream Syndicate, founding member of The Baseball Project and solo artist, has announced a UK tour – themed as A Night Of Songs And Stories in support of the release of both his autobiography “I Wouldn’t Say It If It Wasn’t True“ (Jawbone Press) and his first solo album in 12 years, “Make It Right” (Fire Records) due on 30th August 2024.
“I Wouldn’t Say It If It Wasn’t True” is described as the “vivid and revealing memoir from the leader and founder of one of the most respected indie-rock bands of the 1980s, The Dream Syndicate. It’s a tale of writing songs and playing in bands as a conduit to a world its author could once have barely imagined—a world of indie and major labels, luxury tour buses, and sold-out theatres, but also one of alcohol, drugs, and a low-level rock’n’roll Babylon. Ultimately, it’s a tale of redemption, with music as a vehicle for artistic and personal transformation and transcendence.”
“Make It Right” features contributions from Mike Mills (R.E.M.), Vicki Peterson (The Bangles), Chris Schlarb (Psychic Temple), Emil Nikolaisen (Serena Maneesh), Linda Pitmon (The Baseball Project) and a cast of dozens. The songs aren’t directly autobiographical although the album does start with ‘Santa Monica’, the city and boulevard where Wynn was born and concludes with ‘Roosevelt Avenue’, the main thoroughfare of the Queens neighbourhood in New York City that he calls home today. You can listen to the title track below.
Pre-order links for the book and album can be found here.
A Night of Songs and Stories is a one-man show blending songs from and inspired by Wynn’s upcoming memoir along with a narrative structure of readings and storytelling. Fans can expect songs and stories from the time period of the book (1960-1988) with some surprising deep cuts and covers never performed before. The set will include a selection of evergreens and rarities from The Dream Syndicate’s catalogue along with reflective numbers from the new album as well, all adding up to an evening of a past revisited. Each show will feature a section called, The Hot Seat—a short Q&A session – with a special guest each night.
“It’s really exciting to be coming back to England for this new A Night of Songs and Stories tour in support of my new memoir and my first solo album in 12 years,” said Wynn. “I’m anticipating these intimate shows to be much more personal as I’ll be combining music with stories and a Q & A portion as well with special guests each night.”
The tour dates are listed below and tickets can be obtained here.
Sept. 16 @ Jericho, Oxford, UK
Sept. 17 @ Hen & Chicken, Bristol UK
Sept. 18 @ The Greystones, Sheffield, UK
Sept. 19 @ The Hug & Pint, Glasgow, Scotland UK
Sept. 20 @ Gulliver’s, Manchester, UK
Sept. 21 @ Bluebird, York, UK
Sept. 22 @ Walthamstow Tradeshall – Rock n Roll Book Club, London, UK
(w/ Stewart Lee)
Sept. 23 @ Rough Trade East, London UK
Sept. 24 @ Mid Sussex Music Hall, Hassocks, UK
*Support from Our Man in the Field except London and Sheffield
