Their first dates in sixteen years!
You read that right, Satellite Inn are heading this way in late November for a run of just four shows in support of their self-titled album released this year. Don’t know them? Here’s a quick history lesson.
Their first demo came out in 1994, when Uncle Tupelo were still touring and Whiskeytown were an unknown bar band, just like them. The only difference was the 10,000 miles in between: Ryan Adams’ gang in Jacksonville, Florida; Satellite Inn in Forlì, Italy. In 1997, Raleigh label MoodFood Records, having just lost Whiskeytown to Geffen via R.E.M. manager Scott Litt’s Outpost Label, chose Satellite Inn to replace them in the still boiling alternative country scene in the US. An Italian alternative country band in the US? It seemed so. Debut album “Cold Morning Songs” emerged in October 1998, to positive reviews. In 2001 they played at SXSW on top of a West Coast mini-tour, band leader and main songwriter Stiv Cantarelli then relocated to Boston. Things looked very good. Then the record label went bust and that was that.
Two steps into the new century, Satellite Inn made a new start in Italy, where Stiv had returned before 9/11. With more psych-folk/jam band influences, this second stint at Satellite Inn ended in 2007, the members engaged in personal projects notably Cantarelli with his solo project backed by road pals Richmond Fontaine, released on Willy Vlautin’s El Cortez label and roadtested on an acoustic tour of Italy with Bob Mould. Later, Stiv would make forays into the UK with punk-blues outfits The Silent Strangers and James Dean Hangover. During lockdown, Cantarelli learned to play piano and wrote a lot of new songs and in 2022, played those songs to one of the original 1998 Satellite Inn members, bass player Fabrizio Gramellini. After that the pals teamed up again with their old drummer Antonio Perugini and now they’re coming here. You can get your tickets here.
Satellite Inn 2024 Dates:
Wed 27 Nov – What’s Cookin’, Leytonstone Social Club, London
Thurs 28 Nov – Craftwork, Southend-on-Sea
Fri 29 Nov – Le Pub, Newport
Sat 30 Nov – Biddle Bros, Hackney, London
Check out the video from the new album below
