mxdwn.co.uk » Big Thief Tour 2022

Israel Venue Label Big Thief ‘Miserable Spineless Musicians’ For Cancelling Tel Aviv Shows

Sam Johnson — Sat, 11 Jun 2022 17:16:40 +0000

It’s been less than a week since I covered Big Thief’s announcement of two new shows in Tel Aviv and their attached statement of intent for visiting Israel, and yet here I am to tell you that said shows have been cancelled and an angry response made by the venue. It’s become increasingly controversial to play in Israel over the past 10-15 years due to the growing support of BDS and other such movements that seek to boycott the country for it’s discrimination against Palestine. The origins of the conflict run deep and are a sharp source of pain for Palestinians both in Israel and around the world, creating a difficult political climate for a band or artist wishing to play in Israel.

We will be canceling our 2 shows in Tel Aviv. pic.twitter.com/ocSFtgnYz4

— Big Thief (@bigthiefmusic) June 9, 2022

Despite their best efforts to defend their decision to play Tel Aviv with an initial statement clarifying their impartiality in the ongoing conflict, it seems Big Thief have had to cancel their plans to play the Barby. A mounting amount of pressure from the band’s fans and others that support the BDS movement is likely the reason, with bassist Max Oleartchik’s father Alon Oleartchik recently telling Haaretz “they were under very heavy pressure – hateful mail and threatening posts”. It’s a tumultuous and problematic subject that often incites serious reactions from both sides, with the venue’s reaction being case and point.

In a quite stunning response, the Tel Aviv venue Barby issued an incredibly angry and spiteful response to the band for cancelling their two shows on June 6th and 7th this year. They posted a long message on their Facebook denouncing the bands professionalism and labelling them a “bunch of miserable spineless musicians who are afraid of their own shadow” before going on to say “I wish you all the evil in the world just as you did to your fans in Israel” whilst also scribbling out lead singer and songwriter Adrianne Lenker’s face in red. See below:

It’s a wild and passionate response typical of the emotional territory that surrounds Palestine and Israel. With many social media comments replying to the band’s statement labelling them anti-semites for cancelling, it seems Big Thief are stuck between a rock and a hard place in this ongoing debate.

They do however have a UK date coming up in the neutral fields of Worthy Farm at Glastonbury Festival on Saturday 25th June at 18.15 on The Park Stage. So if you’re lucky enough to have a ticket, make sure you check them out.

Big Thief Announce Two New Shows In Israel With Clarifying Statement

Sam Johnson — Sun, 05 Jun 2022 13:43:00 +0000

Big Thief have announced two upcoming shows in Tel Aviv, Israel at The Barby Club on July 6th and 7th 2022. It will come at the tail end of their European tour that begins tonight in Paris at La Cigale and promotes their beautiful 5th album Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You that came out on 4AD back in February this year.

It will mark the second time the indie folk outfit have played the venue in Tel Aviv and the second time they have had to put out a clarifying statement regarding the gig’s position in the ever turbulent political climate of Israel. Recent campaigns such as the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement have rallied for the global boycotting of Israel in relation to their treatment of Palestinian citizens in the ongoing conflict between Palestine and Israel. However, many believe the movement to be anti-semitic, with the resulting back and forth causing a difficult political rift to navigate as a touring musician or band wishing to play in Israel.

Big Thief have addressed the matter for the second time with a statement that mirrored its predecessor in expressing the band’s desire to play Tel Aviv being directly attributed to their bassist Max Oleartchik’s and his hometown origins being with the city. It’s a classy move from the candid and thoughtful band from Brooklyn and a welcome reminder that art should still breath freely and be given an impartial voice in the increasingly outspoken and volatile political world that we traverse.

Their statement read: “We are excited to announce two shows in Max’s hometown, Tel Aviv, Israel, Barby on July 6th and 7th. Accompanying this announcement, we would again like to clarify our motivations and intentions for playing in Tel Aviv, Israel, with as much transparency as possible.”

They continued “Over the last seven years we’ve traveled constantly around 3 of our members’ home country, the United States, meeting each other’s families and childhood friends and sharing in the joys and sorrows of a complicated, beautiful and tumultuous home. We have grown so close. It is important for us to share our homes, families and friends with each other in order to gain a deeper understanding of one another and the people and places that have made us who we are. It is important for us to go where we have family to share space and play for them. It is foundational. It is in that spirit that we made our decision to play in Israel.

We are well aware of the cultural aspect of the BDS movement and the desperate reality of the Palestinian people. In terms of where we fit into the boycott, we don’t claim to know where the moral high ground lies and we want to remain open to other people’s perspectives and to love beyond disagreement. We understand the inherently political nature of playing there as well as the implications. Our intention is not to diminish the values of those who support the boycott or to turn a blind eye to those suffering. We are striving to be in the spirit of learning.

With this in heart, the show’s profits will be donated to NGOs that provide medical and humanitarian aid to Palestinian children, including joint efforts between Palestinians and Israelis working together for a better future.

With love, Big Thief.”

You can find out where and when Big Thief are playing near you and buy your tickets through their website here.

Big Thief Announce New Album, Share New Song ‘Time Escaping’ with World Tour 2022

Luiza Dyjasek — Wed, 17 Nov 2021 11:31:48 +0000

American rock band Big Thief has officially announced a new upcoming album Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You. The 20-track album will come out on 11th February 2022 via 4AD. The band also shared the latest single from the upcoming release, “Time Escaping”. You can listen to it below.

The forthcoming album will be a double LP “exploring the deepest elements and possibilities of Big Thief“. The album has been recorded during four distinct sessions in four different locations: In Upstate New York, Topanga Canyon, The Rocky Mountains, and Tucson, Arizona. During five months of recordings, they have created 45 completed songs, edited down to 20 tracks.

The album comes out February 11 and you can order it starting now. It is beyond special to us to share this with you.
Pre-order: https://t.co/08TIgv4pGJ pic.twitter.com/paLjr3Qud5

— Big Thief (@bigthiefmusic) November 16, 2021

Album has been produced by James Krivchenia who pitched the recording concept of DNMIBIY back in 2019 “with the goal of encapsulating the many different aspects of Adrianne’s songwriting and the band onto a single record”.

Singer Adrianne Lenker said in press: “One of the things that bonds us together as a band is pure magic. I think we all have the same guide and none of us have ever spoken what it is because we couldn’t name it, but somehow, we are all going for the same thing, and when we hit it… we all know it’s it, but none of us to this day, or maybe ever, will be able to articulate in words what the ‘it’ is. Something about it is magic to me.”

All four experimental recording sessions that made the album varied in style and mood which makes it a more “honest, zoomed-out picture of lived experience than would be possible on a traditional, 12 song record.”

Max Oleartchik commented about playing with the band again after a long stretch of a pandemic: “Well it’s like, we’re a band, we talk, we have different dynamics, we do the breaths, and then we go on stage and suddenly it feels like we are now on a dragon. And we can’t really talk because we have to steer this dragon.“

You can pre-order the new album here.

The Big Thief World tour will commence in January 2022 in France and finish in Jun. See the full list of EU tour dates below, with tickets available here.

31/01/22 – Aeronef – Lille, France
1/02 – La Cigale – Paris, France
4/02 – Rock School Barbey – Bordeaux, France
5/02 – Sala Apolo – Barcelona, Spain
7/02 – Le Transbordeur – Lyon, France
8/02 – La Laiterie – Strasbourg, France
9/02 – Kaufleuten – Zurich, Switzerland
10/02 – Muffathalle – Munich, Germany
12/02 – MeetFactory – Prague, Czech Republic
13/02 – Huxleys – Berlin, Germany
15/02 – VEGA – Copenhagen, Denmark
16/02 – Fabrik – Hamburg, Germany
18/02 – Live Music Hall – Cologne, Germany
19/02 – Cirque Royal – Brussels, Belgium
21/02 – Ronda – Utrecht, Netherlands
22/02 – De Oosterpoort, Groningen – Netherlands
24/02 – Manchester Academy 1 – Manchester
25/02 – Barrowland – Glasgow
26/02 – National Stadium – Dublin
27/02 – O2 Academy Bristol – Bristol

2/03 – O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire – London
3/03 – O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire – London
4/03 – O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire – London

Photo Credit: Press /Alexa Viscius