As front man of The Hold Steady and solo artist in his own right, Craig Finn has travelled all across the world. His latest tour is taking him to an array of intimate venues and brings him to Bungay, where he will perform at the Maltings Pavilion, the home of Bungay Town Football Club. Ahead of the gig on Easter Monday, he spoke to DAVID HANNANT. Q: You must have received several different applications for your tour. What was it that make you choose Bungay as one of the destinations?
A: When choosing locations a bunch of factors come into play - the geography, the space, the enthusiasm, lots of things.
I wanted to hit a wide range of places around the country but also I detected an enthusiasm from the host about playing in Bungay.
These factors led to the choice to do the show here.
Q: What was it that made you decide to do a living room tour in general? What can people expect from the shows?
A: I did my first living room tour in January 2017 and it was intended to introduce new material from my album We All Want The Same Things to audiences.
I thought by taking the volume of a rock gig out of the show, the stories would shine through and let the people grab on to the songs that way a little more.
It turned out that it really worked, and I loved the energy of the living room shows.
There is a lot of reasons people end up in a club, and hearing music is only one of them. But in the living room shows, people were very eager to listen.
They also ended up being a discussion of sorts, as I opened the floor up to questions and answers at some point during the show.
I really enjoyed the energy of these shows, even more than I anticipated. Thus, I wanted to do more, and I thought it might be cool to try some in the United Kingdom.
Q: What are you most looking forward to about your visit to Maltings Pavilion?
A: I really enjoy getting to see new things. I think it's a blessing that I get to do so.
Really I'm just excited to visit a new place and play music for people.
Q: You met Shaun Cole, who organised the gig, at one of your gigs in London and he told you all about Bungay Town. What do you remember from that conversation?
A: I mainly remember taking a photo with the Bungay Town scarf.
There is always a lot going on after shows, so that was the thing that I mainly remember.
I've seen the photo on social media a few times since.
Q: What have you heard about Bungay already? Will you get a chance to explore when you come here to perform?
A: I don't know a tonne admittedly, but I'm always excited to get to a new place.
I look forward to checking things out, time permitting.
Sometimes schedule dictates a lot of ability to check things out. But I'm excited for the show for sure.
Q: You played Latitude Festival in 2007 with The Hold Steady – that's not far from Bungay. What are your memories of the festival?
I remember that being a really, really great festival. I saw a lot of cool things at that one.
I remember enjoying Rickie Lee Jones set a lot. I was obsessed with her record from that time, and it's the only time I've ever seen her.
I also got my photo taken with Paul Simonon from The Clash backstage, which was a thrill.
I've always wanted to go back but that's the only time we've played Latitude.
Q: For people familiar with The Hold Steady, how different is your solo material?
A: I guess my solo material is generally a bit mellower, and with the stories up front.
I've tried to bring different tones into my solo work, and try to create something elegant and timeless. That's my intention any way.
But on the Living Room tour I will be just with an acoustic guitar so it will especially have the stories and words up front.
Q: How does performing as a solo artist compare with performing with the band?
A: I love both, they're like flexing different muscles.
A good band is better than the sum of its parts, and I always love the music and camaraderie of The Hold Steady.
The big rock shows that the band plays are very exciting.
With the solo thing, I'm able to really clearly convey the stories I'm trying to tell, which is very important to me.
I'm also able to experiment with different tones. I love both and am glad to be able to do both.
Craig Finn performs at Maltings Meadow in Bungay on Easter Monday.
Tickets for the concert are available online through Undertow Tickets and are £25.
His new solo album, We All Want The Same Things, is available to buy now.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here