Big Big Train’s “The Likes Of Us In North America” tour commences on 2nd April and runs until 19th April, with 10 shows in the United States and Canada as well as a co-headlining appearance on board Cruise To The Edge. The band then co-headlines the Gouveia Art Rock festival in Portugal at the beginning of May.
Now the band is announcing the support acts for the North America tour. District 97, The Twenty Committee and IZZ will each open one show. For the remaining shows, a member of Big Big Train will play a solo set.
“On our tour last autumn we chose to have different bands open some shows for us, while keeping other shows ‘in the family’ to help to make each night really special, and the mixed approach worked very well,” lead vocalist Alberto Bravin comments. “We’re looking forward to sharing the stage with District 97, IZZ and The Twenty Committee and recommend that you get to the show in time to see them.”
“There’s just so much musical talent in Big Big Train,” Alberto continues. “Our keyboardist Oskar Holldorff, violinist Clare Lindley, drummer Nick D’Virgilio and guitarist/keyboardist Rikard Sjöblom all have lots of experience fronting bands outside Big Big Train and singing lead vocals. Their solo sets were very positively received in September and October in the UK and Europe, so we think fans in North America will enjoy them too. It will be a surprise each night which band member – or maybe even band members – are going to open the show.”
In other news, Big Big Train will re-issue their third studio album Bard on 21st March 2025. Originally released in 2002 and after many years of being unavailable, the album has been completely re-mixed by their longstanding engineer Rob Aubrey.
Additionally, the re-issue features a live version of the album’s opening track, “The Last English King,” recorded during the band’s tour in autumn 2024, as well as “Headlands”, a song recorded during the original sessions but unavailable until now.
Pre-order Bard here.
“I’m pleased to see Bard being re-issued at last,” comments Andy Poole, the band’s former bassist and this album’s producer. “On its original release we expected Bard to be Big Big Train’s farewell. The album has several songs that I think stand up pretty well and which in retrospect laid some of the foundations for the upwards curve that the band subsequently embarked on. Rob Aubrey has worked wonders with the re-mix and enhanced the album considerably.”
“I’m never going to pretend that Bard is our best work,” Gregory Spawton adds. “But there’s been increasing demand from fans for a re-issue and over the last few years, I’ve warmed towards the album, especially with the benefit of Rob Aubrey’s re-mix. I had never expected us to play anything from Bard live, but I’ve always been proud of “The Last English King” and was particularly pleased with how we breathed new life into it on tour this year. It proved one of the highlights of the set, both for the band and apparently for fans too.”
“Since I joined the band in 2022, in parallel with creating new music I have been keen to embrace the entire back catalogue of Big Big Train,” says lead vocalist Alberto Bravin. “Of course, over 20 years ago, this was a very different Big Big Train and with the vocals being shared between several singers, Bard precedes David Longdon’s arrival as well. Bard certainly has its moments and I loved playing ‘The Last English King’ on tour this year.”
