Ruarri Joseph wants to play Athlone, but he needs your help!
The singer/songwriter, originally from Scotland but with songwriting roots in the southwestern Pacific hopes to come to Athlone this September with a little help from Gigstarter.
Ruarri will be embarking on a tour of Ireland with his camper van and surfboard - and he’s looking for fans to direct his tour. Along with support shows for John Smith, he’ll be adding in shows of his own. Where should he go? What should he do? It’s up to you.
This is not your typical tour. You tell Ruarri where to play, including the option of Athlone, by pledging to buy a ticket if he plays in your town. If enough people pledge for that location - he’ll be there.
When you pledge your €7 your location and payment details are taken, encrypted, and stored securely. No charge is placed unless the show is confirmed. It works just like the hold a hotel puts on your card, in case you hit the minibar.
If the show is confirmed, but you can’t go, fear not. You have a week to request a full refund - no questions asked.
Ruarri moved to New Zealand with his mother where at the age of 11, he found himself coming of age in Dannevirke (population 6,000 ), an isolated, rural farming community. Dannevirke was picturesque but remote, dotted with wooden shacks and hand-painted signs – not the most engaging environment for a young, would-be musician.
Joseph pined for the Joan Baez and Joni Mitchell records his father had played back in Edinburgh, and began to seek out music of his own, eventually finding his way to that decade’s best: grunge, and the fuzzed-out, thrashy riffs of bands like Nirvana, Mudhoney, and Pearl Jam, taking in a little Britpop along the way. With those sounds filling his days, Ruarri spent his early teens busking around the local area, dabbling in punk and knocking around in a handful of short-lived outfits.
With very few live music venues around, strict age restrictions operating at the local bars and a lack of any real music scene, Joseph and his friends learnt to improvise, putting together mini tours of the local schools, turning up in time to knock out improvised sets for the lunchtime crowd. These shoestring musical adventures were enough to convince Joseph that bigger things awaited.
At 16, Joseph packed his suitcase, picked up his guitar and departed his blink-and-you’ll-miss-it town for the lure of London’s bright lights.
And he has never looked back.
Vote for your chance to bring Ruarri to Athlone. Simply log on to gigstarter.com/tour/ruarri-joseph
