Folk punk singer/songwriter Frank Turner performs at Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre on Oct. 12
From a press release:
It was announced today that English folk punk singer/songwriter Frank Turner, who is set to release a new album, “No Man’s Land,” on Aug. 16, will visit the F.M. Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre on Saturday, Oct. 12 at 7 p.m.
Turner performed in Scranton last year as part of the final national run of the Vans Warped Tour.
Tickets, which are $29.50, $39.50, and $49.50, plus fees, go on sale this Friday, July 19 at 10 a.m. and will be available at the Sundance Vacations Box Office at the Kirby Center (71 Public Square, Wilkes-Barre), online at kirbycenter.org, and by phone at 570-826-1100. A Kirby Member pre-sale begins Wednesday, July 17 at 10 a.m.
For three long and often lonely years of life on the road, plying a brand of honest and passionate folk punk, Frank Turner continued to rise to prominence with an ever increasing following. But it was in the sweaty climes of the Lock Up Stage at Reading and Leeds in 2008 that his solo career really started to take off. Inside the packed-out tents, heaving with adoring fans and intrigued passers-by, he led the congregation in a mass sing-a-long, a stirring set that not only sparked the interest of the British mainstream, but resonated unassumingly across the pond as a wealth of American punk bands watched approvingly from the sidelines.
No stranger to the festival, Turner had not only played the Lock Up Tent with his former hardcore band Million Dead back in 2005 but also as a tentative solo artist in 2007 when his debut album, “Sleep Is for the Week,” was just an underground success. Within the following year, his popularity grew with yet more touring and the release of a second album, “Love Ire & Song,” in 2008. He started to play larger headlining shows and develop the live band that he was looking for.
Turner’s brand of folk songwriting, catchy melodies, and punk passion had reached the ears of the CEO of U.S. independent label Epitaph Records, Bad Religion’s legendary guitarist Brett Gurewitz. Excited by what he had heard and seen when Turner headlined Los Angeles’ notorious Viper Rooms in March, Gurewitz got in contact and, soon enough, plans were formulated and a worldwide deal was inked. With loyalty and integrity firmly intact, Turner kept his relationship with his existing label Xtra Mile Recordings for all releases in the U.K. and Ireland, and so the two labels will work closely for what will undoubtedly be an exciting new era in his ever-evolving career.
Turner’s third studio album, “Poetry of the Deed,” released worldwide in 2009, saw him venture in a more rock direction, recruiting his outstanding band for the recording process. Performing live has always been at the very heart of the Frank Turner experience, so while he still wrote all the songs, they were recorded live to help bring that experience to the album.
He announced his new album, “No Man’s Land,” across social media on June 26, revealing the concept and theme of the album, which will celebrate the life and stories historical women. He also announced a companion podcast to the album, titled “Tales from No Man’s Land,” with each episode going into more detail about the album and the stories contained within each of the songs. The podcast will also feature guest musicians.
The album’s lead single, “Sister Rosetta,” and it’s accompanying podcast episode were released on July 3, alongside the album’s Aug. 16 release date. The lyrics tell the story of gospel singer/songwriter and guitarist, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, who heavily influenced later rock ‘n’ roll musicians like Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, and Johnny Cash. For the song’s podcast episode, Turner hosted alongside fellow musician Emily Barker, who had also written a song about Tharpe, and discussed her legacy.
“The record is, first and foremost, a piece of storytelling – a history record, if you will, a pretty traditional folk approach. I didn’t actually set out to write exclusively about women. In the beginning, I was just toying with various stories that felt interesting to tell, and I was keen, after my recent records, to write about something other than my own life and feelings for a while. Now, clearly, there is an implicit politics in the fact that, in telling lesser known stories, I’ve ended up singing about women, and I’ll stand behind that, for what it’s worth. But my initial interest was in sharing some stories that I didn’t know before, and that I suspect most people didn’t,” Turner said on his blog.
“For the most part, these are stories that have not and are not being told right now, and I think they deserve to be. I feel like I’m not crowding out other voices in releasing these songs. It seems to me that songs about Huda Sha’arawi and Catherine Blake, to name but two, are rather thin on the ground right now, as far as I’m aware. I’ve learned so much in researching and writing this project, and I’d like to share that knowledge. And, given the streaming world we live in, me putting out a collection of songs doesn’t lessen the bandwidth for other writers to make their own statements.”
See NEPA Scene’s photos of Turner playing during the Scranton stop of the 2018 Vans Warped Tour at The Pavilion at Montage Mountain here.
