William Fitzsimmons Announces “Mission Bell North American Tour 2019”

Singer, songwriter and music producer William Fitzsimmons has announced the “Mission Bell North American Tour 2019,” which starts January 6th in Pittsburgh, PA and takes him through the Midwest and down the West Coast. The dates are in support of his latest beautiful and heart-wrenching album, Mission Bell, which chronicles the tumultuous last year of his life, particularly of the separation from his second wife. While the subject matter is heavy and, as Fitzsimmons would describe, “depressing,” fans know that his live show is always balanced with his humorous musings and lighthearted conversation.  Labelmates Jim and Sam and Eddie Berman will support. All dates are listed below.

Watch Fitzsimmons’ recent performance at Paste for a taste of the live show:

 

An initial version of Mission Bell was recorded in Fitzsimmons’ home studio in the summer of 2017 but was subsequently abandoned during the course of, and as a result of, the separation.  In 2018 Fitzsimmons moved to Nashville and spent a month’s time rebuilding the lost record with producer Adam Landry (Deer Tick, T. Hardy Morris, k.d. Lang, Vanessa Carlton). Sonically, Mission Bell is Fitzsimmons’ first analog tape-centric album. The sounds are raw, real, and tangible. The familiar comforts of acoustic guitars are present but now joined generously by synthesizers, electric guitars, drum loops and violins. “Cutting to tape was new and honestly rather terrifying to me. There’s no “we’ll fix that in post” kind of shit going on. What you play is what you’re gonna hear on the record. But there’s a specialness you get in a performance when you don’t have a parachute. You either play it like it matters to you or you don’t and I think that comes through so clearly in the recordings,” says Fitzsimmons.

Additionally, Fitzsimmons will release a holiday EP, Where Are You Christmas, tomorrow (November 16th), which features two original recordings (“Where Are You Christmas” and “Warmer in the Cold”) and two covers (“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” and “Will Christmas Come for Me (Child of God)”).

William Fitzsimmons tour dates (performing as a trio with Adam Landry and Abby Gundersen):

w/ Jim & Sam

1/6 Pittsburgh, PA @ Club Cafe

1/8 Lakewood, OH @ The Winchester Music Tavern

1/9 Ann Arbor, MI @ The Ark

1/11 Indianapolis, IN @ The Hi-Fi

1/12 Chicago, IL @ Old Town School of Folk Music

1/13 Milwaukee, WI @ The Back Room at Colectivo

1/15 Minneapolis, MN @ Cedar Cultural Center

1/17 Denver @ The Soiled Dove Underground

1/18 Fort Collins, CO @ Magic Rat Live Music – The Elizabeth Hotel

w/ Eddie Berman

1/21 Vancouver @ Wise Hall

1/22 Seattle, WA @ Fremont Abbey

1/23 Portland @ The Old Church

1/25 Sacramento @ Sofia Tsakapolous Center for Arts

1/26 Novato, CA @ Hopmonk Tavern

1/27 San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel

1/29 Los Angeles @ Bootleg Theater