Ratboys – Penny In The Lake
This Friday, Ratboys release their highly-anticipated new record, Singin’ to an Empty Chair, via New West Records.
All of the singles thus far have received resounding support from critics and fans alike, and today, the band continues to tease the album with today’s “Penny in the Lake,” an irresistible post-country tune with a charming video directed by Bobby Butterscotch to match.
Ratboys tracked the song live in a room together, while Julia Steiner later overdubbed incisive vocals with a smile: “Today’s gonna change my life / What’s for breakfast, Jesus Christ?”
“I wrote this song on a sunny summer day while sitting outside in my backyard, and then we recorded the album version up at the Driftless Cabin in Wisconsin, about as close to nature as we could get,” says Steiner. “We wanted everything to feel live and loose, and we chose to leave the final recording as unadorned as possible. Chris [Walla] dubbed this approach ‘photographic realism,’ and I love to think of the song that way, as a snapshot of our band in a room playing a song together, living in the moment and having a great time.”
In conjunction with their new track, Ratboys announce a surprise record release day show at Chicago’s Beat Kitchen this Friday, with 100% of the proceeds benefitting the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights and Albany Park Mutual Aid. Tickets are on sale now tomorrow, February 4th at 9am CST and will be gone in a flash.
For those not in Chicago, the band will play across the rest of North America, kicking off later this month. Dates are starting to sell out or have low tickets. Following, they’ll head to the UK and Europe for a newly-announced tour.
Ratboys Tour Dates
Wed. Feb. 25 – Detroit, MI @ El Club ~
Thu. Feb. 26 – Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace ~ LOW TICKETS
Fri. Feb. 27 – Montreal, QC @ Bar Le Ritz PDB ~
Sat. Feb. 28 – Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair ~ SOLD OUT
Sun. March 1 – Hamden, CT @ Space Ballroom ~
Tue. March 3 – Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church ~ SOLD OUT
Thu. March 5 – Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw ~ LOW TICKETS
Fri. March 6 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club ~
Sat. March 7 – Richmond, VA @ The Broadberry ~
Sun. March 8 – Durham, NC @ Motorco Music Hall ~ LOW TICKETS
Tue. March 10 – Asheville, NC @ The Grey Eagle ~
Wed. March 11 – Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West ~
Thu. March 12 – Nashville, TN @ The Basement East ~
Fri. March 13 – Louisville, KY @ Zanzabar ~
Sat. March 14 – Milwaukee, WI @ Vivarium ~
Tue. March 24 – St. Louis, MO @ Off Broadway •
Wed. March 25 – Kansas City, MO @ recordBar •
Thu. March 26 – Fayetteville, AR @ George’s Majestic Lounge •
Fri. March 27 – Dallas, TX @ Club Dada •
Sat. March 28 – Austin, TX @ Mohawk •
Mon. March 30 – Albuquerque, NM @ Launchpad •
Tue. March 31 – Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar •
Wed. April 1 – San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar •
Fri. April 3 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom •
Sat. April 4 – San Francisco, CA @ August Hall •
Mon. April 6 – Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret •
Tue. April 7 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos •
Wed. April 8 – Portland, OR @ Aladdin Theater •
Fri. April 10 – Boise, ID @ Shrine Social Club •
Sat. April 11 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Urban Lounge •
Mon. April 13 – Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater •
Wed. April 15 – Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room •
Thu. April 16 – Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line •
Fri. April 17 – Madison, WI @ Atwood Music Hall •
Sat. April 18 – Chicago, IL @ The Vic Theatre +
Sun. 10 May – Copenhagen, DK @ Stengade
Tue. 12 May – Hamburg, DE @ Aalhaus
Wed. 13 May – Berlin, DE @ Kantine am Berghain
Fri. 15 May – Diest, BE @ JH Tijl
Sat. 16 May – Amsterdam, NL @ London Calling Festival
Sun. 17 May – The Hague, NL @ Paard
Mon. 18 May – Paris, FR @ Le Chinois
Wed. 20 May – Southampton, UK @ Joiners
Thu. 21 May – London, UK @ The Garage (Footsteps Festival)
Fri. 22 May – Leeds, UK @ Belgrave Music Hall
Sat. 23 May – Bristol, UK @ Dot To Dot Festival
Sun. 24 May – Nottingham, UK @ Dot To Dot Festival
Tue. 26 May – Dublin, IE @ The Grand Social
Thu. 28 May – Glasgow, UK @ Mono
Fri. 29 May – Manchester, UK @ YES
~ w/ Florry • w/ villagerrr + w/ Free Range
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