Wandering country troubadour Ryan Cook is about to head off on a massive tour in promotion of his new album, the satirically-titled Having A Great Time. Of course, that’s a fine line differentiating between touring and Cook’s everyday life; this is a man who at one point fully embraced van-life. It’s no huge stretch to credulity to see Cook singing country in a gym in Chiang Mai, Thailand for the video of the album’s first single “Cult Of My Own.” Now, the cornrows might be another matter…
Directed by Stephen Cooper the video was filmed at the famous Team Quest gym where Cook trained for a month. Cook says that the sense of community he experienced while training at the gym inspired him, making it an “ideal location” to film the video.
The song, however, is a different story. As Cook explains it, the track came about from his experiences touring around in his camper van. Cook discovered that living lifestyle had moved well beyond the embrace of enthusiastic amateurs and into the realm of fanaticism and subversive marketing.
On the other hand, he’s the one playing 23 tour dates inside of two months…
Tour Dates:
Apr 5 – Moonshine Café; Oakville, ON
Apr 6 – House Concert; Barrie, ON
Apr 7 – Garage Series Concerts; Holland Landing; ON
Apr 8 – Purple Hill Opry; Thornhill, ON
Apr 12 – Dakota Tavern; Toronto, ON
Apr 14 – Haileybury House Concert; Temiskaming Shores, ON
Apr 19 – Sellers & Newell; Toronto, ON
Apr 21 – Greenbank Folk Society; Greenbank, ON
Apr 22 – The Acoustic Grill; Picton, ON
Apr 27 – United Church: Fenelon Falls; ON
Apr 28 – House Concert; Addison, ON
Apr 29 – Chuckles, Smiths Falls, ON
May 2 – Pineview Restaurant, Griffith, ON
May 4 – Spitfire, Brockville, ON
May 16 – Tracadie Community Centre; Tracadie, PE
May 17 – Milton Community Hall; Milton, PE
May 18 – Village Musical Acadien; Abram-Village, PE
May 19 – New London Community Complex; New London, PE
May 20 – Souris Show Hall; Souris, PE
May 24 – Living Roots Music Festival; Fredericton, NB
May 26 – Living Roots Music Festival; Fredericton, NB
May 5 – Mariposa Cafe; Montreal, QC
May 6 – Stanstead House Concerts; Fitch Bay, QC