Toronto-based musician Jeremie Albino brought ‘The Long Road Home’ tour to Rum Runners at the London Music Hall on Thursday, March 14, 2024.
Photographer Whitney South captured the following images of the Americana, folk, blues, and country artist’s performance:
Jeremie Albino’s grainy ballads are inflected with a joyous tenor that has found him a distinct space in the world of Americana, folk, blues, and country.
Starting out playing late night gig slots, Jeremie’s rigour has landed him a blossoming touring career.
Garnering attention from the community and press alike, he’s heralded as “a true resurgence of the most authentic blues brought to life through the eyes of a modern and young, but old-soul artist ” (American Songwriter) and “the next in line of emotive bandleaders that project soul and directness atop a head turning sound” (Glide Magazine).
His latest album Tears You Hide (2023), produced by Albino’s long time collaborator and manager Crispin Day, is a memento to family, resilience, and the road ahead. Albino sees the album as a catalogue of feelings from times passed.
The deeply personal and documentary nature traverses Albino’s development as an artist.Experiences with tragedy, grief, and love tumble throughout, grounded in moments of joy and the hope it brings— a house party, a tumbleweed, tears in a mother’s eyes, an open door, a faceless angelic voice.
Recorded entirely live off the floor, the organic conversational nature inherent in Albino’s music is infused with a palpable raw energy.
The rickety footstomping, and lilting stories remain, yet the narrative has shifted slightly.
Albino found support from the team instrumental in the production of his earlier work.
The Rosehall Band, his original backing band, and Andrija Tokic, who co-produced his critically acclaimed debut full length Hard Time, were brought back to assist.
Co-written with Khalid Yassein of Wild Rivers and engineered by Mike Darolfi, “All These Days,” is a grateful ballad of moments spent with the one you love. “Across The Hall” tells a story of hope and longing while “Angeline” offers a ruckus of foot stomping fiery energy.
The momentum in “You I’m Waiting On” speaks to that playful joust, dancing with making the first move and the title track “Tears You Hide” pleads that comfort and peace be granted to loved ones in a time of need.
With his debut album, Hard Time (2019), Albino was a supporting act for JD Mcpherson and then St. Paul & The Broken Bones on his first round of US tours.
In 2020, he accompanied Shovels & Rope on tour through the UK and Europe, later collaborating with Michael Trent who produced Albino’s EP, Past Dawn (2022).
He’s performed alongside contemporary country trail-blazers Orville Peck and Cat Clyde.
The nomadic lifestyle suits him and reverberates on stage.
Strumming with abandon alongside an erupting vocal chorus, his magnetic spirit landed him as one of the best performers from AmericanaFest 2019 by Billboard.
During his time as a farmer in Prince Edward County, Albino experienced first hand the importance of a supportive and collaborative community, currents that carry his music.
A testament to this is Blue Blue Blue (2021), a collaboration with vocal powerhouse Cat Clyde.
In a cottage in rural Quebec, they recorded a collection of covers and originals over a weekend, paying homage to the great storytellers of the past. Yet encounters with loneliness led to the EP, Past Dawn (2022).
Contemplative and experimental, Albino is a patient companion throughout, ready to lift spirits when need be and able to lower the tempo to rest when it feels right.
Learn more about Albino on his official website https://jeremiealbino.com/.
Ontario’s Benjamin Dakota Rogers provided opening support at Thursday’s London show.
Here are some images snapped by photographer Whitney South:
Hailing from his family’s farm in Southwestern Ontario, Rogers grew up building greenhouses, growing vegetables, and living off the land. “Growing up my family drove a big VW bus. We listened to a lot of fiddle music, going from festival to festival,” he says.
“These days I live in one of the barns, tap trees, and make music.”
Learn more about Rogers on his official website https://www.benjamindakotarogers.com/.