Q&A - Canada, Touring and Blair Dunlop

Announcing a co-headline tour of Canada this November

Canada Tour 2024 with Blair Dunlop

We sat down with Jake Morley to discuss his upcoming return to Canada.

Hi Jake. Who’s Blair Dunlop?
Oh… hi. Yeh he’s just some guy, British, hairy, plays guitar, sings, you know.

Is he good?
I mean he’s ok. Won some awards I think.

Awards? Wow really?
Yeh a BBC Folk Award, it was probably ages ago now. His bio is here if you’re that interested.

Sounds like he’s kind of a big deal. Says here he gets played on the radio a lot?
Maybe. People don’t really listen to the radio anymore.

Lots of Spotify plays too. Who’s headlining the shows?
It’s a co-headline tour, so I guess we take turns? I don’t really mind.

I think it would work really well with you playing first. He seems very commanding, more suited to the set-closing role.
Sure I like playing first. You get to chill out once your set is over, enjoy the other artist’s set without getting distracted by warm up routines or choosing what songs to play. I’m easy, it’s not a competition.

It kind of is a bit though
I know what you’re getting at, but nah. Not for me, or him I think.

You don’t really have a warm-up routine
I do sometimes run up and down my range a bit. Maybe I’m not as disciplined as I could be? I like to focus more on my mood, how I’m feeling, to make sure I’m bringing my most comfortable, expansive, confident self to the stage.

If I’m able to chat between songs and sound vaguely normal that really relaxes me a lot. If I can do that I usually have a good gig. Occasionally I get a bit stuck in my head beforehand, maybe I’m overthinking something? Gotta watch out for that. So I guess I do have a warm-up routine, but it’s more for my mind than my voice.

I bet you could learn a thing or two from someone as talented as Blair?
Touring with other artists does offer a great chance to dive deeper into their work. You often hear things the third or fourth time that you missed the first time. Like extra depth to a lyric. It’s pretty cool. And their songs always get stuck in your head all day. We’ll learn from each other.

I wonder what we could take from that more generally when we often only give new songs 10 seconds to make an impression.

Will you perform some songs together? Or would it make you feel uncomfortable to be upstaged like that?
Collaboration is a huge part of these kind of tours. There’s a tendency with a singer-songwriters to get a little isolated sometimes, so any chance you get to break down those barriers, step outside of yourself and explore something new is worth taking.

Blair is an absolute monster of a guitarist, with such a sweet voice, and amazing songs. So we’ll definitely work up bits together, do some harmonies. Plus Canadians go mad for that kind of thing. They probably wouldn’t let us leave without playing together.

What are your favourite songs of his? There are so many to choose from.
I’ve got a real soft spot for Sweet On You. It’s got such a narrative. It also reminds me of all the Folk Alliance trips we’ve done together in Kansas City and Montreal. Good times.

Canada tours mean quite a lot of time stuck in a car with someone. What will you talk about? What if you don’t get on?
Canada is pretty big it’s true! Not like the UK where there’s another city or town every 15 minutes. But the scenery is incredible, and we both love a road trip. Stick some tunes on, shoot the breeze. You should check out a great song called ‘Let’s Get Out Of The City’ on Blair’s new album.

I know I’ve been listening to it a lot
Ah ok. Blair is also an old friend. He lives just down the road, we play 5-a-side football together. He’s an absolute gem of a guy, so no worries at all there. Am actually looking forward to it a lot. Can’t wait.

You done solo tours of Canada before right?
Several times now. Honestly it’s incredible out there. Everywhere you go you meet the most unbelievably warm and generous people who love their music. It’s a really special place to me.

I guess Blair might look up to you a little? It’s his first time touring there. Maybe there’ll be fans saying ‘Oh wow Jake I saw you at Vancouver Folk Fest’
Well.. maybe… I mean not really. Canada will love him. Plus he’s toured Australia, Europe, Palestine, all sorts of places I think.

But think of all you’ve achieved, it must be a little intimidating for him. He’s nothing compared to you.
I think I’m getting a little disorientated by this conversation.

Do you think it is revealing some issues about how you compare yourself with other artists?
I wouldn’t take it too seriously. I’m just sort of typing in the flow, having fun. It has got a bit weird though hasn’t it?

Yes. How did we even get here?
Initially I just liked the look of lines of bold text followed by lines of plain text. It feels calming somehow. I wanted to announce the tour, tell people a little about Blair and share a few of his links but didn’t want to do it in a boring way. So I sort of disguised them within this made-up Q&A.

Are you telling me that I’m nothing more than a construct?
Yep.

I feel used.
Not only that, I intentionally made you weirdly malevolent and made me a shifting and unreliable subject. I’m not really sure why. Just seemed more interesting I guess.

When are the dates? How do we buy tickets?
Weds 6th Nov, Penticton, BC, Canada. Dream Cafe. Tickets.
Fri 8th Nov, Canmore, AB, Canada. artsPlace. Tickets.
Sat 9th Nov, Medicine Hat, AB, Canada. Stir Studio. Tickets.
Sun 10th Nov, Saskatoon, SK, Canada. The Bassment. Tickets.
Thur 14th Nov, Grand Prairie, AB, Canada. Live Theatre. Tickets.

Anything in the UK?
Blair and I are playing a small warm-up show in Bristol:
Weds 30th Oct, Bristol, UK. To The Moon. Tickets.

Tickets are available on those links or from jakemorley.com/live.
There’s also a map of all my live dates here: https://share.jakemorley.com/livemap

Any other dates planned?
Yes, but nothing to announce yet.

What happens now?
Well it’s been great to chat but I have to get back to a few things now.

Wait don’t go. I don’t know what happens to me when you stop typing.
Sorry bye x