Country and folk rock band Cowboy Junkies has announced a new tour for the fall of 2024 that will begin with two stops in New York, one in Buffalo and the other in Geneva. The tour is in support of their most recent album, Such Ferocious Beauty, which is the band’s first release of new material in five years.
Formed just over the border in Toronto, Cowboy Junkies have been actively making and performing music for almost 40 years. Comprised of bassist Alan Anton, songwriter/guitarist Michael Timmins, drummer Peter Timmins and vocalist Margo Timmins, the quartet has recorded a total of 16 live albums and five live albums. Moreover, with Michael, Peter and Margo all being siblings, the band’s many years of unwavering togetherness only makes sense.
Cowboy Junkies’ first album, Whites Off Earth Now!!, in 1986, kicked off their careers and was then followed up in 1988 by the now-Platinum The Trinity Season. In a world where many bands chase whatever sounds are trending, the Junkies have stayed their course, maintaining the low-impact excavation of melody and evocative language that gave them so many fans in the first place.
About Cowboy Junkies
The band’s newest outing, Such Ferocious Beauty, is vintage Cowboy Junkies and another dimension from the lo-fi Canadian band comprised of, well, family. As a result the album is a tangle of sonic textures, ruminating on aging, losing parents, facing mortality and creating space for one’s life in the midst of the ruin that comes from merely living. “Mike has never shied away from the darker, harder and sometimes uglier realities of our human condition,” Margo Timmins explained of the band’s singular focus, “nor has he shied from its beauty. Thankfully, with one comes the other.”
Michael Timmins, the oldest, is the chief architect, songwriter and guitarist, who works with Margo on sculpting the emotional planes and vocal performances before bringing in younger brother Peter on drums and lifelong friend Alan Anton on bass to create the soundscapes that have made Cowboy Junkies a band that defies categories. Alternative? Rock? Americana? Roots? Perhaps the answer is a simple “yes.” Hence, the churning beauty builds on all those things, evoking the best of a group that’s evolved over three and a half decades. Michael adds, “This record is connected to All That Reckoning. I see our recent work in a cycle: Reckoning, Ghosts and Such Ferocious Beauty. They were all done in very violent and tumultuous times. The violent side is so much a part of our society now—not just the physical, but the way we relate to each other. It’s hard to escape.”
Inside The Band
Whether drawing on a pop culture reference like a quote culled from Mike Tyson or mining Greek mythology, there’s an ease and fluidity to how Michael draws songs together. For the sinewy “Mike Tyson (Here It Comes),” he employs a high-plains spaghetti Western tension that marries a nervy acoustic strum and tympani rolls to a creeping bassline, while “Circe & Penelope” deploys a wheezy fiddle and an acoustic guitar with its strings more flicked than strummed.
“I love the blunt reality of this song,” Margo offers. “I love the two women’s strength and realistic view of the situation. They have a great love for their men, but also this discontent. The image of these two women waiting for their men to return but getting on with the work that needs to be done and living their lives as strong women is truly empowering and reflects upon many of the women I know today.”
“The expectations and responsibilities of what we all do—it’s a big part of this. We’re still amazed that we’re doing this, but the longer [we have], the more fun it’s become. We don’t take it for granted,” said Michael. “We do what we do,” Margo agrees, “and it feels right for all of us. After 30-plus years of playing together, the band and its music are more important to us than ever. The music we make brings each of us a great sense of contentment, a knowing of place and a sense of doing what we were meant to do.”
To catch Cowboy Junkies on tour and watch them perform Such Ferocious Beauty, visit their website for tickets and information. Additionally, see below for a written list of the tour dates and locations.
Tour Dates
9/19/24 Buffalo, NY Asbury Hall
9/20/24 Geneva, NY Smith Opera House
9/22/24 Kent, OH The Kent Stage
9/24/24 Detroit, MI Masonic Cathedral
9/25/24 Kalamazoo, MI Kalamazoo State Theatre
9/27/24 Madison, WI Barrymore Theatre
9/28/24 Evanston, IL Cahn Auditorium
9/30/24 & 10/1/24 Minneapolis, MN Dakota
10/3/24 Des Moines, IA Hoyt Sherman Place
10/4/24 Iowa City, IA Englert Theatre
10/5/24 St. Louis, MO City Winery
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