The Best Week Ever: Following Damian Lewis on his UK Tour Part II

‘We loved playing for all of you over the last few weeks. So much fun so much chat so many sweets so much love so many DLous so many burrito wraps so good so beautiful so long…..” —Damian Lewis

Damian has recently taken to Instagram to reflected on the second leg of his Mission Creep tour as above. And now that I reflect on my week long trip to the UK to follow Damian and the band from Stroud to Poole to Norwich to Cambridge, it was so many train rides, so many hotel rooms, so much gloomy British weather, so little sleep, and a lost passport for God’s sake! But it was all WORTH IT for the fantastic music, fun chats, much love and big laughs with people I adore! IT WAS THE BEST WEEK EVER! And this post is my way of saying thank you to Damian, Dave, Will, Kitty, Joe, Phil, Jamie, Amelie, Jack, Steve, Vicky and my old friends Tsvete and Monique and new friend Mel for making it a dream trip! And special thanks go to the U.S. Embassy in London for helping me.

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Happy St. David’s Day – Damian Lewis and His Welsh Roots

happystdavidsday

Happy St. David’s Day, everyone!

Today is the Feast Day of St. David, the patron saint of Wales. Thus, in honor of the day, why not talk about Damian and his Welsh roots?

Here is Damian talking about himself as a “Londoner” and “British” at Times Talks London.

So far so good… Damian is proud of his Welsh roots, and we’re talking about Wales today! But… what do I talk about when I talk about Wales? What do I really know about Wales except the fact that Damian is half-Welsh? Well… I can drop a few Welsh celebrity names like a pro…Sir Anthony Hopkins, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Burton, Gareth Bale… and, of course, the wonderful Denise Salway aka the “Knitting Witch” that creates the wonderful “Wolf Hall in Wool” collection and who made, for Damian, a special personalized gift!

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From Lockdown to Mission Creep: Damian Lewis’ Music Journey – Part II

“I wanted the album to give a sense of a journey to this point, from busking ‘til now. I suddenly had a lot to say. People will judge if it’s any good or not, but for me, it felt entirely natural.” – Damian Lewis

photo credit: Rhys Frampton

You can read Part I here. We had a cliffhanger at the end of Part I… Steve Abbott introduced Damian to Giacomo Smith, one of the best  jazz musicians working  in London today…

Then Jay Rayner of  Out to Lunch podcast let the world know about Damian performing Dr. John’s “Such a Night” with Giacomo and his band Kansas Smittys – and asked Damian if the experience was as fun as it looked… Continue reading “From Lockdown to Mission Creep: Damian Lewis’ Music Journey – Part II”

An Intimate Performance: Damian Lewis in “Lift Me Up I am Dying”

“Severn-I–lift me up–I am dying–I shall die easy–don’t be frightened–be firm, and thank God it has come!”

John Keats

If there had been no Covid pandemic, they would have marked the 200th anniversary of John Keats’ death with a new production of the play Lift Me Up I am Dying in the house that Keats died – now the Keats-Shelley House  in Rome. But when it was clear that a live performance would not be possible, the creator Pele Cox came up with an alternative: she would have Zoom meetings with the actors who happened to be in lockdown and then let them  film themselves and bring to life a half-hour film based on the last weeks of Keats’ life. And they did.

Today marks the 203rd anniversary of John Keats’ death and we re-visit the intimate virtual performance Damian gives in Lift Me Up I am Dying.

Continue reading “An Intimate Performance: Damian Lewis in “Lift Me Up I am Dying””

Guitar Man: Damian Lewis’ Music Journey Part I

“I’m looking forward to getting out there and playing the songs I’ve written and been recording for my debut album. Be good to be back on stage, this time with a guitar in my hand.”

—Damian Lewis

You know what I did in the title, don’t you? If you know a certain ginger man who thinks he is the “second coming of Elvis” that is returning to stage with a guitar in hand, you go and title your related post after a lesser known Elvis gem.

So… if you are not living under a rock, you know that Damian returned to stage, this time, with a guitar in hand turning his fantasies into reality. He released a few singles in spring 2023 followed by his highly acclaimed first album ‘Mission Creep’ in June, and is already working a second album. He did live gigs in London, played at music festivals, rocked the paddock at the British Grand Prix, and went on a UK tour the second part of which is coming up in March.

https://twitter.com/FanFunDamian/status/1758882092744581219

If you want to see Damian and his new beard on stage, you can find all gig dates, venues and ticket information here. Continue reading “Guitar Man: Damian Lewis’ Music Journey Part I”