When we were booked last year by UK Rockabilly event promoter Jerry Chatabox (Rockabilly Rave, Atomic Vintage Festival) to appear at the 2018 Atomic Vintage Festival at Sywell Aerodrome near Northampton we figured if we’re traveling all the way from Vancouver to the UK we should book ourselves some more shows to play while we were there. So we did! We booked shows in two locations in Kent and also in Liverpool, Cheshire and Yorkshire. Technically it was an England Tour rather than a UK Tour…but let’s not split hairs.

We spent several months figuring out the logistics. Flying the three of us over there, work permits, van rental, accommodation, and whether we should we bring our own gear or rent/borrow gear in the UK.

With the help of our good friend, and ace Rockabilly guitarist, Deke Martin in the UK we managed to secure all of the gear we’d need (guitar, bass, drums, amps, PA & speakers and mics/mic stands) without having to rent anything. That was a huge help and of course meant that we’d avoid having to pay rental costs. Huge thanks to Deke and to his bandmates Tim and Martin!

Our main costs, other than the flights to the UK and back, were the hotels and the van rental. We were fortunate again that we had some free accommodation by staying with friends and only needed to book hotel rooms for a couple of the nights we were there and the van, a Renault Trafic Sport, was the perfect size for the gear.

We set out from Vancouver on Tuesday July 24th and the fun began! Of course the first order of business was beers in the bar at YVR.

…and then boarding the plane for the nine and a half hour flight….

….after which it was straight to the pub in Meopham, Kent for our first beers in England. A great little country pub The Cricketers Inn.

More to come in Part 2.