FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<\/b><\/p>\n
June 8, 2015<\/b><\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
The Walking Guys to begin East Coast tour on July 8th<\/b><\/p>\n
Group to conduct concert tour on foot<\/b><\/p>\n
The Walking Guys (Benjamin Butler, Christopher Kessenich, Will Stevens, and Riley Moore) are set to begin their one-of-a-kind music\/adventure tour in Portland, ME on July 8, 2015, with performances that combine original music and stories of their 1600-mile walk.\u00a0 Yes,\u00a0walk<\/em>.\u00a0 The four performers plan to walk from gig to gig, sharing their music in venues ranging from highly esteemed theaters to dive bars and around campfires. Representing the best of Southern Folk Americana, the Walking Guys will create a musical experience that will allow fans to join in their adventure of covering miles every day on foot, becoming immersed in the culture of each area they enter, and sharing their story with those who will become the next characters in it.<\/p>\n During their journey, the Walking Guys will rely on the hospitality of strangers, acquaintances, and their camping gear to provide lodging. They will walk 15 miles a day, stopping every three to four days for rest and\/or performances.\u00a0 Though they currently have three solo EPs to promote, they envision themselves growing together as one cohesive unit.\u00a0 Shows at the beginning of the tour will certainly vary from those at the end as the group tightens into a single act. The Guys are especially excited to document their transformation in a web series they will release along the way.\u00a0 The series will allow fans to connect to the tour in (near) real-time.\u00a0 Upon completion of the tour, the series will be released as a full-length documentary along with a complete live album of performances from the tour. The tour will span a four-month period, with dates in many major cities on the East Coast planned.\u00a0\u00a0A short break in the walking tour will see the group traveling by car to Appleton, WI for a performance at the Mile of Music Festival in August, with the walking tour picking back up where it left off in New York City several days later.\u00a0Confirmed early dates on the tour and an expected routing are included below.<\/p>\n Their Story<\/b><\/p>\n Rather than the tight-knit group one might expect to embark on a journey such as this, several members of the group have never met in person, or have known each other only for a short time.\u00a0 Butler started telling his friends and family in March of 2013 that he was going to walk across the country to play music.\u00a0 Not surprisingly, he was met with a barrage of, \u201cOh yeah?\u201d and \u201cGood luck, buddy,\u201d responses.\u00a0 However, he never let others\u2019 doubts dissuade him.\u00a0 He continued searching for fellow performers who were bold and skilled enough to join him.<\/p>\n Two years later, Butler posted, \u201cLooking for other musicians\/videographers to go on an adventurous tour with,\u201d on a random Nashville musicians\u2019 Facebook group.\u00a0 His persistence paid off.\u00a0 Kessenich just happened to peruse the page for the very first time that day.\u00a0 He saw the post and gave Butler a call.\u00a0 After 15 minutes of dodging the fact, Butler finally admitted he was walking the 1600+ mile East Coast tour.\u00a0 Kessenich went silent for 15 long seconds then replied confidently, \u201cI\u2019m in.\u201d\u00a0 They met to confirm the other was not an ax murderer and began planning.<\/p>\n Next, Butler reached out to a lead guitarist (Stevens), whom he briefly met while walking the Appalachian Trail a year earlier.\u00a0 Stevens discussed the tour with his wife who encouraged him to quit his job and join the bill.\u00a0 As any good husband does, he took his wife\u2019s advice.\u00a0 Lastly, Moore, another recent friend of Butler\u2019s, decided to join. Thus, after two years of hoping and dreaming, Butler found three relative strangers in a span of two weeks to help him turn his dream into a reality.<\/p>\n Kessenich will be releasing a debut EP by his band, Arts Fishing Club, just weeks before the beginning of the tour and will be extensively promoting his folk-rock brand throughout the tour. Butler will also be releasing and promoting his own recently completed debut EP filled with complex songwriting guaranteed to strike a common chord with people in all walks of life. Moore, the experienced touring musician of the group, will bring years of songwriting experience and a crucial laid-back attitude to the group needed for those consecutive days of extreme mileage. Stevens, an alumnus of Berklee College of Music and a singer-songwriter himself, will round out the group as a lead guitarist and vocalist with his own style fitting more in the Southern rock genre.<\/p>\n The Walking Guys are modern day beatniks, living by their mantra, \u201cLive Simple, Spread Music.\u201d\u00a0 Their thirst for life and adventure would make Kerouac proud.<\/p>\n (Tour dates and planned routing are below. \u00a0Venues that are noted are confirmed, and other shows will be plugged in along the route.)<\/strong><\/p>\n The Walking Guys \u2013 Confirmed Tour Dates \/ Planned Routing<\/b><\/p>\n (Venues that are noted are confirmed, and other shows will be plugged in along the route.)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n 7\/8 \u2013 Portland, ME \/ Dogfish Bar & Grille<\/p>\n 7\/9 \u2013 Portland, ME \/ Andy\u2019s<\/p>\n 7\/10 \u2013 Portland, ME \/ Acoustic Artisans<\/p>\n 7\/11 \u2013 Biddeford, ME<\/p>\n 7\/12 \u2013 Wells, ME<\/p>\n 7\/13 \u2013 Portsmouth, NH<\/p>\n 7\/14 \u2013 Portsmouth, NH \/ The Press Room<\/p>\n 7\/15 \u2013 Seabrook, NH<\/p>\n 7\/16 \u2013 Willowdale, NH<\/p>\n 7\/17 \u2013 Seabrook, NH \/ Chop Shop Pub<\/p>\n 7\/18 \u2013 Boston, MA<\/p>\n 7\/19 \u2013 Boston, MA \/ Cuisine en Locale<\/p>\n 7\/20 \u2013 7\/21 \u2013 Boston, MA<\/p>\n 7\/22 \u2013 Providence, RI<\/p>\n 7\/23 \u2013 Fall River, MA<\/p>\n 7\/24 \u2013 Newport, RI<\/p>\n 7\/25 \u2013 Newport, RI \/ house concert<\/p>\n 7\/26 \u2013 7\/27 \u2013 Newport, RI<\/p>\n 7\/28 \u2013 Block Island, RI<\/p>\n 7\/29 \u2013 Montauk, NY<\/p>\n 7\/30 \u2013 East Hampton, NY<\/p>\n 7\/31 \u2013 Hampton Bay, NY<\/p>\n 8\/1 \u2013 New York, NY<\/p>\n 8\/2 \u2013 Brooklyn, NY \/ Bushwick Public House<\/p>\n 8\/3 \u2013 New York, NY<\/p>\n 8\/4 \u2013 Brooklyn, NY \/ King County Saloon<\/p>\n 8\/4 \u2013 Brooklyn, NY \/ The Way Station<\/p>\n 8\/5 \u2013 8\/9 \u2013 Appleton, WI \/ Mile of Music Festival<\/p>\n 8\/10 \u2013 New York, NY \/ Flatiron Hotel<\/p>\n 8\/11 \u2013 New Brunswick, NJ<\/p>\n 8\/12 \u2013 8\/13 \u2013 Princeton, NJ<\/p>\n 8\/14 \u2013 Trenton, NJ<\/p>\n 8\/15 \u2013 Bensalem, PA \/ Mugg\u2019s on Main St.<\/p>\n 8\/16 \u2013 Philadelphia, PA \/ The Nail<\/p>\n 8\/17 \u2013 Philadelphia, PA<\/p>\n 8\/18 \u2013 Philadelphia, PA \/ Raven Lounge<\/p>\n 8\/19 \u2013 Chester, PA<\/p>\n 8\/20 \u2013 Wilmington, DE<\/p>\n 8\/21 \u2013 White Clay Creek State Park, DE<\/p>\n 8\/22 \u2013 Rising Sun, MD<\/p>\n 8\/23 \u2013 Darlington, MD<\/p>\n 8\/24 \u2013 8\/25 \u2013 Bel Air, MD<\/p>\n 8\/26 \u2013 Overlea, MD<\/p>\n 8\/27 \u2013 8\/29 \u2013 Baltimore, MD<\/p>\n 8\/30 \u2013 Arlington, MD \/ Cabaret at Germano\u2019s<\/p>\n 8\/31 \u2013 Hyattsville, MD<\/p>\n 9\/1 \u2013 9\/3 \u2013 Washington, DC<\/p>\n 9\/4 \u2013 Newington, VA<\/p>\n 9\/5 \u2013 Dumfries, VA<\/p>\n 9\/6 \u2013 Fredericksburg, VA<\/p>\n 9\/7 \u2013 Pendleton Golf Course, Ruther Glen, VA<\/p>\n 9\/8 \u2013 9\/9 \u2013 Doswell, VA<\/p>\n 9\/10 \u2013 Glen Allen, VA<\/p>\n 9\/11 \u2013 9\/12 \u2013 Richmond, VA<\/p>\n 9\/13 \u2013 Colonial Heights, VA<\/p>\n 9\/14 \u2013 Dinwiddie, VA<\/p>\n 9\/15 \u2013 Lake Rawlings, VA<\/p>\n 9\/16 \u2013 Southside Virginia College, VA<\/p>\n 9\/17 \u2013 Alberta, VA<\/p>\n 9\/18 \u2013 South Hill, VA<\/p>\n 9\/19 \u2013 North Bend Park, VA<\/p>\n 9\/20 \u2013 Henderson , NC<\/p>\n 9\/21 \u2013 Franklinton, NC<\/p>\n 9\/22 \u2013 Wake Forest, NC<\/p>\n 9\/23 \u2013 9\/24 \u2013 Raleigh, NC<\/p>\n 9\/25 \u2013 9\/26 \u2013 Durham, NC<\/p>\n 9\/27 \u2013 Chapel Hill, NC<\/p>\n 9\/28 \u2013 Chapel Hill, NC \/ Johnny\u2019s 901<\/p>\n 9\/29 \u2013 Swepsonville, NC<\/p>\n 9\/30 \u2013 Elon University, Elon, NC<\/p>\n 10\/1 \u2013 10\/2 \u2013 Greensboro, NC<\/p>\n 10\/3 \u2013 10\/ 5 \u2013 Asheville, NC<\/p>\n 10\/6 \u2013 Hendersonville, NC<\/p>\n 10\/7 \u2013 Spring Creek, NC<\/p>\n 10\/8 \u2013 10\/9 \u2013 Greenville, SC<\/p>\n 10\/10 \u2013 Williamston, SC<\/p>\n 10\/11 \u2013 Anderson, SC<\/p>\n 10\/12 \u2013 Iva, SC<\/p>\n 10\/13 \u2013 Bowman, GA<\/p>\n 10\/14 \u2013 Colbert, GA<\/p>\n 10\/15 \u2013 10\/17 \u2013 Athens, GA<\/p>\n 10\/18 \u2013 somewhere on Highway 78<\/p>\n 10\/19 \u2013 Loganville, GA<\/p>\n 10\/20 \u2013 10\/24 \u2013 Atlanta, GA<\/p>\n 10\/25 \u2013 Marietta, GA<\/p>\n 10\/26 \u2013 Cartersville, GA<\/p>\n 10\/27 \u2013 Adairsville, GA<\/p>\n 10\/28 \u2013 somewhere on Highway 41<\/p>\n 10\/29 \u2013 Ringgold, GA<\/p>\n 10\/30 \u2013 10\/31 \u2013 Chattanooga, TN<\/p>\n 11\/1 \u2013 Prentice Cooper, TN<\/p>\n 11\/2 \u2013 somewhere on Highway 41<\/p>\n 11\/3 \u2013 Tracy City, TN<\/p>\n 11\/4 \u2013 Hillsboro, TN<\/p>\n 11\/5 \u2013 Beech Grove, TN<\/p>\n 11\/6 \u2013 11\/7 \u2013 Murfreesboro, TN<\/p>\n 11\/8 \u2013 Antioch, TN<\/p>\n 11\/9 \u2013 Nashville, TN<\/p>\n <\/p>\n