burlington amphitheatre

LYs to headline at Jamey’s House Of Music

Chiefly in the interest of consuming as many Philly Cheesesteaks as possible while in the States, we have added a Philadelphia date to our 2013 American Tour – Jamey’s House Of Music on Overbrook Avenue, “Philadelphia’s coolest intimate venue”.

Jamey’s looks like a truly unique little place, combining – rather unusually – a ‘living room’ feel with state-of-the-art facilities. Seating just sixty, the House Of Music has been described variously as a “house concert on steroids”, “the ultimate man-cave” and “the music mansion”. This from the venue’s website:

“There is never a so-so evening here. It’s a warm and welcoming place to share in some of the most wonderful eclectic music of every style and genre found anywhere, make new friends, enjoy really good Chinese food (BYO welcome) expertly prepared by hostess and chef, Suyun Reilly, and meet stellar musicians one on one.”

I know – sounds bloody lovely, doesn’t it?! We can’t wait. And if you’re coming, expect an intimate, one-off show mixing novel reading with live music and, more than likely, a few unusual numbers thrown in. Support from the inimitable Jon Clifton.

Our Friday night date at Jamey’s also means that our 2013 American tour has gone from dual-state to tri-state, which while making the whole thing sound rather grander than it actually is does provide increased opportunity for phrases of the “Good evening New JERsey! [or equivalent state]” sort. Which is of course the main reason to go on tour in the first place (other than the sandwiches).

For details of all our USA tour dates, visit the GIGS page. Here’s the basic rundown:

Thursday 15 August: Astoria Park, New York (FREE SHOW!)
Friday 16 August: Jamey’s House Of Music, Philadelphia PA (BUY TICKETS)
Saturday 17 August: Circle Of Friends, Riverton NJ (BUY TICKETS)
Sunday 18 August: Burlington Amphitheatre, Westampton NJ (FREE SHOW!)

2010 USA Tour a success!

Thanks to everybody who came out to see us during our 2010 American Tour. We had an absolutely fantastic time and were blown away, as always, by the warmth and generosity of our fans in the States.

Highlights included a bakingly hot return to Union Square in New York, a full house at Burlington Amphitheatre on 16 July  and a crowd of two thousand people turning up to watch us play in front of the East River in Astoria Park on the last night of the tour whilst the sun set over the Manhattan skyline…! Unforgettable.

Loads of you have uploaded your photos to our Fan Pics page on Flickr – click here to check them out (or add your own).

Our spies on the East Coast tell us we had a double-page spread in the New York Daily News (which apparently has a readership of two million people) on Tuesday, following our headline slot at Astoria Park. More details to come. For more USA press on the tour, see below:

“…for The Lightyears, making themselves a household name in America won’t be hard to do, what with the band being made up of three cute guys with English accents, including a heartthrob for a lead singer…”
Erica Brooke Fajge, Only In Philadelphia (read full article here)

“Gorgeous harmonies, three hot guys and that quirky English humor. What more could a girl want…?”
MetroGirl, New York

Here’s to next year’s tour…!

Why LYs fans are the best fans in the world…

When we discovered that a five-star hotel in Cape Town had erected a plaque in our honour back in January (read about it here), I think we all expected this would be the last time something like that would happen to us. Au contraire, however! After our recent gig at the Burlington Amphitheatre in New Jersey, USA, we were invited back to the picturesque town of Riverton for an after-party. The bash was being held on the legendary porch of one Maureen Murray, known well to The Lightyears during our recent visits to the USA for her propensity to ply us with Bombay Sapphire and delicious all-American breakfasts.

Lo and behold, in honour of an impromptu unplugged show we played on her porch back in 2007, it turned out that Maureen had erected a Ye Olde Wooden Plaque on the outside of her home (see photo above). Long may it hang there.

The more I think about this, the more I wonder whether Maureen may have started something here. A movement, perhaps. A mission for us to inspire plaque-hanging in every country in the world. USA and South Africa down, only about two hundred countries left to go.

Please feel free to help our cause. Erect a Lightyears plaque today. If you do, I promise to write a blog about it. And I’m a man of my word.

USA Tour starts this week!

Our fifth American tour starts this Thursday 15 July at Union Square in New York. Here’s a full rundown of the venues we’re playing:

Thursday 15 July: UNION SQUARE, New York NY
This will be our third year headlining at the Union Square Summer Concert Series in Manhattan. Recent years have seen crowds of thousands and, thanks to the prime location right in the centre of New York, it’s the ideal way to spend a late afternoon in the Big Apple. ENTRY IS FREE!

Friday 16 July: BURLINGTON AMPHITHEATRE, Mount Holly NJ
We’re very excited to return to Burlington for the second year running. Burlington has an impressive amphitheatre and promises to host a fine evening of entertainment. Never fear – if it rains, the show will go on (it’ll be moved to an indoor theatre next door). ENTRY IS FREE!

Saturday 17 July: BLOCKLEY POURHOUSE, Philadelphia PA. BUY TICKETS HERE!
**THIS SHOW IS NOW ALL AGES!!** Our big Saturday night headline gig (and our only appearance in Philadelphia this summer) is at the awesome Blockley Pourhouse on Chestnut Street. The Blockley is a brand-new, state-of-the-art venue built on the site of an old asylum. Which is pretty wacky. Get your tickets here – just $7 advance!

Sunday 18 July: THE SAINT, Asbury Park NJ. BUY TICKETS HERE!
We’ll be seeing out the weekend at The Saint on Main Street, Asbury Park. Previous performers at this venue include Ben Folds Five, Lost Prophets, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and The Dandy Warhols. Tickets on sale here! Also performing are local band Root Glen + special guests.

Thursday 22 July: ASTORIA PARK, New York NY
The tour comes to a close back in New York on 22 July at Astoria Park. We’ll be playing an hour and half’s set, so plenty of time to kick back with a massive Dr Pepper from Taco Bell and maybe even a tasty picnic. ENTRY IS FREE!

Full details on the GIGS page.

To hear us on the radio in your area, request the LYs below!

– Kathy Romano on WMMR (Bala Cynwyd, PA): REQUEST THE LYs HERE
– Bonnie Hart on WBZC “The Pulse” (Pemberton, NJ): REQUEST THE LYs HERE
– WKDU 97.1FM (Philadelphia, PA): REQUEST THE LYs HERE

Tickets go on sale for American Tour 2010

**UPDATE (24 June): Tickets are now on sale for LYs @ Blockley Pourhouse (Philadelphia) on Sat 17 July. CLICK HERE TO BUY YOURS!

Tickets are also available for our show at The Saint in Asbury Park (New Jersey) with local act Root Glen, on Sunday 18 July. Buy yours here.

All our other shows in the USA this summer are FREE ENTRY. Woo-hoo! Here’s a full list of the dates:

Thursday 15 July: Union Square, New York NY
Friday 16 July: Burlington Amphitheatre, Mount Holly NJ
Saturday 17 July: Blockley Pourhouse, Philadelphia PA (BUY TICKETS HERE)
Sunday 18 July: The Saint, Asbury Park NJ (BUY TICKETS HERE)
Thursday 22 July: Astoria Park, New York NY

Full details on the GIGS page.

LYs to tour East Coast USA in July

We’re very excited to announce our 2010 USA Tour, which will consist of a string of dates in mid-July in the New York/Philadelphia area. This will be our fifth visit to the United States and promises to be an absolute cracker!

Dates include a return to Union Square on 15 July to headline at their Summer Concert Series (where we performed to thousands last July) as well as our second performance at the Burlington Amphitheatre in New Jersey on the 16th. New venues we will be appearing at include the Blockley Pourhouse in Pennsylvania on 17 July and the Astoria Park Summer Concert Series in New York (22 July).

We’re looking forward to catching up with some old friends and hopefully making a bunch of new fans whilst we’re there! Equally, I have no doubt that George will once again attempt to eat himself to death on Philly Cheese Steaks. I mean, that’s just how he rolls (for the fully story, click here to read my 2009 USA Tour Diary).

For a full list of dates, click here to visit the GIGS page.

Lightyears on tour in USA

We’re leaving for the United States today for a run of dates in the New York and Philadelphia area. See details below…

THURSDAY 30 JULY: Union Square, Manhattan NY (with Jukebox The Ghost)
– Free Entry. LYs onstage 6pm.

FRIDAY 31 JULY: Chaplin’s, Spring City PA (with Brooke Shive & The 45s)
– Doors 7pm. LYs onstage 8pm. BYOB. Buy tickets here.

SATURDAY 1 AUGUST: Milkboy, Ardmore PA (with Vantine/Amadio)
– Doors 8pm. Buy tickets here.

SUNDAY 2 AUGUST: Burlington Amphitheatre, Westampton NJ (with Jon Clifton)
– Free entry. LYs onstage 3pm.

See you guys there!

Tickets on sale for Lightyears in Spring City USA

Tickets are now on sale for our show at Chaplin’s in Spring City, USA, on Friday 31 July. Buy yours now by clicking here.

This year’s whirlwind US tour will be taking us to three states – New York City, New Jersey and Pennsylvania – over a jam-packed week that is in danger of ripping a massive hole in the rock-time continuum.

Chaplin’s Music Cafe in Spring City, just outside Phoenixville, is famous for hosting the man himself, Mr Charlie Chaplin, as part of a travelling revue back in 1916. Little did he know that his big-trousered antics would later manifest themselves in popular youth culture in the guise of MC Hammer. Had he known, would he have continued? Would he have simply worn smaller trousers? We simply can’t say.

If you’re a New Yorker, you can catch us for free on Thursday 30 July headlining Union Square’s “Music In The Square” summer season. Fans in Philly can also catch us at Milkboy Coffee on Saturday 1 August and Burlington Amphitheatre on Sunday 2 August.

For full details, click here to visit the gigs page.

As for you Londoners, don’t forget we’re playing The Troubadour on Friday 24 July. Demand for tickets has been high and it’s advisable to buy in advance to avoid disappointment. Click here to buy yours.

Anybody who comes to the gigs in both London and New York (bear in mind that they’re within the same week) gets five free copies of our album, a signed poster and a big kiss.*

*Tony, that doesn’t include you.

LYs to tour East Coast USA

This summer we will be returning to America to play three states – New York City, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

On Thursday 30 July we’ll be playing the “Summer In The Square” series in Union Square, Manhattan. This will be followed on Saturday 1 August by a headline show at Milkboy Coffee in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, and an afternoon performance at Burlington Amphitheatre in New Jersey on Sunday 2 August. For full details visit the GIGS page.

Whilst in the USA we are also hoping to secure a slot on WXPN radio’s legendary “Free At Noon” broadcast at the World Cafe in Philadelphia. This is an incredibly prestigious show – recent performers include Gomez, Damien Rice and Adele and the broadcast goes out to a national audience of several million people. We performed live on Matt Reilly’s WXPN show back in 2007 and so the next step up is to be part of the station’s weekly live concert. Here’s the fun though – YOU can help us secure the slot by visiting the WXPN website and requesting our track “Sleepless” for airplay on the station. Click here to visit the WXPN website and request “Sleepless”! It’ll totally rock our world if you do, we promise.

This will be our fourth visit to the USA and we’re excited to be seeing our US fans again. Click here to read my tour diary from our last Stateside visit.