We were lucky enough to spend the day with Ron Pope when he came to London at the start of his tour. Our day with Ron kicked off with us being greeted by Blair, Ron’s manager and wife, while the team were starting to set up for the night ahead. We caught Ron while he was looking for somewhere to stand so he could sign posters for the meet and greet.
Eventually he settled into the ticket office and we started to find out a lot about him… like he spent more time in London than he did at home in 2014, his favourite deli in London is H.T Harris which he described as ‘unbelievable’ and he gets to tour with his best friend, Zach Berkman. The wonderful Phoebe Fox snapped these incredible pictures for us on the day!
Whilst we were giving the guys some time to prepare for their show we heard Ron yell, “Quick come in here, he’s grinding his own coffee!” and there was someone actually grinding his own coffee. Everyone was in a state of shock/excitement.
Everyone on this tour is pretty close. We spoke to Zach Berkman who is Ron’s best friend (and opening for him), to find out a little more about him. Zach loves Making A Murderer and recently had this nightmare where HE was the murderer. Someone care to psychoanalyse? He also finds the etiquette in the UK very interesting.
Whilst Ron and the guys were in and out of sound check, we grabbed Blair. Blair is a very busy lady; she is Ron’s manager and also runs the day to day of their record label Brooklyn Basement Records.
She was also one of the few females we saw that day, so naturally we asked her about it. She told us, “a lot of men are just dismissive unfortunately, especially in a male dominated industry. It was a learning curve for sure but I just kind of figured my way around it”. She has been working in this industry for 5 years but one thing she hasn’t gotten used to is the lack of decent showers you find on tour. We don’t blame you Blair, we could never get used to that either.
When the fans arrived to meet and greet Ron, they were definitely pleasantly surprised. As Ron met everyone, he was so gracious and took the time to hug and chat with each of his supporters, before treating them to a few exclusive acoustic performances. Then it was time for the show! First to perform was Truett, followed by Zach Berkman and both of these talented guys were completely incredible on the stage. They captured the packed venue so well and we hope to hear more from them both soon!
“London, I’ve missed you,” yelled Ron, followed by a massive cheer from the audience. By the time he came out to perform, the venue was absolutely packed! Everyone was excited for him to get on stage and start singing, and he made sure to give his fans a real show. He was on stage for well over an hour and a half, performing some old favourites as well as new tracks from his latest album.
Ron and The Nighthawks were incredible and our personal highlight was their cover of Ooh La La by the Faces. Their set ended with A Drop In Ocean and the crowd did not hesitate to join in. Summary? We had a lot of fun meeting them all and getting lost backstage. We also must really check out that sandwich place…
