Lake Geneva, WI (Top40 Charts/ Pavement PR) - Jon Troast loves living rooms. In fact, the Lake Geneva, WI-based singer-songwriter has played in more than 150 of them in the last year-and-a-half. And now, beginning March 20th, he's playing 100 concerts in 100 days in support of his two 2008 full-length CDs (A Person & A
Heart and With, To, From, Jon Troast).
It started in June of 2007. Jon was a musical guest on 'A Prairie Home Companion' (Garrison Keillor's weekly variety show on National Public Radio). The performance won Troast quite a few new fans and gained him some national exposure.
Somewhat tired of playing in noisy restaurants and bars where he wasn't sure if anyone was listening, Troast decided to try house concerts. Using his now-expanded email list, he introduced the '100 Dollar Tour.' For $100, he would play a one-hour concert in any living room in America.
The idea took off and In November of 2007 he left on his first tour, playing 27 out of 28 nights in living rooms from Maine to California.
'It was great!' says Troast. 'I was meeting people where they lived, eating home cooked food, sleeping on their couches, and waking up with their dog's nose in my face. I was also playing for people who really wanted to listen, in an environment where they could. Sign me up for that!' He knew he'd found something worth pursuing.
Having played more than a 150 living room shows already (armed with little more than his Larrivee acoustic guitar, trademark red Reeboks and knapsack full of engaging songs that touch on upbeat pop, melodic rock and modern folk), the musician has another 100 in the works. Troast explains why he's taken this approach to the music business, 'There are so many marketing and promotional tools out there for musicians these days... websites, iTunes, Facebook, Myspace, etc. Those are all great tools. They've made my music more accessible than ever. The problem is, I can get so caught up in those things and forget that my goal as a musician is to connect with people, real people. I've found that living room concerts are a great way to remedy some of that disconnect.
'As an added bonus, it helps my songwriting. I think that empathy, or 'putting yourself in someone else's shoes' is very important in writing good songs. And I've found that it's a whole lot easier to put yourself in someone else's shoes when they're sitting right by the door.'
As part of this uniquely intimate, yet aggressive tour Troast will also be posting two songs from each of the 100 performances as a free daily podcast on his website. In addition, he'll also be posting a new song each week during the tour and offering them as free exclusive downloads to his fans (and by tour's end he'll essentially have an entire album of new songs from this project).
For more information on Jon Troast and his 100 Concerts in 100 Days Tour (or to book Jon for a concert in your living room):
https://www.jontroast.com
https://www.myspace.com/troast
JON TROAST'S 100 CONCERTS IN 100 DAYS TOUR DATES (MORE TO BE ADDED DAILY):
03.20 Oak Forest, IL
03.21 Burlington, WI
03.22 Elkhorn, WI
03.23 Beloit, WI
03.24 Lake Geneva, WI
03.25 Pewaukee, WI
03.26 Palatine, IL
03.27 Lake Geneva, WI
03.28 Elkhorn, WI
03.29 Delavan, WI
03.30 Zion , IL
03.31 Minneapolis, MN
04.01 Roseville, MN
04.02 Roseville, MN
04.03 Crystal Lake, IL
04.04 Woodstock, IL
04.05 Watertown, WI
04.06 Wheaton, IL
04.07 Wheaton, IL
04.08 Holland, MI
04.09 Cadillac, MI
04.10 Southfield, MI
04.11 Grand Rapids, MI
04.11 Grand Rapids, MI
04.13 Holland, MI
04.14 Kankakee, IL
04.15 Crescent City, IL
04.16 St. Louis, MO
04.17 St. Louis, MO
04.18 Wildwood, MO
04.19 Edmond, OK
04.20 Tyler, TX
04.21 Houston, TX
04.22 Houston, TX
04.23 Dallas, TX
04.24 Santa Fe, NM
04.25 Phoenix, AZ
04.26 Dana Point, CA
04.27 South Pasadena, CA
04.28 Laguna Hills, CA
04.29 Pleasanton, CA
04.30 Concord, CA
05.01 San Francisco, CA
05.02 Fremont, CA
05.03 Windsor, CA
05.03 Santa Rosa, CA
05.04 Santa Rosa, CA
05.05 Fremont, CA
05.07 Orinda, CA
05.08 South Pasadena, CA
05.09 Torrance, CA
05.09 San Diego, CA
05.10 Escondido, CA
05.11 Laguna Beach, CA
05.12 Hume Lake, CA
05.13 Denair, CA
05.14 Livermore, CA
05.14 Fairfield, CA
05.19 Midvale, UT
05.21 Centennial, CO
05.22 Pueblo West, CO
05.23 Estes Park, CO
05.24 Manhattan, KS
05.25 Kansas City, MO
05.26 Kansas City, MO
05.27 Wellington, MO
05.28 Omaha, NE
05.29 Iowa City, IA
05.30 Arlington Heights, IL
05.31 Grayslake, IL
06.01 Carmel, IN
06.02 Noblesville, TN
06.03 Nashville, TN
06.04 Danbury, NC
06.05 Charlotte, NC
06.06 Apex, NC
06.06 Raleigh, NC
06.11 Washington, DC
06.12 Philadelphia, PA
06.15 Bound Brook, NJ
06.17 Roslindale, MA
06.19 Sayville, NY
06.20 New York, NY
06.21 Clarks Summit, PA
06.22 Tunkhannock, PA
06.23 Mechanicsburg, PA
06.24 Pittsburgh, PA
06.26 Mentone, IN
06.27 Lake Geneva, WI
'Wisconsin artist Jon Troast alternates between folky and funky. His smoky, David Gray-style vocals jump from sweet, spunky love songs to edgier, rhythmic explorations of life and responsibility. You'll want to give this musician a second listen, and a third, and fourth ...' - Performing Songwriter
'I love your songs.' - Garrison Keillor live on A Prairie Home Companion
"...smartly-crafted folk-pop that delivers both rich melody and clear-eyed insight." - Daily Vault
