In celebration of his upcoming ninth solo studio album, Down The Road Wherever (out November 16 on British Grove Records via Blue Note), Mark Knopfler is set for a 28-date North American tour.
On tour Knopfler will perform with an expanded ten-piece band, most of whom have been working with him for more than two decades: Guy Fletcher (keyboards), Richard Bennett (guitar), Jim Cox (piano), Mike McGoldrick (whistle and flute), John McCusker (fiddle and cittern), Glenn Worf (bass), Danny Cummings (percussion) and Ian Thomas (drums). New additions include Graeme Blevins (saxophone) and Tom Walsh (trumpet).
Down The Road Wherever—recorded by Knopfler in his West London studio, British Grove—features 14 new songs inspired by a wide range of subjects, including Knopfler’s early days in Deptford with Dire Straits, a stray soccer fan lost in a strange town, the compulsion of a musician hitching home through the snow and a man out of time in his local greasy spoon diner.
Knopfler has previously released eight solo albums, as well as Neck And Neck with guitar great Chet Atkins and All The Roadrunning with Emmylou Harris. He has also created film soundtracks for Local Hero, The Princess Bride and Cal. In addition to producing his own records, Knopfler has also produced albums for Bob Dylan and Randy Newman, amongst others. Knopfler was made an Order of the British Empire in 1999 and was given the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award at the Ivor Novellos in 2012.