Anyone lucky enough to catch the great documentary, Austin to Boston, would have noticed standout British folk singer, Ben Howard for his unique vocal style, finger-picking acoustic proficiency. and overall onstage charisma.

5 old VW camper vans. 4 bands. 3 thousand miles. 2 weeks. 1 gloriously backward tour. The adventure starts after a fire-fuelled final night at Austin’s SXSW Music Festival, where the bands (Ben Howard, The Staves, Nathaniel Rateliff, Bear’s Den) pile into their rides and head northeast. They play everywhere from bars to barns, rooms to rooftops, packing out tiny venues and wowing crowds with their unique sounds.

But heavy rainstorms, multiple breakdowns, and cramped conditions remind them that to push through sometimes you need to pull together. Featuring Mumford & Sons’ Ben Lovett and narrated by Gill Landry this documentary is about a modern tour, done the old fashioned way.

 

    I include the following video mostly for the crowd, response not for the audio quality. Whoever did his EQ needs an audio Otolaryngologist visit ASAP.     Ben Howard – Only Love (Glastonbury 2013) 114,489 views Here is a better live EQ for Ben and India, et al.  
  [Chorus 1] While the faithful dispose of a generation And all of the mountains rumble knowingly I order a colada and sit to count my dollars And watch eagles soar in circles Perpetually [Bridge] Forever, forever Such a beautiful thing [Chorus 2] Now I am older, I don’t look over my shoulder I know what is there in front of me Ten Marlboro cigarettes I’ve rolled the butts into the bottle tops Today I will stare at the sea Till my eyes have had enough [Outro] Enough, enough Is that enough?
Ben Howard performs Towing The Line on Later… with Jools Holland on BBC Two (15 May 2018).    
  Black flies on the windowsill That we are That we are That we are to know Winter stole summer’s thrill And the river’s cracked and cold See the sky is no man’s land A darkened plume to stay Hope here needs a humble hand Not a fox found in your place No man is an island, this I know But can’t you see? Maybe you were the ocean when I was just a stone Black flies on the windowsill That we are That we are That we are to hold Comfort came against my will And every story must grow old Still, I’ll be a traveler A gypsy’s reins to face But the road is wearier With that fool found in your place No man is an island, this I know But can’t you see? Maybe you were the ocean when I was just a stone No man is an island, this I know But can’t you see? Maybe you were the ocean when I was just a stone So here we are And I don’t wanna beg your pardon And I don’t wanna ask you why But if I was to go my own way Would I have to pass you by? And I don’t wanna beg your pardon And I don’t wanna ask you why But if I was to go my own way Would I have to pass you by?

Ben Howard covers Lana Del Rey’s “Video Games” tune.