The Railroad Revival Tour is a music festival tour created by David Conway that launched in 2011 featuring popular roots, folk, country, rock, bluegrass and Americana acts.
The musicians travelled between shows across the American Southwest in 17 vintage train cars from the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s.[1] The outdoor concert locations, sometimes attracting over 10,000 fans, are often a stone's throw from the train.[2] The bands eat, sleep and engage in impromptu jam sessions on the train between stops, giving them a chance to collaborate.[3] On stage at night, they often join in on each other's sets, sometimes bringing around 30 musicians up to create a rare and rowdy performance.[4] The organic American roots feeling of the tour also prompts participating musicians to honor U.S. railway history, like Mumford & Sons' tribute to Woody Guthrie in 2011.[5]
The tour included performances by Mumford & Sons, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, and Old Crow Medicine Show.[6] A documentary, called Big Easy Express, directed by Emmett Malloy premiered at SXSW 2012 and won a Grammy Award in 2013. The film is currently available on iTunes and DVD/Blu-ray Disc.[7]
Railroad Revival Tour bands Mumford & Sons, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, and Old Crow Medicine Show closed the show together at every stop with "This Train Is Bound for Glory."[8]
The 2012 tour was slated to include performances by Willie Nelson, Band of Horses, Jamey Johnson, and John Reilly and Friends.[9] The tour was cancelled for 2012.[10]
The tour included performances by Mumford & Sons, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, and Old Crow Medicine Show.[11]
| Date | City | Country | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 21, 2011 | Oakland | United States | Middle Harbor Shoreline Park |
| April 22, 2011 | Los Angeles | Ports O' Call | |
| April 23, 2011 | Tempe | Vacant lot Originally scheduled for the Arizona Railway Museum in Chandler. | |
| April 24, 2011 | Marfa | El Cosmico | |
| April 26, 2011 | Austin | 4th and Waller Street | |
| April 27, 2011 | New Orleans | Woldenberg Park |