For the best part of the last six years, Phillip Phillips has been on the road. And for the best part of those years, Phillip has toured with his wife Hannah Blackwell by his side. This year, his small touring family was expanded, when Phillip and Hannah decided to bring their beautiful boxer Izzy to join them on the 43-stop Magnetic Tour.
What is that strange magic that makes live music and photography go so well together? Because while live music is ephemeral and forever moving like a flowing river, photography is static and permanent. Perhaps it’s due to photography’s ability to catch a moment, to capture a few magical seconds in a performance and make it last forever so we can go back again and again to feel its spellbinding power.
Phillip Phillips’ summer tour had many of such moments, with shows at some historic venues such as Bethel Woods, where the Woodstock festival took place, and Austin City Limits Live’s Moody Theater in Austin, TX, home of the highly regarded PBS music special. Phillip wrapped his 2017 tour in Bend, OR on September 19. As a recap, here are just a few of our favourite photos from the summer. Here is hoping for more exciting announcements in the coming months, and of course a new tour to promote his new album. Visit our Galleries page to see more tour photos as well as some great fan photos too!
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Featured photo by Danny DeRusso.
Phillip Phillips made a very special stop last Friday, September 8th, when he performed at the Austin City Limits Live‘s Moody Theater. The day before, Phillip helped members of the Goo Goo Dolls to collect food items for those affected by the storm in Houston before their show in The Woodlands, TX.
Though the show in Austin was (regrettably) not recorded as part of celebrated Austin City Limits PBS series, it was nonetheless a special performance in an already stellar summer tour and stops at some amazing venues.
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Phillip also surprised fans this Friday by releasing an acoustic version on “Miles,” his latest single. The recording features cellist Dave Eggar, who has been touring with Phillip this summer and accompanying Phillip during the acoustic VIP shows. The acoustic version captures the warm energy of those intimate performances — all the better to appreciate the gorgeous melody and moving lyrics of the song. Listen to “Miles” acoustic and follow the links below to purchase the song!
Buy Miles acoustic.
To buy the original version, click here.
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Featured photo by Austin City Limits Live.
Gallery photos by PhillPhillSource, Chris Heuer, Austin City Limits Live, and Eliza.
Phillip Phillips much awaited summer tour got underway last Friday, July 14th at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, CA. Phillip will be touring the entire summer in support of the Goo Goo Dolls Long Way Home Summer Tour 2017.
As it does for most of the dates on the tour, the ticket for the Shoreline show included an option for a VIP Meet & Greet experience. The whole event was superbly organized. After signing in at the VIP sign in area, people who had tickets for the meet and greet were taken to an area backstage where a tent and a small stage had been set up. As we made our way backstage, we could hear Phillip and the band doing the sound check, which only added to everybody’s excitement. Thankfully, we only had to wait a few minutes before Phillip and Dave Eggar, cellist and musician extraordinaire, made their way to the stage and sat in the two chairs that had been placed for them there. I was pleasantly surprised to see that there was no official radio sponsor and that Phillip and Dave were basically in charge of how the show and Q&A would unfold.
A piece of paper had been taped on the floor in front of Phillip’s chair with a selection of questions from fans – we had been asked to submit them prior to the event online. But Phillip ignored the sheet and simply told us if we had any questions and people just went for it asking whatever came to their mind. In true Phillip fashion he soon had us laughing with his funny answers. He also asked us what we wanted them to play to which someone yelled “Man on the Moon” but he couldn’t play it because he didn’t have his capo. After another suggestion which he also couldn’t play – the capo again, I yelled “Miles,” a new unreleased song that I’m in love with, and that’s what they played finally!
Phillip and Dave Eggar have been playing together for the best part of the last five years and doing these type of acoustic shows must be like second nature for them. The whole event was very informal, relaxed and cool as a result. After playing “Gone Gone Gone,” Phillip answered a few more questions and then took the time to take pictures with everybody. I highly recommend getting these tickets if you can afford them, it was a wonderful experience.
Anybody who has attended a live music event knows that there is no sweeter moment than the second before a show starts, and with the sun shining right on the stage, the warm summer air on our skin and the notes of “Man on the Moon” making their way through the air, that moment on Friday felt like a wonderful dream. It’s no secret that Phillip has faced some difficult times recently and to see him right there on the stage doing what he does best was a beautiful sight for my eyes. As always, it took no time for Phillip and his band to mesmerize us with their energy and musicianship as they did when they launched into the extended outro for “Man on the Moon.”
By now Phillip has enough songs, in addition to an entire catalogue of brilliant covers, to easily put on a two hour plus show. However, being in the opening slot meant that Phillip had to compress his set list to fit 40 minutes, not an easy task for a band that is used to jamming on almost every song. Still, Phillip did a great job mixing many of the hits like “Home,” “Gone Gone Gone” and “Raging Fire,” with his new songs. Of the eight songs he played that night, three were new unreleased ones. All three were also highlights. I don’t know how else to explain it but maybe it’s just that Phillip is feeling these new songs. “Magnetic” was extra sexy, with Phillip taking his time with the lyrics and stretching his vocal range to places we have not heard him go before. New guitarist Jonathan Asperil was really great on it as well, taking over from where the amazing Nate Mercereau left with the song’s guitar solo.
I have already mentioned “Miles” as a new favourite and on Friday I had the pleasure of hearing it twice, once acoustically and once full band. On this tour, both Dave Eggar, and trumpet player Joel Behrman are filling in on keyboard. On “Miles,” the addition of these keys was beautiful and made its yearning tone all the more heartbreaking. I am obsessed.
Other amazing moments of the night were a new jam on “Lead On,” lead, appropriately, by bassist Court Leonard, back with Phillip on this tour, and the show closer “Don’t Tell Me.” Debuted by Phillip last summer, “Don’t Tell Me” is a funky number that helped to display Phillip’s great writing ability – it’s a perfect sing along song – as well as his and his band musical talent. I loved the horns by Joel Behrman at the end and just the overall grooviness of the whole song. Finally, I have to mention that Jeff Randall on drums was great, with a clean style that just gave the right touch to each of the songs.
I would dare to say that this is one of the best, most cohesive shows I have heard from Phillip and band: there was just an overall mellower sound, but really intense, sensuous feeling to the entire set. Though I’m sad to see that regular band members were absent this time, this new configuration sounded wonderful.
They say time flies when you are having fun, and it certainly did last Friday. As I clapped along to “Raging Fire” and “Gone Gone Gone” I looked around and saw the many fans that came expressly to see Phillip — a cute mom and daughter duo, a really nice lady sitting next to me who sang along the whole show, a 92 year-old fan whose bucket list wish is for Phillip to release his new album — and I thought, it’s OK, he will be back and we will be back too. As long as Phillip keeps touring and playing music, we will be there, we will keep coming back — for the magic and for the music.
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Phillip’s tour continues on Thursday, July 20th in Fargo, ND. Click here to see all the upcoming dates! And check out some videos from the Shoreline show as well as the full show audio below!
Featured Photo: Rockin Ryan.
YouTube videos by Priscilla MacRae and Vanessa Sutter, Steve Leigh and PhillPhillcom.
Things are heating up quickly on Phillip Phillips 2017 summer tour. This past week Phillip was back at Summerfest in Milwaukee, WI. The event was a highlight of Phillip’s summer tours in 2013 and 2015, and this time was no different.
To show his appreciation for the festival and the city, Phillip played another new song, an amazing heavy rock number called “My Name.” At this point, Phillip’s fans are at risk of being seriously spoiled but, no matter! Keep them coming is all we say! “My Name” is the sixth song that Phillip has debuted during shows in the last couple of years. To quote Phillip (see video below) we do feel like when you get a lot of birthday presents at the same time and don’t know wich one to open! The range of styles and flavours has been the main theme for all of them, as well as more streamlined simplicity in some of the songs and lyrics. We cannot really wait to see how all these songs come together as a whole in the new album.
Phillip’s official summer tour actually starts next week in Mountain View, CA, where he will play his first show as part of the Goo Goo Dolls’ Long Way Home tour. Still, his concert at Summerfest, and two previous shows in Louisiana and Ohio, have served to introduce a significantly changed band lineup, with new guitarist Jonathan Asperil, new drummer Jeff Randall and Court Leonard back on bass. The brilliant Dave Eggar on cello and keys, and the wonderful Joel Behrman on trumpet and trombone, are back with Phillip, hopefully for duration of the tour.
Check out a Periscope video of Phillip’s new song “My Name” below. Finally, if you don’t have your tickets yet, don’t wait, click here to see all details and dates!
New song tonight!! "My Name" 😍😍😍 @Phillips https://t.co/nKjDwqO4Dd
— Sly (@PhillipPhever) July 6, 2017
Summerfest 2015
Periscope video by Sylvia Gudanowski.
Featured Photo: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Phillip Phillips has been slowly warming up to his upcoming summer tour with the Goo Goo Dolls by playing a number of shows throughout the spring. Yesterday, he was in Pontiac, MI to play a special acoustic show as a benefit for the Community Housing Network, a nonprofit organization “providing housing and housing resources for people who are homeless or facing homelessness, people with disabilities, people with low income, and other vulnerable residents of SE Michigan.”
In addition to supporting such important work, the show gave Phillip the chance to debut a brand new song, “What Will Become of Us,” from his still unreleased new album. The song becomes the latest of a number of songs that Phillip has debuted live since last summer. In a recent interview with Billboard, Phillip indicated that the album may finally be released this summer (Click here to read the interview).
For the acoustic show last night, Phillip was accompanied by cellist Dave Eggar, elevating the show to even greater special status. Other treats for the fans? A fiery new cover of Hall & Oates’ “Maneater” and lots of fun anecdotes from Phillip.
Check out some amazing videos of Phillip’s and Dave’s performance below!
All videos by Erika Houser.
Featured photo by Jeanne Micallef.