The Waterboys will play at the Landmark Hotel in CARRICK-ON-SHANNON, CO. LEITRIM, IRELAND on Sunday 16th July. Early bird tickets, priced €38.50 are available until Monday 12 June, €42.50 thereafter, and are on sale now from the box office on +353 71 96 50828 or online here.

The Waterboys will play the Wrightgaarden Festival in LANGESUND, NORWAY on Friday 14th July. Tickets, priced 630.00 NOK (including 35.00 NOK fee), are on sale now here.

The Waterboys will play at Murcia Auditoria in MURCIA, SPAIN on Saturday, 18th November . Information and tickets are available here.

The Waterboys will play Afas Live in AMSTERDAM on Wed 15 November . Tickets, priced, € 49, € 44 & € 36, are on sale now at Ticketmaster on +31 (0)900 3001250 or online here.

The Waterboys will play at Munchenbryggeriet in STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN on Sat 11 November. Tickets, priced SEK 430 + ticket sales commission, are on sale now here

The Waterboys have confirmed two German dates for November 2017. They are:

Thurs 9 November- Laeiszhalle, HAMBURG

AND

Tues 14 November- Theater am Marientor, DUISBURG

Tickets, priced €40-€70, are on sale now from the box office on 0234 9471940 or online here

The Waterboys have announced dates for the UK, Ireland and Europe in October and November 2017.

Wed 18th October - Colston Hall, Bristol, ENGLAND. Tickets here.

Thur 19th October - Symphony Hall, Birmingham, ENGLAND. Tickets here.

Sat 21st October - Palladium, London, ENGLAND. Tickets here.

Sun 22nd October - Opera House, Manchester, ENGLAND. Tickets here.

Mon 23rd October - The Sage, Gateshead, ENGLAND. Tickets here.

Tues 24th October - SEC Armadillo, Glasgow, SCOTLAND. Tickets here.

Thurs 26th October - 3Arena, Dublin, IRELAND. Tickets here.

Sat 11th November - Munchenbryggriet, Stockholm, SWEDEN. Tickets here.

Sun 12th November - Sentrum Scene, Oslo, Norway. Tickets here.

Wed 15th November - AFAS Live, Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS. Tickets here.

The Waterboys will play Beautiful Days on the 18th August 2017. Tickets can be bought here.

The Waterboys play Tysnesfest in Norway on the 13th July 2017. More infromation is available here and tickets can be purchased from here.

The Waterboys are playing in Rismelen Park on the main stage at Steinkjerfestivalen on Saturday 24th of June. To buy tickets call +47 81533 122 or click here. Tickets cost 890 NOK for a day pass and 1335 NOK for a festival pass. Day passes will be available within 2 weeks, while festival passes are available for purchase now.

The Waterboys are playing the Over Oslo Festival on the 23rd of June. To buy tickets call +47 81533133 or click here.

The Waterboys are playing the Manchester Castfield Bowl on the 2nd July. Watch the promo video for the Castlefield series of shows here.

The Waterboys will play at The Hebridean Celtic Festival on the 22nd July 2017. Tickets are on sale now here

The Waterboys are co-headlining with the Levellers A Beautiful Day Out at the Castlefield Bowl in Manchester on the 2nd July 2017 as part of Sound Of The City. Tickets cost £35 plus booking fee and are available from 9:30am on Friday 2nd December by clicking here or by calling 0844 811 0051.

The Waterboys will play at Vilar De Mouros Festival in Caminha, Portugal on Sat 27 August. Tickets, priced €25, are on sale now here

The band is looking forward to a music-filled summer! Below is a complete list, so far, of 2016 Waterboys summer shows.

Sat 28 May - Tunes In The Dunes, CORNWALL, ENGLAND. Tickets here

Fri 3 June - Wychwood Festival, CHELTENHAM, ENGLAND. Tickets here

Sat 4 June - Retropop Festival, EMMEN, THE NETHERLANDS. Tickets here

Mon 6 June - Progresja Music Zone, WARSAW, POLAND. Tickets here

Sat 9 July - Bospop Festival, WEERT, THE NETHERLANDS. Tickets here

Sun 10 July - Killarney Folkfest, INEC in KILLARNEY, IRELAND. Tickets here

Thurs 28 July - Trollrock, Ski Stadium, BEITOSTOLEN, NORWAY. Tickets here

Sat 30 July - Mundaka Festival, Peninsula de Santa Katalina, MUNDAKA, BASQUE COUNTRY, SPAIN. Tickets here

Thurs 4 Aug - Notodden Blues Festival, Hovigs Hangar, NOTODDEN, NORWAY. Tickets here

Sat 6 Aug - Botaniska Backstage, UPPSALA, SWEDEN. Tickets here

Mon 8 Aug - Kelvingrove Bandstand, GLASGOW, SCOTLAND. Tickets here

Waterboys bassman David Hood was photographed recently outside Muscle Shoals Sound Recording Studio, which he helped make famous in the 1970s.

Audio of one of Prince's two live performances of The Whole Of The Moon has been uploaded on youtube, along with many other of his videos, in the weeks following his sudden death. This is his funk rendering of the song, and you can find it here. The other performance was a solo piano/vocal version performed at Ronnie Scott's, London, in 2014.

As many of you will already have seen on facebook and twitter, Mike has become engaged to Japanes artist Megumi Igarashi. We'd like to wish them every happiness together.

The Waterboys will return to Bospop Festival this summer on Saturday 9 July
in Weert, The Netherlands. Tickets, priced €65, are on sale now here.

For additional information visit the festival website here.

The Waterboys will headline Killarney Folkfest at INEC Killarney on Sunday 10 July. Early Bird Weekend tickets, priced €79, as well as Early Bird Sunday-only tickets, priced €39, are on sale now. Early Bird prices apply until January 31st and there are a limited number of early bird tickets
available. You can purchase tickets from the box office by phone at 00353 64 6671555, or online here.

Learn more about Killarney Folkfest here.

The Waterboys will headline Trollrock Festival at Beitostølen Ski Stadium in Beitostølen, Norway on Thursday 28 July. Tickets, priced NOK 1495 for a 3-day festival pass and NOK 795 for a day pass, are on sale now from the box office by phone at 81533133 or online here.

For more information about Trollrock Festival click here.

The Waterboys will headline Mundaka Festival, Peninsula de Santa Katalina. The festival will take place Thursday 28 July through Saturday 30 July. The exact date and time that The Waterboys will appear will be announced soon. Tickets, priced €55 - €70 are on sale now here.

More information about the festival here.

Mike Scott has written a song called ROK ROK ROKUDENASHIKO in support of Megumi Igarashi, the Japanese visual artist, also known as "Rokudenashiko", who is currently on trial in Japan on obscenity charges. Says Mike: "Rokudenashiko is a brave artist, and her work, which celebrates the vagina in a playful way, isn't obscene at all. She's fighting a form of state censorship, and doing it on her own without any corporate or company backing. As a fellow artist, I support her. She's also great fun and that inspired me to write a mischievous slice of psychedelic funk in her honour". To hear the track click here. For further information on Rokudenashiko's case, click here.

You can see Mike recording the song at a recent soundcheck with two Waterboys crew members, Jon Green (drums) and Neil Mahony (bass) here. Filmed by Stu Condron.

The Waterboys will return to the Pumpehuset in Copenhagen, Denmark on Tuesday, October 13th.

Tickets from +45 70 15 65 65 and online here.

Waterboys' keyboard player Brother Paul has recorded a CD of new age music with his wife April. They recorded it under the name AGRELIA'S CASTLE and the CD is titled ELDERS AND ANCESTORS, set for release on 1st September. April's Native American-style flute and vocals are blended with Brother Paul's soundscapes. We asked Mike Scott if he'd heard it and he emailed: "Yeah. That's the music Brother Paul played in his car every day when we were making Modern Blues. He'd pick me up at the hotel and when I got in the car it was like stepping into a parallel world of this gorgeous hypnotic healing music, totally different from Paul's rock and roll but still beautiful. And April sings like an earth angel." You can stream a track and order ELDERS AND ANCESTORS here.

On their tours this Autumn the Waterboys will be supported by three acts, all personally chosen by the band:

Well-known Waterboys friend and troubadour FREDDIE STEVENSON will open all European shows from Barcelona on 21 Sept to Oslo on 18th Oct, plus the Dublin show on 4th Nov. Freddie's fourth album, The Darkening / The Brightening, co-produced by Mike Scott, will be released by Cadiz Records on 18th Sept. Freddie will be performing with a three piece line-up including Waterboys alumnus Joe Chester.

Experimental Irish instrumental band THE JIMMY CAKE, particular favourites of Mike Scott, will open all Irish shows, from Sligo on 24th Oct to the final Dublin show on 7th Nov, with the exception of Dublin 4th Nov. Their new album Master has just been released.

Cool Texan songwriter and stylish hat-wearer JARROD DICKENSON and his band will open all shows on the UK tour which runs from November 9th to December 6th. Jarrod's new album will be released in 2016.

The Waterboys will play the following added shows during their Autumn tour:

25 Oct Glencarn Hotel, CASTLEBLAYNEY, Co Monaghan. Tickets from +353 42 974 6666 and online here.

2 Nov The Hub, KILKENNY. Tickets from +353 1 612 0001 and online here.

The Waterboys will play Ancienne Belgique, BRUSSELS, Tues 6 Oct, tickets available now here,
and De Roma, ANTWERP, Wed 7 Oct, tickets available now here.

Two more dates have been added to the Waterboys' European tour. They are:

Thurs 17 Sept, Recinto Derial Los Ejidos, ALBACETE, Spain, with The Animals. Tickets here

and

Sat 31st Oct, Opera House, CORK, Ireland. Tickets here, or from +353 21 427 0022.

Mike recently talked MODERN BLUES with program director Tom Gilding at WBSD-FM radio in Burlington, WI. The feature will air in two parts:

Part 1 of the feature will air on Sunday, June 28 at 2PM CST and again on Monday, June 29 at 9PM CST.

Part 2 will air on Sunday, July 5 at 2PM CST and again on Monday, July 6 at 9PM CST.

WBSD-FM is at 89.1 on the dial in the Milwaukee area, or you can listen worldwide, in real time, here.

Viewers in the UK can watch the BBC stream of The Waterboys' fantastic performance at Glastonbury 2015 here. The set included Medicine Bow, A Girl Called Johnny, Long Strange Golden Road, Fisherman's Blues and several others. The stream isn't available for viewers in other countries, we're sorry to say, but a clip of the band playing The Whole Of The Moon is universally accessible here.

Due to a change in local government, the Ourense show on 23rd June has been cancelled on short notice. The cancellation was out of the band's hands. We hope to play for the people of Santiage De Compostelo at our earliest opportunity.

Thanks to all of the fans who signed the petition and sent emails asking the BBC to include the Waterboys in their televised coverage of Glastonbury Festival.

The BBC has now confirmed that they will film the band’s set for online streaming and that The Waterboys will kick off Saturday’s live stream coverage of Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage June 27th at 1:30 PM GMT.

For those inside the UK, the band’s performance can be watched online, or accessed afterward on BBC’s iPlayer. For those outside the UK, an audio-only stream will also be available. You will be able to access all of this, and find further information on the BBC's website here.

Fans are still collecting signatures for the petition requesting that the BBC include The Waterboys in their television coverage. It can be signed here until Monday, June 22nd.

Mike was featured this week on BBC Radio Two's Ken Bruce Show. He selected ten favourite records - two a day - for Ken's Tracks Of My Years feature and talked about them, and their place in his life. The fifth and last segment Mike did for the show is on from 9.30 to noon GMT tomorrow, and can be streamed live here. You can also replay any of this week’s episodes that you might have missed here.

The band's Oslo show on 17 October is sold out, and a second show at Sentrum Scene has been added on 18th October. Tickets are available now here.

Waterboys fans have begun a petition asking the BBC to televise the band's upcoming performance at Glastonbury. You can view and sign the petition here.

The band will play two additional dates in Europe this summer:

Fiesta del Corpus in Ourense (Galicia), Spain, on June 23rd. Admission is free to the public. More information about the festival is available here.

Dranouter Festival in Belgium on August 9th. Tickets here.

The Waterboys stopped into SIRIUS/XM's studio in Washington, D.C. in April for a short live set which is available to Sirius/XM subscribers in North America. Currently in rotation on The Loft and Spectrum channels, the next scheduled broadcasts of the set are Saturday, June 13, at 12:00PM EDT, and Monday, June 15th, 12:00PM EDT on The Loft.

The Waterboys have added a show at Nalen in STOCKHOLM on Fri 9th October in addition to the sold out show on the 10th. Tickets, priced SEK 410, are on sale now from +46 (0) 771 47 70 70 or online here.

The Waterboys will make their North American national television debut on David Letterman tonight. Check your local listings.

Selected by Waterboys keyboard player Brother Paul, a native of Memphis, Tennessee, this killer playlist comprises some of Paul's favourite tracks from his home town. To listen click here.

Like many great rock drummersbefore him, including Charlie Watts and Mitch Mitchell, Waterboy Ralph Salmins is also a gifted jazz player. He's recorded or performed with The Count Basie Orchestra, Wynton Marsalis, Georgie Fame, Art Farmer, Johnny Dankworth and many others. He selected an hour of his favourite jazz music for this week's Spotify playlist. To listen click here.

The Waterboys return to beautiful San Diego to play Humphrey's By The Bay on May 15th.Tickets are $40.00 and are available now here.

Steve Wickham, born and raised in Dublin, has been playing Irish traditional tunes since he was a boy. Over the years they've become woven into Waterboys music and the fabric of Steve's life. This is a selection of what Steve considers the major tunes in the Irish trad canon. He titles this playlst "Steve Wickham's Essential Irish Tunes". To listen click here.

For those in North America, The Wall Street Journal's Speakeasy Blog is hosting a long-awaited exclusive full album stream of MODERN BLUES leading up to the North American release date on April 7th. Listen here.

The Waterboys release a limited edition 10" vinyl EP on Record Store Day, Saturday 18 April. It is titled PUCK'S BLUES and features Mike Scott's home demos of I Can See Elvis, Destinies Entwined, November Tale and - featuring an entirely different tune - The Girl Who Slept For Scotland. The sleeve is a beautiful sliding container and the back cover includes a sleevenote by Mike. Copies will be available at participating stores worldwide.

Waterboys lead guitarist Zach Ernst has compiled a fabulous playlist titled ZACH'S GUIDE TO GREAT SOUL GUITAR. Says Zach: "There are so many great guitarists in Austin, Texas, you can drive yourself crazy trying to keep up. I’ve found the best survival strategy is to find a specialty and drill it down. For me the most irresistible and inexhaustible style is R&B rhythm guitar. This playlist features some of my favorite guitarists at their soulful, twangy and—most of all—funky best." To listen click here.

The Waterboys will headline the Ross Bandstand, in the shade of Edinburgh Castle, Scotland on Friday 28th August, as part of the city's Summer Nights series of shows. "I always wanted to play on that bandstand, ever since I was a 5-year-old kid passing it on my way home from skool each day," said Mike Scott. Come and see his dream come true! Tickets, price £35 plus booking fee, are available now from +44 844 844 0444 and online here.

This week's Waterboys playlist on Spotify was created by bassman David Hood and is entitled "Great Lesser-Known Recordings I Played On". As David has played on some of the best records ever made, you better believe this is gonna be a great playlist. Artists include Don Nix, JJ Cale, Traffic, James Brown, Willie Nelson and Steve Cropper. Access it here.

Opening acts on the North American tour, all selected and invited by The Waterboys, will be

The Bluebonnets (Austin, NY, Wilmington, Ridgefield, Boston, Milwaukee, Chicago & Minneapolis)
The New Breed Brass Band (New Orleans)
Paul Burch (Nashville)
Connor Kennedy (Atlanta, Alexandria, Pittsburgh, Glenside PA, all Canadian & West Coast dates + Arvada)

A second show at Boston's Wilbur Theatre has been added for 29th April. Tickets are available here.

The Waterboys have created a selection of playlists on Spotify and these will go live, each Friday, for the next 6 weeks, starting today with Mike's "Now That's What I Call Good Lyrics", available for streaming now. Next week will be a playlist by another band member, and so on.

We asked and this is what we found out:

DAVID played bass with Mavis Staples at the concert at Renaissance Hotel, Montgomery, Alabama to mark the 50th anniversary of the Selma civil rights march, in Montogomery, Alabama. Photo of David and Mavis backstage by Judy Hood.

ZACH'S adventures at home in Austin, Texas included completing the 2nd album by vintage gospel band The Relatives, which he produced; playing with Texas soul legends Bobby Patterson & Barbara Lynn at music club C-Boy's Heart & Soul; and logging time at his 'day job' booking acts into the Paramount Theatre, including Allen Toussaint, Mavis Staples, Smokey Robinson, Dr. John and...The Waterboys.

RALPH played a show with the BBC Concert Orchestra celebrating Billie Holliday and featuring veteran soul singer Madeline Bell. He recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra featuring solo violinist Anne Akiko Meyers; and did sessions for British singer Robbie Williams. Between times he's been teaching at The Royal College of Music and Guildhall School of Music & Drama, London.

STEVE played a show in Manorhamilton, Ireland with the Sligo Baroque Orchestra & Congolese group Tropicana Musica. He did a solo Concert in Rosselare, Belgium (fiddle tunes and a few songs), plus concerts with his "other band" NoCrows in Flanders and Sligo. And a duet performance with German saxophonist Norbert Vollath at the Model Art Centre, Sligo.

BROTHER PAUL completed a New Age album, Elders And Ancestors, with his wife April, who plays flute in the Native American style and sings. They call themselves Agrelia's Castle and the album is out in September. The photo shows April and Paul. Paul's been mixing sound for a DVD of the commemoration concert for US rock guitar legend Dick Wagner, at which he also played. He's been writing and recording with roots rocker Mike Farris, and making an album with his namesake, LA-based jazz guitarist Paul Brown, for their band The Brothers Brown.

MIKE has been doing interviews to publicise Modern Blues and his latest, with Phil Gallo of Billboard, was #98 for the album so far.

Three shows in Norway have been added as part of The Waterboys 2015 European tour. More European dates will be announced as they are confirmed. The Norwegian dates are:

Thurs 15 October Grieghallen, BERGEN
Tickets, priced NOK 400/450/350 + fee, go on sale Sat 7 March here, or by phone at +4755216150.

Fri 16 October Konserthus - Kuppelhallen, STAVANGER
Tickets, priced NOK 425 + fee, are on sale now here, or by phone at +47 51 53 70 00.

Sat 17 October Sentrum Scene, OSLO
Tickets, priced NOK 460 + service charge, go on sale Sat 7 March here, or by phone at +47 815 33 133.

The Waterboys will headline this festival in Sherborne Castle, Dorset, England on Saturday 13th June. Tickets are available now here, or by phone from +44 23 8071 1818. Other acts featured include Show Of Hands, Nizlopi and Emily Barker.

The Waterboys will play at the beautiful Openluchttheater, Caprera, Bloemendaal, Haarlem, Holland on Saturday 8th August. Tickets are available now here, or by phone from +31 235 175 858

The band are featured on the song Glistening Bay on Thea Gilmore's new album Ghost & Graffitti, which will be released on April 27th. The track was produced by Mike Scott. Thea and Mike share lead vocals, Ralph Salmins bashes the drums, Brother Paul plays piano, Steve Wickham fiddles and the band is completed by ace UK guitar man Robbie Mackintosh and Thea's musical partner and occasional bassist Nigel Stonier. When Mike was asked to contribute to the album he suggested Glistening Bay. "I heard this song on Thea's album of Sandy denny's lyrics-turned-into-new-songs, and fell in love with it. Getting to record a new version was magical." Other contributors to Ghost & Graffitti include Joan As Policewoman, Billy Bragg, John Cooper Clarke, Joan Baez, John Bramwell of I Am Kloot and Scottish songster King Creosote.

The Waterboys' first summer festival confirmations have come through. They are:

Sun 28 June The Marquee, CORK, IRELAND. Tickets here or by phone +353 818 719 300 / +44 844 277 4455.

Fri 24 July WICKERMAN Festival, Dundrennan, SW SCOTLAND. Tickets here.

Sat 25 July LAURUS NOBILIS Festival, Louro, PORTUGAL. Tickets here.

Sat 5 Sept WEYFEST, Farnham, Surrey, ENGLAND. Tickets here.

The first show of the band's Autumn 2015 European tour to be announced is:
Sun 27 Sept Kaufleuten, ZURICH, SWITZERLAND. Tickets here or by phone from +41 900 800 800.

The Waterboys will be embarking on a 27-date tour in North America during April/May 2015. Tickets for most dates are on sale to the public today. See below for further details.

Thurs., April 16th, AUSTIN, TX - The Paramount Theatre. $34.50. Purchase online here.

Fri., April 17th, NEW ORLEANS, LA - Tipitina’s. $30.00. Purchase online here.

Sat., April 18th, NASHVILLE, TN - 3rd and Lindsley $29.50. Purchase online here.

Sun., April 19th, ATLANTA, GA - Variety Playhouse. $35.00. Purchase online here. Tickets are also available by phone at 800-745-3000.

Tues., April 21st, ALEXANDRIA, VA - The Birchmere. $35.00. Purchase online here. Tickets are also available by phone at 800-745-3000.

Wed., April 22nd, PITTSBURGH, PA - Mr. Small’s Theatre. $35.00. Purchase online here.

Thurs., April 23rd, GLENSIDE, PA - The Keswick Theatre $32.00/$37.00/$47.00 Purchase online here: Tickets are also available at the Keswick Theatre box office, Monday-Saturday, Noon-5PM and via phone at 215-572-7650.

Sat., April 25th, NEW YORK, NY - Irving Plaza. $35.00. Purchase online here.

Sun., April 26th, WILMINGTON, DE - The Grand Opera House, $37.00/$33.00/$30.00. Purchase online here.

Mon., April 27th, RIDGEFIELD, CT - Ridgefield Playhouse. $50.00 Purchase online here.

Tues., April 28th, BOSTON, MA - Wilbur Theatre $30.00/$40.00/$50.00 Purchase online here.

Fri., May 1st, MONTREAL, CANADA - Virgin Mobile Corona Theatre $39.25 CAD. Purchase online here.

Sat., May 2nd, TORONTO, CANADA - Winter Garden Theatre $56.50 CAD. Purchase online here.

Sun., May 3rd, OTTAWA, CANADA - Bronson Centre Theatre. $39.50 CAD. Purchase online here.

Tues., May 5th, MILWAUKEE, WI - Turner Hall Ballrooom $29.50. Purchase online here.

Wed., May 6th, CHICAGO, IL - House of Blues $35.00. Purchase online here.

Thurs., May 7th, MINNEAPOLIS, MN - First Avenue $30.00. Purchase online here.

Wed., May 13th, LOS ANGELES, CA - The Fonda $27.50. Purchase online here.

Fri., May 15th, TBA

Sat., May 16th, VENTURA, CA - Ventura Majestic Theatre $25.00 - $40.00 Purchase online here.

Sun., May 17th, SACRAMENTO, CA – Ace of Spades. $35.00 Purchase online here.

Mon., May 18th, SAN FRANCISCO, CA – The Fillmore. $29.50. Purchase online here.

Wed. May 20th, VICTORIA, BC – University of Victoria, Farquhar Auditorium. $58/$62/$68 CAD. Purchase online here.

Thurs., May 21st, SEATTLE, WA – Showbox SODO Purchase online here.

Fri., May 22nd, PORTLAND, OR – Aladdin Theatre. $35.00. Purchase online here.

Sun., May 24th, ARVADA, CO – Arvada Center Ampitheatre. $27.00-$52.00. Purchase online here.

The Waterboys will close their 2015 UK tour with a show at Hammersmith Apollo on December 6th. Tickets are available from this Friday, 6 Feb, from the box office 0844 338 0000 and online here. View the full list of UK and Irish dates here.

Mike was interviewed for French TV's Telerama. The interviewer placed folded post-it notes on a table, each with a topic, and asked Mike to pick them up one at a time and discuss each topic. View the results here.

View British newspaper The DailyTelegraph's 5-star review of Modern Blues here.

The band played their version of Prince's Purple Rain live on yesterday's Chris Evans radio show. See it here.

Tickets for the Waterboys tour of Australia and New Zealand go on sale to the general public on Friday Jan 30th, but will be on sale to Waterboys news subscribers from Thursday 29th. Date and booking details as follows:

Wed 25 March: Astor Theatre, PERTH. Box office +61 8 9370 1777 and online here.

Fri 27 March: MELBOURNE Recital Centre. Box office +61 3 9699 3333 and online here.

Tues 31 March, ASB Theatre, AUCKLAND. Box office +64 800 111 999 and online here.

Thurs 2 April, SYDNEY Opera House. Box office +61 2 9250 7111 and online here.

The band will play a four-song live session on Chris Evans' morning show, this Friday, between 8.35-9.30am. Stream it here.

The Waterboys will return to Limerick, Ireland for a show on Friday 30 October at The Big Top on Market Square. Tickets price €40 are available now from the box office, +353 61 314483 and online here.

When playing in Amsterdam last month, The Waterboys filmed a live version of November Tale for a new video. The video was directed by Robert Jan Westdijk, who also filmed the band's two Amsterdam shows for inclusion in his next movie.

The new Waterboys album Modern Blues is streaming live now on the websites of Rolling Stone, Mojo and other major music publications in UK, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Belgium, Holland, Ireland, Japan, and Australia. Access the streaming here. Access is only available to users in those countries. Other countries will follow later and we will keep you posted.

The Waterboys will play at Australia's Byron Bay Blues Festival on Saturday April 4. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased here in several formats, including weekend and one day. This show will form part of an Australia/NZ Waterboys tour, details to be announced shortly.

The Waterboys will play Club Quattro, Shibuya, Tokyo on April 6th. This will be the band's only Japanese show during this spring, Tickets are available by phone at +81(0)3 3444 6751 Further info here.

The North American release of Modern Blues has been put back to 7th April to coincide with the Waterboys' upcoming tour of the US and Canada, which will be announced shortly and will run from mid-April to late May. North American purchasers who pre-order downloads of the album can download three of the songs, Destinies Entwined, November Tale and Beautiful Now at time of purchase. An advance stream of the album will be announced in March. The first North American single will be Beautiful Now, and a new video for the song, filmed in December at an amusement park in Ventura, California, will be issued in February. The video features Mike Scott and Brother Paul driving bumper cars while singing the song. A photo from the shoot can be seen above.

Waterboys fan Peter Lennie compiled a video of images from the Je Suis Charlie rally in Paris last weekend, accompanied by the Waterboys' song Let The Earth Bear Witness. Lyrics by WB Yeats.

The Waterboys' New Year's Eve show at Stirling Castle was cancelled because of high winds. Undeterred, the band played a short set in a bar in town, thanks to local band Gillie's Hillbillies who lent them amplification.

Mike Scott's solo piano performances of Destinies Entwined and Custer's Blues plus short interview on KCSN in Los Angeles are archived here.

Waterboys' fan Erwin Rademaker drew this fabulous cartoon of the band's current line-up.

Twitter user @GrandmasterSub posted this wonderful video of three blokes singing along with The Whole Of The Moon in a Yorkshire taxi cab.

The third track to be unveiled from Modern Blues is the gorgeous love song Beautiful Now, which will be the American single from the album. Co-written by Mike Scott and New York-based songsmith James Maddock, the song features the keyboards of Brother Paul, bass playing by David Hood, and lead guitar courtesy of 2013 American Waterboy Jay Barclay. Access it here.

A show at Derry's Millenium Forum has been added to the Autumn 2015 tour of Ireland and the UK. The show is on Monday 26 October, and tickets priced £29.50, £27 and £19.50 are available now from +44 287 126 4455 and online here.

We've known it all along, but Waterboys drummer Ralph Salmins has been acknowledged as one of the world's finest drummers, placing in the top 16 of Rhythm Magazine's 2014 readers' poll. Read all about it here.

The Waterboys' two sell-out shows at Amsterdam Paradiso in early December were a great success. The new band came, saw and conquered and footage was shot for Robert Jan Westdijk's forthcoming movie "Waterboys". The set featured half a dozen songs from the new album Modern Blues, including sngle November Tale and show closer Long Strange Golden Road which marked Steve Wickham's debut as a top-hatted lap steel player. Souped-up versions of Fisherman's Blues, A Girl Called Johnny, Lonesome Old Wind and other older favourites were played too. The photos above were shot by Waterboys fans Hans Kopples and Scarlett Hutchison.

Unlikely as it seems, the Waterboys made it to Britain's Royal Variety Show. This middle of the road showbiz event has been running since 1912 and is the show during which John Lennon once famously invited the people in the expensive seats to "rattle your jewellery". In the 2014 version, televised two weeks ago, Ellie Goulding sang the Waterboys' 1990 song How Long Will I Love You. View it here.

The new Modern Blues line-up of The Waterboys played their first show on Wed Dec 3 under a big top at the Milk Market in Limerick, Ireland. The explosive set included half a dozen songs from the forthcoming album plus a selection of favourites, and featured the live debuts of bassist David Hood and lead guitarist Zach Ernst. The set closed with an eleven-minute full electric version of Long Strange Golden Road. Above is a photo of the band at the end of their rehearsals earlier this week, L-R David Hood, Steve Wickham, Zach Ernst, Ralph Salmins, Mike Scott, Brother Paul,

The Waterboys will headline next year's Sligo Live festival on 24th October. The show is at Knocknarea Arena, and tickets go onsale next Friday, 12 Dec, price €40.50 (standing) / €47.95 (seated), from +353 71 916 1518 or online here.

The first single from Modern Blues is the song November Tale, a beautiful soul-influenced rocker. It features electric piano and string arrangement by Brother Paul, and lead guitar by the band's ace new guitarslinger Zach Ernst, plus Muscle Shoals great David Hood on bass. You can listen to it here, and pre-order the album for download here. The single is immediately available upon album pre-order, but it is also available as a separate download, in digital format only. Photo by Dara Munnis.

The Waterboys will tour the UK and Ireland in Autumn 2015. Private pre-sale begins 4 Dec, 9am for all of the dates listed below, except where noted. Tickets go on sale to the general public this Friday, 5 Dec. More to be announced soon.

27 Oct, Tues BELFAST Ulster Hall £33.00 Tickets are available online here, or by phone from 028 90 334455.

13 Nov, Fri YORK Barbican £32.50 / £28.50 Tickets are available online here, or by phone from 0844 338 0000.

14 Nov, Sat PORTSMOUTH Guildhall £32.50 / £28.50 Tickets are available online here, or by phone from 0844 338 0000.

15 Nov, Sun PLYMOUTH Pavilions £32.50 / £28.50 Tickets are available online here, or by phone from 0844 338 0000.

16 Nov, Mon BEXHILL De La Warr Pavilion £28.00 / £26.50 Tickets are available online here, or by phone from 01424 229 111.

18 Nov, Wed CANTERBURY Marlowe Theatre £32 / £27.50 Tickets are available online here, or by phone from 01227 787 787.

19 Nov, Thurs MANCHESTER Bridgewater Hall £37.50 / £32.50 Tickets are available online here, or by phone from 01227 787 787.

21 Nov, Sat GATESHEAD The Sage £32.50 Tickets are available online here, or by phone from 0844 338 0000.

22 Nov, Sun LIVERPOOL Empire £32.50 / £28.50 Tickets are available online here, or by phone from 0844 338 0000.

23 Nov, Mon SHEFFIELD City Hall £32.50, £28.50 Tickets are available online here, or by phone from 0844 338 0000.

25 Nov, Wed CARDIFF St. David's Hall £32.50 Tickets are available online here, or by phone from 0844 338 0000.

26 Nov, Thurs CAMBRIDGE Corn Exchange £32.50 Tickets are available online here, or by phone from 0844 338 0000.

27 Nov, Fri LEICESTER de Montford Hall £32.50 Tickets are available online here, or by phone from 0844 338 0000.

29 Nov, Sun LLANDUDNO Venue Cymru £32.50, £28.50 Tickets are available online here, or by phone from 0844 338 0000.

30 Nov, Mon BIRMINGHAM Symphony Hall £32.50 / £28.50 Tickets are available online here, or by phone from 0844 338 0000.

01 Dec, Tues GUILFORD GLive £32.50 Tickets are available online here, or by phone from 0844 338 0000.

3 Dec, Thurs BRISTOL Colston Hall £32.50 Tickets are available online here, or by phone from 0844 338 0000.

4 Dec, Fri SOUTHEND Cliffs Pavilion £32.50, £28.50 Tickets are available online here, or by phone from 0844 338 0000.

05 Dec, Sat WATFORD Colosseum £32.50 Tickets are available online here, or by phone from 0844 338 0000.

Tickets for the Scottish leg of the Waterboys' Modern Blues tour go on sale this Friday, 28th Nov, at 9am. Dates are:

9 Nov, Mon ABERDEEN Music Hall £27.50
10 Nov, Tues GLASGOW Royal Concert Hall £27.50 / £25
11 Nov, Wed GLASGOW Barrowland Ballroom £27.50

Tickets are available online here, or by phone from +44 844 844 0444. Aberdeen is standing and seated, Glasgow Concert Hall is all seated and Barrowland is all standing.

The Waterboys will play at Essigfabrik, Cologne, Germany, on Wed 4th Feb 2015. Tickets, priced €40 incl fees, are available now from +49 234 9471940 or online here. More German shows will follow later in the year.

Mike Scott guested onstage with top Belgian band Novastar in Antwerp last Thursday, 20th Nov, and sang four songs. You can view The Three Day Man here. Other songs played were Bring 'Em All In, When Ye Go Away and November Tale (from the new album Modern Blues). Mike has co-written in the past with Novastar singer Joost Zweegers, and this concert was broadcast by Belgian Radio 1. Photo by Thomas Nolf.

Mike Scott's first-ever record was performed live on 19th November at an Edinburgh concert held as a tribute to music fan and supporter Donald Tiso. Donald was an old friend of Mike's who died earlier this year in a mountaineering accident. Mike was unable to attend the show, being on interview tour in Europe. But his early song All The Boys Love Carrie was played by a 4-piece band including Mike's old bandmate Steve Fraser (Another Pretty Face, The Red & The Black), bassist Trash of Edinburgh girl punk band The Ettes, and noted drumslinger Ali Wilson. Photo by Roy Henderson.

The Waterboys will play at Galway's Seapoint Ballroom, scene of legendary shows in 1986 and 1988, on Thursday 29th October 2015, as part of their Modern Blues tour. Tickets go on sale this Friday, price €44.05 incl booking fee, by telephone +353 91 586540 and online here.

David Hood, who plays bass on the new Waterboys album and will soon be touring with the band, was honoured in his hometown of Muscle Shoals with a statue commemorating his contribution to the city's music. David is famous as one of The Swampers, the legendary Muscle Shoals rhythm section who played on classic records by Aretha Franklin, James Brown and countless other artists. For a local article on the statue click here and for more info about David and The Swampers see the recent documentary Muscle Shoals.

Steve Wickham and Anto Thistlethwaite play on the new EP by UK band Luna velvet, masterminded by Don Jackson and featuring vocalist Carrie Skipper. Sharp-eyed Waterboys fans will remember Don as the ace remixer of Trumpets, included on archive Waterboys album "In A Special Place" back in 2011. Luna Velvet's EP is called Closed Book, and all the tracks will be featured on their forthcoming album, Songs Of Love And Hurt, due for release in 2015. Steve features on Closed Book and Holding On, while Anto plays on Home. Videos for each track can be viewed here and the EP can be purchased on Luna Velvet's website.

Mike is pictured and quoted in a new book about the work of the great Irish-based artist, German-born Joe Boske. The book is titled Joe Boske: The Works. and is published by Artisan House. Joe is well-known for his Galway and Connemara arts festival posters, and has been documenting west of Ireland life in fabulously surreal ways since 1969. Mike is quoted on the back of the book, saying "Joe is a master and a true original. It is to his great credit that he maintains a genial roguery in the face of his genius." There is a photo of Joe and Mike inside, and more importantly 100 pages of Joe's artwork. The book can be purchased here.

Irish singing group Boyzone have covered the Waterboys classic The Whole Of The Moon. It is their contribution to the album Sounds Of The 80s released by the BBC and featuring many other hit artists. Mike liked their version and tweeted "What's not to love? It grooves, it's sung with feeling, and the original arrangement has been lovingly recreated." You can hear it here and the album is available now.

The Waterboys songs Fisherman's Blues and You In The Sky are featured in the current hit movie What We Did On Our Holiday starring David Tennant, Rosamund Pike and Billy Connolly.

Mike appeared onstage with film-maker and scriptwriter Richard Curtis at the Cheltenham Book Festival on October 4th. The pair were interviewed by BBC radio presenter John Wilson, and talked about their writing craft and friendship. Mike sang several songs, including November Tale from the forthcoming Modern Blues album, along with a rare rendering, at Richard's request, of What Do You Want Me To Do. Mike also sang How Long Will I Love You, which featured in Richard's most recent film, About Time. Photograph by John Wilson.

The Waterboys will play a run of shows at Vicar Street in DUBLIN, IRELAND on 4,5,6,& 7 November 2015. Tickets, priced €44 go on sale Thursday 20 November and can be purchased from the Vicar Street box office at 0818 719 300 (Ireland) / 0844 277 4455 (UK) or online here.

These dates are the first to be announced of the 2015 Modern Blues European tour. More dates will be announced over the coming months.

Come celebrate New Year’s Eve with The Waterboys, who will headline a show at The Esplanade in Stirling Castle in STIRLING, SCOTLAND on Wed 31 December. Also playing are Model Aeroplanes, JJ Gilmour and Skerryvore. Doors open at 8:30pm. Tickets, priced £27.50 for adults & £10 for age 15 & under, are on sale now by phone at 01786 274000 or online here

The Waterboys' long-awaited new album Modern Blues will be released on January 19th. The album was recorded in Nashville, produced by Mike Scott and mixed by the great Bob Clearmountain. Modern Blues is an electric, soulful, bold, freewheeling rock'n'roll record with a skinful of killer new songs, some of which have been premiered live over the past few years. Ralph Salmins, a mainstay on drums for the past four years, appears alongside the talismanic Steve Wickham, who weaves a dizzying fuzz fiddle spell on several tracks. Fresh to the ranks are Memphis keyboard player “Brother” Paul Brown and David Hood, legendary bassist from Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Additional lead guitars are played by 2013 US Waterboy Jay Barclay and Austin soul guitarist Zach Ernst. Guest backing vocalists include southern soul legend Don Bryant. The album cover is a green man photograph titled The King Of Weeds, by New York artists Kahn and Selesnick. Modern Blues will be accompanied by a worldwide tour and details will be announced soon.

Track listing:

1. Destinies Entwined 5.45
2. November Tale 5.18
3. Still A Freak 3.59
4. I Can See Elvis 5.47
5. The Girl Who Slept For Scotland 4.56
6. Rosalind (You Married The Wrong Guy) 5.09
7. Beautiful Now 3.58
8. Nearest Thing To Hip 5.42
9. Long Strange Golden Road 10.23


The vinyl version of Modern Blues is a 2-LP set and includes a bonus track, the acoustic demo of Long Strange Golden Road which occupies all of side four.

An exclusive print of the album cover, signed by Mike, will be available with both CD & vinyl versions for a limited time.

Click links below for further details:

CD with Exclusive Signed Print Offer £11.99

2-LP with Exclusive Signed Print Offer £21.99

CD £9.99

2-LP 19.99

View the lyric video for the album's opening track DESTINIES ENTWINED

The Waterboys will play two UK shows to launch Modern Blues. These will be the first UK performances by the new live line-up of Mike Scott, Steve Wickham, Ralph Salmins, Brother Paul, David Hood (bass) & Zach Ernst (lead guitar). Tickets are available for pre-sale Thursday 9th October, and on sale to the general public Friday 10th October.

Feb 2 Warwick Arts Centre, box office 0247 652 4524 or online here
Feb 3 London Roundhouse, box office 0844 338 0000 or online here
(Agency & credit card bookings subject to booking fee)

The first show with the band's new line-up will be at The Big Top, Dolans, Limerick, Ireland, part of a series of circus tent shows by different artists celebrating the anniversary of Dolan's roadhouse, a popular Irish venue. The show is on December 3 and tickets, price €38, are available now by phone from the box office +353 61 314483 or online from here

The Waterboys will play two concerts on the 5th and 6th of December at Paradiso in Amsterdam, which will be filmed for inclusion in the upcoming Robert Jan Westdijk film “Waterboys”.

During these shows, concert footage of the band and the audience will be made for the film which will be released next year. These will be very special shows in a smaller, more intimate venue than the band would normally play.

Director Robert Jan Westdijk is proud and amazed: "It all started with an e-mail in which I wrote that I've been a fan since the 80s and that I was about to make a road movie about a father and son who come closer together through the music of The Waterboys. Not much later I was in Dublin facing my musical hero Mike Scott. He responded enthusiastically and two months later, it was agreed." Westdijk emphasises that the experience of the concert will not be affected by the film recordings: "I want to record the concerts in the way a fan experiences the concert, so I trust the participation of the real Waterboys fans."

Support for these shows will be provided by Freddie Stevenson. Doors open at 19:00 and support begins at 19:30.

Sales to the general public begin on Sat 6 Sept at 10am and will be available for 5 Dec here andfor the 6th here

Mike and noted film director, and writer of such popular films as Four Weddings and a Funeral and Love Actually, Richard Curtis, are scheduled to appear together at this year’s Cheltenham Literature Festival on Sat 4 October. They will be discussing how song/screenwriting attempt to get to the heart of the matter and Mike will also have his guitar in tow for a few songs. You can read more about the event here.

Tickets, priced £12, go on sale to Cheltenham Festival members on Tues 26 August and to the general public on Mon 1 September. You can access booking information here.
General information about the festival is available here

Enjoy this taster of the band performing Still A Freak from PBS station WHYY’s On Canvas concert film of The Waterboys shot in Philadelphia during their 2013 tour.

You can now view the entire concert film online here

Mike was recently interviewed by The One You Feed, a podcast based on the Native American parable of The Two Wolves examining how leaders, authors and artists feed the good wolf inside them. You can hear the interview here

We are proud to announce Ellie Goulding's Children In Need charity single of Mike Scott's song 'How Long Will I Love You' has hit number 3 on the UK singles chart. Watch her performance at BBC's Children In Need telethon here

And if you'd like to hear the writer singing it, you can view Mike Scott on last year's Waterboys tour, accompanied by James Hallawell here

Film by Dave Furneaux.