For those uninitiated, Smidley is the side project of Foxing’s Conor Murphy which was formed prior to that band’s indefinite hiatus, but which now obviously has become Murphy’s primary mode of musical expression. After releasing albums in 2017 and 2022 that were far more bedroom-pop in their scope than Foxing’s increasingly stadium-ready projects, he’s returning next month with Murphy Horse, a record which matches the grand art-rock ambitions and unclassifiable sound of the last two Foxing releases. If that doesn’t command your attention, the record’s first single, “Capstone,” featured vocal contributions from Lucy Dacus.
Speaking of Lucy, the band just wrapped up a string of live dates opening for her across the Midwest and East Coast. Throughout the journey, we had Smidley’s multi-instrumentalist Austin McCutchen (also of Hot Joy and Choir Vandals) compile a tour diary of the band’s trip. We’ll let him take it from here.
You can pre-order Murphy Horse here before it drops on September 25 via Royal Mountain Records, and make sure to catch the band on their next set of dates opening for Ratboys—find tickets and more info in the pre-order link.
Hi! My name is Austin McCutchen. I play keys and guitar for Smidley. We just wrapped up a two-week tour supporting Lucy Dacus about a week ago, and I think all of us agree: This was one of the best tours we’ve ever done. From the audience reception to the professionalism and kindness of Lucy and her band and crew, everything far surpassed our expectations.
This was my first tour with Smidley, the first Smidley tour in quite a while, and the first time we played new songs off our upcoming album Murphy Horse. We played some of the largest shows I’ve ever played at some really beautiful venues. We had the honor of not only opening for Lucy, but getting to hang out and grow closer to everyone in her camp.
Our days off were just as memorable. We swam in Lake Michigan, spent a day in Saugatuck, and took the train in from Poughkeepsie for a day off in New York City. We caught The Odyssey in Detroit the day after it came out, hit some favorite coffee shops and clothing spots, and got to reconnect with friends from home and from years of touring that I hadn’t seen in a while. Here are some photos from the road. I’m pretty terrible at photography, but I think this is a nice representation of what this tour felt like for me.
The boys outside practice a few days before we left.
Right before playing the first show of tour at The Sylvee in Madison.
Playing darts for way too long at our friend David’s house in Detroit.
The sky when we first rolled into Toronto on the day that it had the worst air quality in the world.
Our day off at Lake Michigan in Saugatuck.
Conor playing Milkshake in Cleveland.
Some of the boys with Dom, Alan, and Ashley after the Cleveland show in our greenroom. This was one of my favorite nights, one of those nights where no one wanted to stop hanging out.
All of us with Tim Willis at his place in Cleveland. There are no words to justify how inspiring this place and this man is—it should be a must-visit for everyone
We were lucky enough to stay with some friends throughout this run. Hotels are nice, but there’s nothing like getting to spend time with people you care about. Here’s David and Laurel in Detroit, Allison in Cleveland, and Lisa and Seth in Woodstock.
This is Wil. He came with us on this tour and shot a lot of videos. Wil’s also one of my best friends and the person I’ve toured with the most in my life (Wil plays in Hot Joy and Choir Vandals with me, as well as another band called Squint).
Grabbing the 6 train from Grand Central to head to Superiority Burger in NYC.
Playing outside at Mass MoCA in North Adams, Massachusetts.
The last picture I took before my camera died. Playing the last show of tour here was the cherry on top.
