Devils in the Details II

It’s been a while since it ended but I wanted to write a wrap up for the awesome Devils in the Details tour I did with my friend Patterson Hood last month. We had so much fun touring together in November 2025 on the West Coast that we decided to do it all over again, and I’m very pleased that we did. Once again we brought along our friend Ben Hackett as a multi instrumentalist, and his musicality set the tone every night, and made it another tour to remember.

We kicked it all off in St. Paul at the lovely Fitzgerald Theater. I was happy to be starting in my beloved Twin Cities and it was cool to take Patterson and Ben to a few local spots on our rehearsal day. The St. Paul show was wonderful, of course. We were welcomed by The Fitzgerald’s amazing house dog Vienna, the most chill dog I have ever seen. For this show only, I invited my friend Nelson Devereaux to sit in with us. Nelson plays in The Band of Forgiveness and the Twin Cities version of The Horn Steady. I thought him and Ben Hackett would mesh together well, and I was absolutely correct.

They ascended to new heights, and it was a magic night. I played a few new songs for the first time, including a mellow re-worked version of the Hold Steady song “Constructive Summer”, which felt very appropriate for the location. Double whiskey coke fuck ice, indeed. Patterson also dropped a new song about Emmet Till that was super powerful. A wonderful start!

From there we headed to State College, PA, where the town was extra lively due to it being their annual Arts Festival celebration. We were returning to the State Theater, which had been a stop on the DBT/THS Rock and Roll Means Well tour in 2008. A bit of trivia: we’d had a day off before that November 08 show in State College, which was the night Obama won the election for his first term. Four years later, on election eve 2012, Patterson and I were in Barcelona playing a show when Obama was elected a second time. Might be something for us to consider in Novembers going forward. Back here in 2026 we had a lovely return to State College. The show felt really good and we got out after the show to soak up some Arts Festival vibes and to hang with some friends in a local establishment.

Next up, a local show for me in Brooklyn, NY. Always love playing the Williamsburg Music Hall - it’s old identity of North Six was the site of the first ever Hold Steady show. We had a bunch of friends and family in the audience and had a great show, followed by a very good bar session at nearby George & Jacks.

Onward to Space Ballroom in Hamden, CT. I’d done Space before with THS, and found it very cool. The show was really good, it was a non seated affair, the first of the run, and the audience felt right with us the whole time. The show kept tightening up night to night, and the vibe of the evening was perfect. Met a bunch of cool people at the merch table afterwards. Hope to be back at Space sometime soon, really nice night.

From there we headed to Rockport, MA to the Shalin Liu Performance Center, one of the most stunning stages I’ve ever played. The back wall is windows that look out to the ocean. It’s just incredible, and impossible not to enjoy the show there. We played well, it sounded great, and everyone there was so nice. The town was also really cool. If you get a chance to see a show at Shalin Liu, you want to do that. We are still raving about it, and I hope to get back to Rockport.

Off to Worcester, where we played Off the Rails. It was my second time there in about a year, as I had opened for the Mountain Goats there in August 2025. Was nice to be back, and we played for a lovely crowd. Patterson played “The Company I Keep” during the encore and I accidentally came in with my next song during a pause (I thought the song had ended!). He shook it off and finished and I vowed to not make that same mistake again. Afterwards I headed out with some friends to a cool bar called Vincent’s that had been recommended by a friend. Great place!

Next up we were in Albany at The Egg, which is an architectural wonder of sorts. The show here sounded fantastic and I really loved the mood of the lighting and stage. The audience was excellent as well and I saw a few buddies afterwards. We spend the night as guests in a beautiful house in the Berkshires and it was a nice reset after a week in hotels. Feeling refreshed, we pushed onward.

I had never been to Tarrytown, NY before. It’s a really beautiful little town on the Hudson River, and the Tarrytown Music Hall was exceptionally cool. This was another show where we had a bunch of friends in the crowd, and it made for an upbeat and musical Saturday night. We really had the show going exceptionally well by now, the stories were lining up and we were firing on all cylinders.

After a day off, we rolled into the Homer Arts Center in the Finger Lakes region of New York. I had actually played here just back in October with the Band of Forgiveness and found it to be a special room. This evening was no exception, it’s a warm place that sounds great and the community of people that come out to the shows are great listeners and a pleasure to speak with after the show. It’s really a beautiful part of the country too. Hope to be back in Homer again before too long.

Finally, we were in Bellmore Long Island at a very cool spot called Bellmore Movies & Showplace. It’s an old movie house. This one was put on by our friend Martin Brull, who does a series of great shows with a charitable element, The Tommy Brull Shine a Light Foundation, to honor his brother. We’ve done a Hold Steady gig out there too, and he brings out a great positive bunch of people for the events. It was an amazing audience and we finished in good style.

Both of these tours have felt a little short to me when they finished, which is a sign that I really enjoyed doing them. I spoke each night from stage about the impact that Patterson has had on my life. His band the Drive By Truckers were a huge reason The Hold Steady got going. They inspired me to want to start a band that talked about people from the place that I was from. And we did it! We started THS in 2003 and by 2008 we were on tour with DBT for the Rock and Roll Means Well Tour. Patterson and I have been friends since. In some ways I feel like I willed him into my life, starting as a massive fan and becoming a close confidant. I feel blessed for that. Furthermore, Patterson introduced me to Ben Hackett, a great person and an amazing musician, and I’ve been thrilled to play with him a bunch in the last two tours. And through Ben, we met Tim Gildersleeve, the great tour manager/driver/merch guy that guided us so beautifully on this tour.

Thanks to all who came out to the Devils in the Details tour. These were special shows and you were all special audiences. I look forward to all that comes next!

CF