We're always hearing about bands' tour riders (who can forget that Van Halen refuses to be in the same room as brown M&M's, Britney Spears insists on bunless McDonald's hamburgers, and DMX requires three boxes of condoms and one gallon of Hennessey?). As for what they pack for tour? Not so much.
When musicians hit the road, they're often gone for six months at a time, traveling in a beat-up van with little more than a duffel bag. The stuff they decide to bring along has to be comfortable enough to travel in, but cool enough to wear on stage—not an easy feat.
So we're reaching out to our favorite artists to find out what they don't leave home without when they're embarking on tour. Chanel mascara? Black Chucks? That perfectly beat-up biker jacket that makes literally everything look infinitely cooler? We're about to find out, and we'll be reporting back with our findings each week.
Though the duo Sylvan Esso recently released their self-titled debut album, neither one of them is new to the whole making-rad-music thing. The group that seemingly popped up out of nowhere last spring with one of the most impossible-to-shake tracks of the year, “Coffee,” consists of indie vets Nick Sanborn who you might know from the freak-folk band Megafaun and singer Amelia Meath, who belongs to the folk trio Mountain Man and Feist’s touring band. Clearly Amelia is no stranger to life on the road. So we hit her up to find out what she's packing for their fall tour, which kicked off earlier this week.
VINTAGE BAND TEE
"Police shirt from Molly [Erin Sarle]." TAROT CARDS
"Mother Peace Tarot Deck For magic." BLINC MASCARA
"Mascara that you can pull off your eyelashes!" BUFFALO PLATFORMS
"For being taller sometimes." SUNGLASSES
"Protection from sun + secret hide out." JEAN JACKET
"Jacket with special 'Stop The World I Want To Get Off' pin that Dani [Markham] gave me."
SAFETY BLANKET
"Great for car sleeps."Check out a list of Sylvan Esso's upcoming shows below.8/16 New Orleans, LA – Gasa Gasa *
8/17 Austin, TX – The Parish *
8/19 Tucson, AZ – Club Congress *
8/20 San Diego, CA – Casbah *
8/22 Los Angeles, CA – The Troubadour *
8/23 San Francisco, CA – The Independent *
8/25 Portland, OR – Doug Fir *
8/26 Seattle, WA – Barboza *
8/27 Boise, ID – Neurolux *
8/29 Salt Lake City, UT – Kilby Court *
8/30 Denver, CO – Hi Dive *
9/4 Madison, WI – The Frequency
9/5 Milwaukee, WI – Cactus Club
9/6 Chicago, IL – Hideout Block Party & AV Fest ^
9/9 Burlington, VT – Higher Ground +
9/10 Boston, MA – The Sinclair +
9/11 Brooklyn, NY – Rough Trade NYC
9/12 New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom + **SOLD OUT**
9/17 Dresden, DE – Altes Wettburo
9/19 Hamburg, DE – Hamburg Introducing
9/18 Berlin, DE – Introducing Berlin @ Schwutz
9/20 Essen, DE – King Kong Kicks @ Hotel Shanghai
9/22 Cologne, DE – Studio 672
9/23 Luxembourg – Rockhal
9/25 Amsterdam, NL – Paradiso
9/26 Antwerp, BE – Trix Bar
9/27 Paris, FR – Badaboum
9/28 Zurich, CH – Stall 6
9/30 Brighton, UK – Green Door Store
10/1 Birmingham, UK – Hare and Hounds
10/2 London, UK – Oslo
10/3 Bristol, UK – Louisiana
10/4 Cardiff, UK – Buffalo Bar
10/6 Manchester, UK – Soup Kitchen
10/7 Dublin, IE – Workman’s Club
10/8 Belfast, IE – Black Box
10/9 Glasgow, UK – Nice ’n’ Sleazy
10/31 Saxapahaw, NC – Haw River Ballroom# with Tune-Yards
~with Polica
* with Dana Buoy
^ with Death Cab For Cutie, Dismemberment Plan, Mac Demarco, etc
+ with Doe PaoroCasey Lewis does this every week. She's on Twitter - @caseymlewis.--Want more Sylvan Esso?Sylvan Esso Think You Look Great TodayNoisey Acoustics Episode 6: Sylvan Esso - "Hey Mami"Let's Dance: Watch Sylvan Esso's Video for "Coffee"
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"Police shirt from Molly [Erin Sarle]." TAROT CARDS
"Mother Peace Tarot Deck For magic." BLINC MASCARA
"Mascara that you can pull off your eyelashes!" BUFFALO PLATFORMS
"For being taller sometimes." SUNGLASSES
"Protection from sun + secret hide out." JEAN JACKET
"Jacket with special 'Stop The World I Want To Get Off' pin that Dani [Markham] gave me."
"Great for car sleeps."Check out a list of Sylvan Esso's upcoming shows below.8/16 New Orleans, LA – Gasa Gasa *
8/17 Austin, TX – The Parish *
8/19 Tucson, AZ – Club Congress *
8/20 San Diego, CA – Casbah *
8/22 Los Angeles, CA – The Troubadour *
8/23 San Francisco, CA – The Independent *
8/25 Portland, OR – Doug Fir *
8/26 Seattle, WA – Barboza *
8/27 Boise, ID – Neurolux *
8/29 Salt Lake City, UT – Kilby Court *
8/30 Denver, CO – Hi Dive *
9/4 Madison, WI – The Frequency
9/5 Milwaukee, WI – Cactus Club
9/6 Chicago, IL – Hideout Block Party & AV Fest ^
9/9 Burlington, VT – Higher Ground +
9/10 Boston, MA – The Sinclair +
9/11 Brooklyn, NY – Rough Trade NYC
9/12 New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom + **SOLD OUT**
9/17 Dresden, DE – Altes Wettburo
9/19 Hamburg, DE – Hamburg Introducing
9/18 Berlin, DE – Introducing Berlin @ Schwutz
9/20 Essen, DE – King Kong Kicks @ Hotel Shanghai
9/22 Cologne, DE – Studio 672
9/23 Luxembourg – Rockhal
9/25 Amsterdam, NL – Paradiso
9/26 Antwerp, BE – Trix Bar
9/27 Paris, FR – Badaboum
9/28 Zurich, CH – Stall 6
9/30 Brighton, UK – Green Door Store
10/1 Birmingham, UK – Hare and Hounds
10/2 London, UK – Oslo
10/3 Bristol, UK – Louisiana
10/4 Cardiff, UK – Buffalo Bar
10/6 Manchester, UK – Soup Kitchen
10/7 Dublin, IE – Workman’s Club
10/8 Belfast, IE – Black Box
10/9 Glasgow, UK – Nice ’n’ Sleazy
10/31 Saxapahaw, NC – Haw River Ballroom
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~with Polica
* with Dana Buoy
^ with Death Cab For Cutie, Dismemberment Plan, Mac Demarco, etc
+ with Doe PaoroCasey Lewis does this every week. She's on Twitter - @caseymlewis.--Want more Sylvan Esso?Sylvan Esso Think You Look Great TodayNoisey Acoustics Episode 6: Sylvan Esso - "Hey Mami"Let's Dance: Watch Sylvan Esso's Video for "Coffee"