Mitch Rowland may be known best for his two-and-a-half minute show-stealing guitar solo in Harry Styles’ “She,” or for his contributions to the writing of gems like “Sign of the Times,” “Canyon Moon,” and “Keep Driving,” but this year, it’s his turn to take the mic.
Formerly a man of very few words, Rowland is carving out a space for himself in the music industry by embarking on a 19-date North American tour following the release of his debut album, “Come June.” Beginning at the tail end of February, and wrapping up at the end of March, the tour made stops at intimate venues across the country.
When Rowland announced the early 2024 tour dates, I saw that my home show in the city of Philadelphia fell over spring break, so I immediately bought a ticket. As the show approached, I wondered what the atmosphere would be like.
Coming off of essentially three years of non-stop touring between 2021 and 2023, I was partially surprised to see Rowland hitting the road again so soon. Going from playing to crowds of up to 80,000 people in countries all over the world at some of the biggest festivals, like Coachella, and spending hundreds of tour dates at venues like Bridgestone Arena, United Center, and UBS Arena, let alone entire residencies at Madison Square Garden and The Kia Forum, I would not be surprised if this mini solo tour was a welcomed breather.
Rowland’s debut album Come June could not be more different, sonically, from the material he has contributed to in the past years. As a fan of artists like Strawberry Guy, Del Water Gap, Lizzy McAlpine, and The Lumineers, I quickly fell in love with the album. As a solo artist, the soft folk, indie, acoustic sound is perfectly representative of the Mitch that the world has come to know and love.
For each night of the tour, Rowland’s debut indie-folk album was played in full, with an encore featuring a cover of The Velvet Underground’s “Oh! Sweet Nuthin.” The length of the setlist totaled 55 minutes, which was about what I expected seeing as Come June is Rowland’s only solo material as of right now. Though most shows average a set time of an hour and a half to two hours, I quite enjoyed the shorter set time. I love a good cover just as much as the next person, but I appreciated most of the crowd’s focus and appreciation being on Rowland’s solo material, rather than a slew of covers that would have been included to lengthen the set.
The first thing I noticed when I entered the venue was the outfits worn by the audience. In all honesty, I half expected the crowd to be made up of ‘Love On Tour’ t-shirts, which, to my relief, was not the case. Most attendees donned Rowland’s own tour merchandise, white and black hair ribbons, cowboy boots, and neutral colors. If there is one thing a fanbase knows how to do, it’s dress on theme.
As the lights dimmed and the pre-show playlist faded out from the overhead speakers, a mixture of clapping and “barking”, a trend from ‘Love On Tour’, radiated from the crowd as Rowland took the stage with his band. The band consists of four members aside from Rowland, one of which being his wife, Sarah Jones, on drums.
The first song of the night was “See The Way You Roll,” followed by “Bluebells,” one of the singles from Come June, and a new unreleased song titled “Carry On With Your Tea.”
Throughout the show, the signature Love On Tour “barking” continued, as Rowland would teasingly ask if he was being heckled — but of course he still joined in on the chant.
Partway through the set, Rowland introduced the track “When It All Falls Down” by jokingly mentioning that it was written with a “red mouth” — meaning that red wine was a key contributor to the song’s creation.
As the end of the set approached, Rowland took a moment to thank and give applause to opener Harris Harper, as well as the crew members responsible for the behind-the-scenes elements. Before resuming the set, Rowland also gave each of his band-mates a heartwarming introduction, as well as a moment to let their talents shine with their instruments.
“Come June” and “Here Comes The Comeback” were the last two tracks of the night before the encore, which had the most audience participation of the night. I find that with myself, my favorite tracks on an album tend to be the least listened to by the general public, but I would have to say “Here Comes The Comeback” may be my favorite song off of “Come June” despite it being the most popular.
The band hastily made their way backstage as the end of the night crept closer, leaving the audience to chant Rowland’s name in anticipation of the encore. Purple, orange, and yellow lighting flooded the stage as the band made their return to cover “Oh! Sweet Nuthin'” by The Velvet Underground. Which might I add, was a perfect cover to choose for this set.
Before making his final departure, Rowland thanked the crowd earnestly, confessing how lucky he felt to be playing for us all, and that he never thought he would be here.
And of course, he mentioned his love for Philadelphia (because what artist doesn’t love Philly?) saying that he would be back on the next go-around.
I feel so lucky to have had the chance to see Rowland on his first solo headlining tour, and even more grateful to have heard the entirety of Come June live. I know looking back two or three tours from now I’ll be saying, “I can’t believe I got to hear [insert deep-cut track name here] live! He hasn’t performed it since his first tour!”
This is only the beginning for Mitch Rowland, who is on his way to being recognized equally for his integral part of the Love On Tour band, and for his very own work.