Willy is happy to announce that THE MOTEL LIFE has just come out in Sweden, published by the great folks at Bakhall. The edition is hardback and really looks amazing – a really beautifully printed book with nice paper, printing, and a great cover… very collectible! Huge thanks to our pals in Sweden. Northline will be published by Bakhall next fall.

Best Wishes for a Happy New Year

The new record, The High Country, is all wrapped up and ready to go. Release dates are: September 5 in the UK & Europe, and September 20 in the US. (Psst, if you’re a superfan and must have it now, you can buy it on the RF site. Early reviews have been great! Uncut gave it 4 stars and Americana Album of the Month, Q Magazine gave it 4 stars, and the Irish Times 5 stars. Forget your preconceived notions about concept records… The High Country actually makes sense! And musically, it’s a whopper.

Willy and the RF boys are gearing up for The High Country tour overseas. But first, they’re plaing two shows in Portland this week for Music Fest NW. Amy Boone (The Damnations) will be along for these gigs, singing The Girl parts from The High Country, and playing keyboards. See the events page for dates.

Willy is absolutely thrilled to have the honor of reading with Roddy Doyle at the Galway Arts Festival on July 19. You can’t have a conversation about books with Willy without hearing about Roddy Doyle and his books Paula Spencer and The Woman Who Walked into Doors. Willy considers him to be one of the greatest contemporary writers. Plus, this is happening in Willy’s favorite Irish town, Galway. Doesn’t get much better…