These last three gigs had something in common, namely that they were all unusual in their own way. First there was the wooden amphitheatre in Hamburgsund know as Scen pa Bonn, with its rocky backdrop, in a remote forest area. Secondly there was the more familiar but utterly quirky St Nicolai Ruin in beautiful Visby, situated off the coast of Sweden in The Baltic Sea. Last there was the equally surprising Brannaberget in Overkalix, inside The Arctic Circle and also boasting forest surroundings (and mosquitos). Summer is surely the best opportunity to get off the beaten track and take the music to wherever there is an audience, and in all cases there was a gathering of people intent on having a good time and showing us that the Swedish people are some of the best singers. There was no better way for Smokie to wind up for the summer break than to play these three memorable venues to such welcoming crowds. Now we disperse to our various corners of the globe to do whatever it is that fills two summer months, and no two band members will be doing the same thing. I have a strong feeling that we will be itching to start again in September, so good have these last thirty shows been that there is great enthusiasm for the final run of shows in 2022 as well as a solid tour plan for 2023. I’m hoping that, by September, the airlines may have returned to normal because this is a band that goes to work by airplane.
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