2022 was a great year for The Tea Party. We were finally able to complete our tour of Canada that took us from coast to coast performing mainly outside to large audiences of 5,000 to 15,000. People had a level of enthusiasm that I haven’t experienced since the band’s formation. To top it off, we as a band are playing better than ever and the songs have not aged at all. Then of course there’s my hat.
Our Germany label released a full length record Blood Moon Rising which consisted of our last two EP releases of Sunshower (2022) and Black River (2019). Personally, I spent the time between the dates putting the final touches on my latest video game soundtrack Darkest Dungeon II.
TOP ALBUMS OF 2022
5. New West - In Good Time4. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard - Changes3. Crown Lands - Discover Crown Lands2. David Bowie - The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars (Reissue)1. Mdou Moctar - Afrique Victime (came out in 2021 but deserves a mention)SPECIAL MENTION. Jeff Martin – The Seven Sins
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Iox5lM894I
FAVOURITE GIG YOU PLAYED THIS YEAR
We had an excellent couple of nights in Montréal and the Bluesfest in Ottawa saw the band firing on all cylinders but the most memorable gig for myself was the 2nd night of our performance in Buffalo. The passion of the crowd there is on par with Montréal and Quebec City, but they have a special love for “Stuuuuuu”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpfhsZO8bWY&t=420s
BIGGEST WTF OR WHOLESOME MOMENT FOR YOU/YOUR BAND
I think as a band we are always taken aback by the passion of the fans. People were crying at the gig in St John’s Newfoundland. Another event was Buffalo where fans from 12 different States in America flew into to catch the show. It reminds you that after 32 years together there’s an underlying fact that that the band is partially the fans’ band at this stage.
ANY SNEAK PEEKS OF YOUR 2023 PLANS FOR FANS?
We just announced two new orchestra shows in Canada and for us these shows are tremendously rewarding. Our music lends itself to the orchestra and the arrangements we have are interesting. The orchestra is not just playing rhythm guitar parts. It gets intricate but still clearly defined. We have some plans to bring this back to Australia. Myself, I’d love to see it happen at the Opera House in Sydney. We had an excellent show with the Melbourne Symphony at Hamer Hall in 2017. We thought some of the players might have found our set a little loud but we’ve heard from the managers of the symphony that it was one of their highlights of the year and they’d love to do it again.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cjan9g3Mndz/?hl=en
BEST ADVICE GOING INTO 2023
In 2023 get out an enjoy yourself. Enjoy the energy of catching a show with other fans. Enjoy the power of live music. Don’t put things off. Don’t say, “I’ll catch them on the next tour…”
Written by Stuart Chatwood @stuartchatwood
