Troopers that they are, Alabama 3 have decided to go ahead with their acoustic Irish tour next week despite the death of their co-founder the Reverend D. Wayne Love, AKA Jake Black.
You can catch them in Cyprus Avenue, Cork (May 29); Dolan’s, Limerick (30); and Kavanagh’s, Portlaoise (30).
“At the height of our mourning for our dear friend and comrade Jake Black, who died on Tuesday, we were faced with certain urgent and difficult decisions,” they say. “We have only just started to process our grief, or even begin to think about the impossibility of filling the massive hole that Jake has left behind. There has been a strong argument within the band that we should pull these shows as a mark of respect.
“In the end it came down to this: What would Jake want? What would Jake do? Jake would never want to miss a show. Aside from being in hospital with pneumonia, we can assure you, whatever heavy shit he had to deal with, not least the loss of many of his own friends and lovers, he would be there on stage for you. It was a point of pride.
“We can also tell you that he would laugh at us if we wallowed in sentimentality, and berate us for letting down fans who loved him.”