Rob Moir wil take part in the Lost Evenings 3 festival by Frank Turner on May 18, his first major plunge into the US Rob Moir

Rob Moir wil take part in the Lost Evenings 3 festival by Frank Turner on May 18, his first major plunge into the US Rob Moir

Natalie Gerhardstein: “Solo Record” is an interesting name for an album. Can you tell us more about the concept of the album and where the name came from?

Rob Moir: The title represented the direction of the album I was trying to make, which was a collection of songs which had little to no arrangement, other than voice and guitar. That name kind of made me laugh the most since I have three solo albums, so it fit.

There are 12 songs that range from real and autobiographical to storytelling which is completely out of the air. The songs are kind of inspired by my last six years, touring full time--the excitement, the insanity of doing that.

NG: You’ve played a handful of times in Luxembourg already. Do you anticipate your upcoming show to have the same level of intimacy as your past shows, given that you tend to hold concerts in homes or smaller venues?

RM: I’m coming back to a lot of places now, and every time I go through a region I aim to have a new show of mostly stories around songs that people haven’t heard yet. I try to rejuvenate that every year, making sure that each show is going to be totally different, so people will have an experience they wouldn’t have had before. This will be my first time in Esch/Alzette, but it’s exciting to come back to Luxembourg.

A hundred percent, intimacy can still be there. If I’m in a rowdy bar on a Friday, I also try and challenge that, to create moments where you can really connect.

You have travelled a lot to share your music, including the bicycling tour you did in Europe in 2016. Where has this past year taken you, and where do you see yourself in the year ahead?

Last year I focused almost all of my out-of-town shows on five different European tours. In February, I was in Benelux. I did a tour in Germany in May, some summer tours in Switzerland and Italy, and then promotion for my album kicked off in September. I also just did some shows in Mexico.

I’m taking an insane plunge with a festival in Boston by Frank Turner in May 2019. It’s a whirlwind of a tour.

So how much of your time is spent on the road versus at home in Toronto?

It’s hard to pinpoint, but I’d say about 70% of the year I’m travelling, doing tours that are shorter for three or four weeks, then I’ll be home for a few weeks. It feels really healthy at the moment.

Catch Rob Moir at his show in Esch-sur Alzette on 22 February. For more information, visit theevent page.