Eclectic retro-party band The California Honeydrops will head out on a tour of the western U.S. this fall. The trek, billed as Pure Honey, will feature the band’s return to Denver, CO’s state-of-the-art Mission Ballroom on Saturday, October 2nd with special guest Valerie June. Tickets are available here.

The Mission Ballroom show will be of particular significance for The California Honeydrops. On January 17th, 2020, the band debuted at the Denver venue as part of a co-headlining blowout with Fruition. That show proved to be the Honeydrops’ last before the pandemic took hold and tours ground to a halt around the world. Now, their return to the Mission more than 20 months later will come as a celebration of just how far we’ve come and how much we have to look forward to.

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The California Honeydrops, currently their 13th year together as a band, are known for bringing vibrant energy and infectious dance-party vibes to their shows. Throughout the pandemic, members of the band have kept busy playing socially-distanced shows at Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom and hosting livestreams at venues such as Sweetwater Music Hall, Vilar Performing Arts Center, and more. In November, the also released the live album Remember When: Live Vol. 3 in November, which was comprised of recordings from multiple live concerts, including the last show at Mission Ballroom.

As vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Lech Wierzynski explained of the 2020 Remember When: Live Vol. 3, “Each one of these tracks has something special, something we did that night and that night only. Whether it’s a spontaneous crowd interaction, or and an ad-libbed verse or a little background vocal riff we came up with on the spot… You can hear us leaving the script and the show behind and diving into the spirit of that night, searching and finding the lil’ nuggets that make each night of live music with an interactive audience so special. Listening back to these tracks during quarantine, it’s hard to imagine that we even made these sounds. There’s so much energy and joy it almost seems alien during these weird times.”

The Honeydrops’ performance of “I Wanna Go Home” from the Mission wound up finding its way onto Remember When after a live video of the song premiered as part of Live For Live Music virtual music festival Quarantine Comes Alive. Watch the band perform “I Wanna Go Home” at the Mission Ballroom below ahead of their return to the venue on October 2nd, 2021.

The California Honeydrops – “I Wanna Go Home” [Pro-Shot] – Mission Ballroom – 1/17/20

[Video: Ninja Video]

Valerie June, whose rural Tennessee roots shine through her soulful bluegrass sound, has also been busy this year. In 2021, she has released her album The Moon and Stars: Prescriptions for Dreamers and a book of poetry titled Maps for the Modern World. While she has other tour dates scheduled for the rest of the year, the show at Mission Ballroom will be her only performance supporting The California Honeydrops.

Tickets to see The California Honeydrops with special guest Valerie June at Misson Ballroom on 10/2 can be purchased here.