Fruit Bats went underground on Sunday for a show at subterranean concert venue The Caverns in Pelham, TN. The early show marked the final stop of the summer tour for singer-songwriter Eric D. Johnson‘s folk pseudonym Fruit Bats.
The phrase “bats in the cave” most commonly refers to having a booger in your nose clearly visible from the outside, cemented in an episode of Sex in the City. Urban Dictionary hosts some other definitions that are far more disgusting (as is tradition) but none of them include an evening of indie-folk bliss in an underground concert venue. But that’s exactly what audiences got on Sunday with a 20-song show exploring Fruit Bats’ quarter century career.
Johnson and his backing band highlighted their most recent full-length release, 2023’s A River Running To Your Heart with a trio of songs including album standout “Rushin’ River Valley”. While out on tour, the band dropped a new single with Torres, another singer-songwriter who performs under a musical nom de plume like Johnson. The track, “Married For Love”, did not appear on Sunday at The Caverns, but Fruit Bats did make sure to include favorites “The Bottom of It”, “When U Love Somebody”, “A Lingering Love”, and the closing “Humbug Mountain Song”.
Check out a gallery of photos from Fruit Bats at The Caverns courtesy of photographer Christian Stewart. Fruit Bats have a solo show at Meadowlark Festival in Woodstock, NY on August 17th before the band’s tour picks back up with a Northeast run in September. Find tickets and a full list of tour dates on the group’s website.
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Setlist: Fruit Bats | The Caverns | Pelham, TN | 7/28/24
Set: Baby Bluebird, Rushin’ River Valley, Cazadera, Waking Up in Los Angeles, The Balcony, See the World By Night, Feather Bed, On the Avalon Stairs, My Sweet Midwest, From a Soon-to-Be Ghost Town, The Bottom of It, The Rock Doc, A Lingering Love, The Pet Parade, Absolute Loser, Flamingo, When U Love Somebody, Shane
Encore: You’re Too Weird, Humbug Mountain Song
