The very first “Rubber Meets the Road” Tour, featuring one of Starkville’s favorite bands, will make its Mississippi debut Thursday night at Rick’s Caf.
The tour, which began in Richmond, Va., Oct. 2, features three groups: Ingram Hill, The Clarks and Pseudopod, and one solo artist, Ari Hest. Three of the four acts play in each city the tour stops in, with the headlining and opening acts changing according to which group has the strongest market in that area.
Even the promotional tour CD, with three songs from each of the four groups, is designed to give fans what they want while introducing similar music that they may not have had the opportunity to hear.
Rick Welch, owner of Rick’s Caf and friend of Ingram Hill, said the idea was born when the managers of all the groups decided that putting them on tour together could increase each band’s market.
“They’re switching the schedule as they go with different bands headlining in the markets they’re known in,” Welch said. “They’re working together to try to build a bigger fan base and they’re all getting good publicity.”
Memphis-born Ingram Hill, no stranger to Starkville, will headline the Thursday night show at Rick’s. Pseudopod, hailing all the way from California, will open the show and The Clarks, from Pittsburgh, will take charge of the middle slot. The fourth tour act, solo artist and New York City native Ari Hest, won’t be performing at Rick’s but will be back in the tour rotation for the Nov. 4 show in Tempe, Ariz.
Justin Moore, lead vocalist for Ingram Hill, said the tour has gone well so far.
“There are people in different places that are getting to hear our music, so hopefully when we go back we’ll have an audience,” Moore said.
He also said the tour has been successful in its mission to use bands that are already popular in one market to further the audiences of the others.
“It’s working. We’re selling CDs at all the shows and people have been receptive in the places we’ve been to so far,” Moore said. “We’ve just now started getting to the South with The Clarks and Pseudopod opening up for us. I hope our fans are receptive to them.”
Welch said he was happy to have Ingram Hill back at Rick’s for the first time since January and that their new album sounds phenomenal. June’s Picture Show, which was released Oct. 7, currently occupies the No. 7 spot on the Hot Sellers list at www.awarestore.com.
“I’m very excited to have Ingram Hill back and very proud of what they’ve accomplished,” Welch said. “Every time they come through I’m amazed at how much tighter they’ve become as a band.”
Welch said he was also excited about finally getting to hear The Clarks and Pseudopod.
Senior Kyle Sisk, who learned about The Clarks through a friend from Pittsburgh, said he was definitely going to the show.
“I started listening to their music after my friend told me about them and I really liked their sound. I’m looking forward to hearing them live,” Sisk said.
The tour will stop at Jupiter’s Bar and Grill in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Wednesday before rolling into Starkville on Oct. 30 for its first Mississippi appearance.
Tickets to the show at Rick’s Caf will be $7 at the door Thursday.
The Rubber Meets the Road Tour will come to and end in Pittsburgh Nov. 25.
“This tour’s really going to open up new markets for these bands,” Welch said.