Glasgow’s multiple BRIT and Ivor Novello-winning band Travis are set to embark on their 2025 North American Raze The Bar Tour this month. The tour kicks off on January 21 in Raleigh, NC, at The Ritz and visits 22 dates across the US and Canada, including Los Angeles, Austin, Dallas, New York City, Chicago, and Washington DC, among others.
Today, Travis also released a new track, “Avalon”, recorded during the studio session for their most recent critically acclaimed album, L.A. Times. Lead singer Fran Healy shared the new track below.
“I owned a small sailing boat for a couple of years while in LA and wrote some songs in it. ‘Avalon’ is one of those songs. ‘Valentine’ on ’10 Songs’ was another. So, Catalina island is an island off the coast of Los Angeles. Its main port is called Avalon and is a sailing destination from LA, so I was determined to sail there. At the time of writing the song, I was learning all about the terminology of sailing and so the first verse talks of “clews” and “head” and “foot”… The second verse mentions the “first mate” and “the captain” and “hard-a-lee” which is when a boat makes a turn into the wind. In the song the real place of Avalon becomes mythologized and the journey to it, taking 14 years, is a nod to part of our journey as a band and the realization that the destination, this mythological place, was in reality, the journey all along.”
L.A. Times, the band’s 10th studio album, produced by Tony Hoffer (Air, Beck, Phoenix) and sees Travis stepping into a bold new era. Largely inspired by Fran’s experiences living in Los Angeles, the new album explores an in-depth exploration of displacement and finding oneself in a new environment. Stand out tracks include “Home,” “Gaslight” and ‘Raze The Bar’ where Travis is joined by Coldplay’s Chris Martin and Brandon Flowers of The Killers, supplying additional vocals on the track – a measure of the esteem in which Travis are still held by the bands who emerged in their wake.
Dougie Payne of Travis recently shared the story behind L.A. Times with an interview on the XS Noize Podcast.
Raze The Bar North America Headline Tour Dates 2025
21 January The Ritz, Raleigh, NC
22 January Buckhead Theatre, Atlanta, GA
24 January Factory at Deep Ellum, Dallas, TX
25 January Moody Theatre, Austin, TX
27 January Van Buren, Phoenix, AZ
28 January Wiltern, Los Angeles, CA
29 January Fox Oakland, San Francisco, CA
31 January Crystal Ballroom, Portland, OR
1 February Commodore, Vancouver, BC SOLD OUT
2 February Showbox, Seattle, WA
4 February The Depot, Salt Lake City, UT
5 February Summit Denver, CO
7 February Varsity Theatre, Minneapolis, MN
8 February Vic Theatre, Chicago, IL
10 February Royal Oak Music Theatre, Royal Oak, MI
11 February Agora, Cleveland, OH
12 February Concert Hall, Toronto, ON SOLD OUT
14 February Webster Hall, New York, NY
15 February Royale, Boston, MA
16 February District Music Hall, Norwalk, CT
18 February Keswick Theatre, Philadelphia, PA
19 February 9:30 Club, Washington, DC
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