Anthonie Tonnon Announces National Tour + Shares Single 'Old Images'

Acclaimed Auckland-based songwriter Anthonie Tonnon his unveiled a reflective single and video titled 'Old Images', and is celebrating with a very special off-the-beaten-path nationwide tour, which will see the artist performing in venues located "via some of the world’s most beautiful and miraculous passenger rail lines." 'Old Images' finds the artist gazing at pictures of the past while considering his own place in the future, his heartfelt crooning vocals accompanied by pleasingly minimal beats and an increasingly lush orchestral arrangement. You can bet the venues for Tonnon's Rail Land tour will be strictly limited in capacity, itineraries and more info is available via the songwriter's website here. Tonnon shared his thoughts on the new song - read his words, check out the tour info and watch the gorgeous video for 'Old Images' directed by Julian Vares below...

"I think it’s important to say at the outset - the song has nothing to do with railways. It touches on the long shadow of the 20th Century, and childhood in the Cold War, but really, it’s a love song.

However, an invitation to film a music video in my home city, Ōtepoti, led us to a new story, one I felt compelled to tell - the story of the last suburban train network in the South Island. The more I learned about it, the more it consumed me, until eventually, I decided I couldn’t stop there."

Anthonie Tonnon - Rail Land tour

Friday 23rd November - Waitati Town Hall, via Dunedin Railways
Thursday 13th December - The Globe Theatre, Palmerston North, via Capital Connection+
Friday 14th December - St Peter’s Hall, Paekakariki, via Metlink
Saturday 15th December - Aratoi Art Space, Masterton, via Metlink^
Friday 21st December - Ellerslie War Memorial Hall, via Auckland Transport

+ overnight trip required if taking the train both ways.
 ^ daytime show

Press release:

In the long twilight of the summer holidays, Rail Land will travel all of the railways that offer public transport in Aotearoa, and will recreate a public transport journey for one night in Te Waipounamu. With the help of sponsor Dunedin Railways, Tonnon will charter a train from Dunedin Station to a show at the Waitati Town Hall.

All shows will finish early, with the Auckland, Greater Wellington,and Dunedin area events timed to allow return travel by train, while the Palmerston North show will cater to audiences who live locally, and to those willing to embark on a magnificent overnight holiday by rail.

Tonnon and team are sourcing railway ephemera to display at the venues, and longtime collaborator Daniel Blackball is designing a collectible program, available at the shows, that will include reading material, maps, and music - including Old Images, alongside other unreleased music.

Tonnon says, ‘I think it’s important to note at the outset - the song has nothing to do with railways. It touches on the long shadow of the 20th Century, and childhood in the Cold War, but really, it’s a love song.

However, an invitation to film a music video in my home city, Ōtepoti, led us to a new story, one I felt compelled to tell - the story of the last suburban train network in the South Island. The more I learned about it, the more it consumed me, until eventually, I decided I couldn’t stop there.’

The show, and the experience of the journey to get there, will be a poetic and practical exploration of passenger rail, and a meditation on what it means to us in the modern era.