The Wind & Rain Tour was a nineteen-performance U.S. tour by Sisters Erie, running from September 1 to October 4, 2013. The itinerary moved east from Southern California through Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, the South, the Mid-Atlantic, and the Northeast, finishing at Katie's Irish Pub in Burlington, Vermont.1
Burlington was a return to a familiar room. The sisters had made their first U.S. appearance at Katie's during a four-stop visit in summer 2012, with help from a Flynn family friend. The longer 2013 journey brought them back to that connection after crossing the country.1 2 6
From a short visit to a cross-country route
The 2012 run had taken the band through Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts shortly after the release of The Coming Storm. Wind & Rain expanded the geographical scale substantially. Its stops were pubs and other named venues rather than an arena circuit, retaining the band's relationship with rooms suited to direct contact between performers and audience.1 2
The opening dates stayed in the Southwest. After Los Angeles and Murrieta, the sisters played three Arizona performances across Phoenix and Glendale. Albuquerque and Santa Fe followed, then two Texas stops before the route turned through the South toward the East Coast.1
Itinerary
| Date | City | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| 2013-09-01 | Los Angeles, California | O'Brien's |
| 2013-09-06 | Murrieta, California | The Shamrock Irish Pub |
| 2013-09-07 | Phoenix, Arizona | Rosie McCaffrey's Irish Pub |
| 2013-09-08 | Phoenix, Arizona | Tim Finnegan's Irish Restaurant |
| 2013-09-09 | Glendale, Arizona | Padre Murphy's |
| 2013-09-13 | Albuquerque, New Mexico | Two Fools Tavern |
| 2013-09-15 | Santa Fe, New Mexico | Loyal Hound Pub |
| 2013-09-19 | Austin, Texas | B.D. Riley's Irish Pub |
| 2013-09-20 | College Station, Texas | Moe's Irish Pub |
| 2013-09-21 | Mobile, Alabama | Lucky Irish Pub & Grill |
| 2013-09-22 | Asheville, North Carolina | Jack of the Wood |
| 2013-09-24 | Charlottesville, Virginia | Trinity Irish Pub |
| 2013-09-25 | College Park, Maryland | Looney's Pub |
| 2013-09-26 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Bill Murphy's Irish Saloon |
| 2013-09-28 | Queens (Astoria), New York | Cronin & Phelan's |
| 2013-09-30 | Colchester, Connecticut | Inishmor Pub |
| 2013-10-02 | Pawtucket, Rhode Island | Doherty's East Ave Irish Pub |
| 2013-10-03 | West Yarmouth, Massachusetts | Keltic Kitchen |
| 2013-10-04 | Burlington, Vermont | Katie's Irish Pub |
The tour included nineteen performances. Phoenix hosted two dates at separate venues.1
The final stretch
After Philadelphia, the route continued through Astoria in Queens, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. Burlington closed the tour on October 4.1
The final venue connected the trip to the sisters' earlier American experience. Katie was a family friend known to all four sisters. Sean, a County Laois acquaintance whom Gael knew at the pub, was another familiar face. Returning to Katie's therefore meant returning to people as well as a place.2 3
The band on the road
Sisters Erie's performing identity combined four lead-capable singers with close sibling harmony, Gael's fiddle, Aileen's keyboards, Mary's stringed instruments, and Ryanne's percussion. Their range included inherited songs and original writing, with different sisters able to bring a song to the front of the performance.4