Chicago, IL – Leamington, Ontario singer-songwriter Billy Raffoul was in town performing at Schuba’s Tavern to a packed house, as part of his “A Few More Hours at YYZ” tour and in support of his album of the same name that is set to be released April 3rd via Interscope Records. Raffoul has already released a couple of singles from the upcoming EP, “Without Falling in Love” and “It’s a Beautiful Life”, both of which have received strong support.
The night started off with another equally talented artist, Chicago based singer-songwriter Robin West, who recently released her own independent album, Set it On Fire. The album features some really amazing songs such as “Hunger Moon”, “Red Rabbit” and “Better”, which was a personal favorite that she played at the end of her set. Robin even performed a beautiful version of Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark” – all of which she was very received by the already full room. When she finished her set, plenty of people were talking about her strong performance, and it was easy to see why. Locals in Chicago should be watching for when and where she will be performing. This was my own first time seeing her, and I’ll definitely be looking into catching her on stage again soon.
In his third trip to Schuba’s and second as a headliner, Billy Raffoul took to the stage and was met with a rousing applause from the capacity crowd. He kicked off the evening with “Driver”, his single released in 2017, as the crowd either sang along or mouthed the lyrics to the song. Wearing a blue untucked shirt and Roots ski cap, and a low slung Gibson guitar, Raffoul engaged with the fans throughout the evening during his performance, commenting at one point about the times he has played at Schuba’s, and the crowds keep getting bigger.
The audience was captivated all evening as Billy ran through his library including “Kingston, ON” from his latest release, as well as “Little Girl”, a song written about his sister, and “Dark Four Door”. After covering “Androgynous” by The Replacements, Raffoul offered the audience a special treat when finishing up “Difficult”. He then tore into an impromptu jam session that featured “American Woman” by The Guess Who, as well as a nice guitar piece from “Tom Sawyer” that paid tribute to Rush, both Canadian artists. Raffoul wrapped up his night with the audience singing loud and proud to “You Be Love.”
Raffoul has a very Bruce Springsteen like quality to his voice and the storytelling in his music makes you feel like you are a part of the song. He definitely writes from shared experiences that everyone can relate to at some point in their lives. Billy is definitely on the uptick of his musical and artistic curve. If this continues at the pace he is at, his worry isn’t going to be fitting more people into Schuba’s…it’s going to be keeping the larger venues in tickets.
Photo Gallery Billy Raffoul
Billy Raffoul Setlist:
Driver
Bad For You
I See You
Forever
Lovely
Running Wild
Dark Four Door
Kingston, ON
Androgynous (The Replacements cover)
Difficult
(American Woman / Tom Sawyer jam)
Little Girl
Without Falling In Love
Easy Tiger
Acoustic
I’m Not A Saint
You Be Love
PHOTO GALLERY Robin West
Robin West Setlist:
Hunger Moon
Song About A Girl
Smile
Dancing In The Dark (Bruce Springsteen cover)
Red Rabbit
Better
Show Date: 3/8/2020
