Hailing from Anacortes, WA, The Lonely Forest visits Tampa on their way through Florida.
“It’s nice to be in the warm weather,” said the Lonely Forest’s Jon Van Deusen. “We haven’t played Florida in a long time, so it’s good to be back,” he said.
Van Deusen mans the keys and vocals in the group, with a side of guitar. The band, which also consists of guitarist Tony Ruland, drummer Braydn Krueger and bassist Eric Sturgeon, got its start in 2005, playing locally in Washington state and the surrounding areas.
Their hometown of Anacortes has a well-known D.I.Y. scene, a scene that Van Deusen and company became involved with immediately, even while some of the members still attended high school.
The group is accompanied on this tour by fellow Pacific Northwest rock group, Portugal. The Man, a band that recently released the critically acclaimed album In The Mountain In The Cloud. PTM’s members hail from Northwest cities like Portland and Wasilla, Alaska.
The Yagermeister-sponsored tour, which began April 3, has already landed Van Deusen and his band mates in front of fresh faces.
“A couple of the spots we’ve played on the tour are cities we’ve never performed in yet like Reno and Boise,” said Van Deusen.
Later this year, the group will play at one of the biggest festivals in the nation: Bonnaroo.
“We’ve never played a festival this size,” said Van Deusen.
The Lonely Forest is no stranger to festivals, though. In 2009, the band played Bumbershoot, and in 2010, the group had the honor of playing at Sasquatch festival. In august, the group headlines at a large festival in their hometown of Anacortes, where many Washington state indie rock bands will play as well.
Van Deusen describes the band’s music as loud, but straight and to the point.
“We have fun, and we try to stay away from gimmicks,” he said.
Check out The Lonely Forest, Portugal. The Man and The Sunbears at the Ritz Ybor Wednesday night. Doors open at 8:30, and tickets are $18.
Listen to The Lonely Forest on social media and the web:
Facebook: http://facebook.com/thelonelyforest
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/thelonelyforest
Website: http://www.thelonelyforest.com
Twitter: Twitter.com/thelonelyforest
evanbrenner.com 