TOUR DATES
2025 Tour Schedule (as always, a work in progress)
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NOTE FROM ROBIN:
You might notice that my tour schedule is a lot lighter than it used to be, and centered primarily in certain areas of the U.S. Yes, there’s a reason for this.
Last November the majority of the country’s electorate chose for president a 34-time convicted felon, an adjudicated rapist, and a traitor to American democracy (as he proved on January 6, 2021, and as he continues to prove). Since he and his administration took power in January, we’ve seen unprecedented rolling back of basic human rights and intentional sabotage of essential government functions that exist to serve the people. More to the point, we’ve seen an entirely predictable and tragic increase in the persecution of anyone who’s not white, straight, male, American-born, able-bodied, and rich.
As a musician I find myself at something of a crossroads. I’ve always considered my calling to be the sharing of music from the heart to the hearts of my fellow human beings, and I happily adopted the necessary nomadic lifestyle to travel to audiences and bring them the music in person. That was all just part of the gig, and I enjoyed it for many years, racking up over a million miles all over North America and western Europe. But now, here in the United States, there’s no escaping the fact that my LGBTQ+, nonwhite, and immigrant brothers and sisters are unsafe – indeed, all women are too, and we’re already starting to count the fatalities – and the idea of using my privilege as a straight white male to carry on “business as usual” while others are endangered by the politics of hate is abhorrent to me.
Consequently, after much thought I’ve decided to severely pull back on my concert touring. We’ll all have to find our own ways to navigate the coming political environment, but for my part, I don’t wish to travel to, or play music in, any part of America where marginalized communities are threatened…and sadly, right now, that’s a lot of America.
Therefore, my professional focus for now is primarily on teaching (both online and in person), and I’m being very, very selective about where I agree to play live.
My inspiration for such a move is the legendary cellist Pablo Casals, who refused to perform in any country that recognized the Franco regime in his native Spain after the Spanish Civil War. Casals withdrew from live performance completely at a time when he might have been the most popular classical musician in the world, using his voluntary silence as a message to humanity: he would not be a part of a status quo that he found intolerable.
While I would certainly never presume to place myself in the same category as Pablo Casals either as a musician or as a human being, and I’m not going to be quite as hardcore about this as he was, I’m wrestling with similar questions of conscience, and the only answer I’ve been able to find is to avoid playing in parts of the United States where attacks on the rights of the more vulnerable among us are on the rise. And for now, that’s going to mean limiting my live performances to regions that are welcoming and reasonably safe for diverse demographics. This action will reduce my touring range significantly, but I feel that it’s the least I can do to express solidarity with the victimized in these dangerous times.
(If you’re with me on this and your own inclinations lean toward resistance, check out Indivisible’s resistance “how-to guide” at www.indivisible.org/resource/guide)
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That said, here’s (some of) what’s coming!
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Monday March 10
BLACK MOUNTAIN, NC, 7:30 pm
Carolina Celtic: Robin Bullock solo
White Horse Black Mountain
www.whitehorseblackmountain.com
More info: www.carolinaceltic.com
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Saturday March 15, 6:00 pm – live and livestreamed
BALTIMORE, MD
Annual St. Patrick’s Day concert (Robin solo)
An Die Musik Live
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Sunday March 16
ARDEN, DE
Guitar workshop (2:30 pm) and concert (7:30 pm) – Robin solo
Buzzware Village Center
info: theomklein@gmail.com
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Saturday April 12
TAKOMA PARK, MD
The Legend Lives On: A Gordon Lightfoot Tribute (Robin solo)
Seekers Church
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Monday May 12, 7:30 pm
BLACK MOUNTAIN, NC
Carolina Celtic: “Asheville Highlanders” – all-star evening of Scottish music with fiddle champ Maura Shawn Scanlin, harp champ Sue Richards, piper/whistle player Rosalind Buda and guitarist Robin Bullock
White Horse Black Mountain
www.whitehorseblackmountain.com
More info: www.carolinaceltic.com
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Thursday June 5, 7:30 pm
FULTON, MD
Temple Isaiah (Robin solo, double bill with Garnet Rogers)
www.uptownconcerts.com/shows/garnet-rogers-robin-bullock
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Monday June 9, 7:30 pm
BLACK MOUNTAIN, NC
Carolina Celtic: Steve Baughman and Robin Bullock
White Horse Black Mountain
www.whitehorseblackmountain.com
More info: www.carolinaceltic.com
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Looking ahead:
Saturday-Thursday October 11-16
BLACK MOUNTAIN, NC
Black Mountain Music Festival
(Robin teaches flatpicking and fingerstyle guitar and mandolin)
Blue Ridge Assembly
