The north-east’s next breaking star
Andrew Cushin today releases his eagerly anticipated debut album
‘Waiting For The Rain’, along with its title track as his new single. The singer-songwriter has won the attention of a wealth of leading artists since his first self-released single in
2020, signing to
Peter Doherty’s Strap Originals label, touring arenas in
North Americaand
Europe with
Louis Tomlinson, and having
Noel Gallagher produce and feature on one of his songs. He has also supported
Paul Weller,
Lottery Winners,
Jake Bugg,
Johnny Marr,
Lathums and
Blossoms.
Throughout the first stage of his career, Andrew has become renowned as a songwriter able to vividly portray a world of emotions from heartbreak to hope, from tough childhood memories to making new starts. And as he began to introduce the songs which feature on his album, they grew in stature with his seasoned baritone boosted by bigger production which amplified his emotional themes, as the songs bristled with the intensity of his live performances. Those previous singles – ‘You’ll Be Free’, ‘Dream For A Moment’, ‘4.5%’, ‘It’s Coming Around Again’, ‘Wor Flags’ and ‘Just Like You’d Want Me To’ – have expanded his following with every release.
The album’s title track and new single takes us back to the start of Andrew’s story. He wrote the song at the age of 15 after witnessing a family argument, and released a sparse acoustic version back in 2020. This new version amplifies its power with a fiery full live band production.
Andrew says, “The title track, ‘Waiting For The Rain’, was the first song I’d ever written. It’s also the first song that got me a manager, a record deal and started me on this journey. It’s only fair that my debut album is named after that song, as it opened so many doors.”
The album was produced by Dave Eringa (Manic Street Preachers) and recorded at sessions split between Rockfield Studios in Monmouth and The Libertines’ Albion Rooms in Margate. It includes another five new songs which capture an artist with the world at his feet, with fresh highlights including the swaggering, sinuous indie-rock opener ‘Let Me Give It To You’, the melancholy slowburner ‘I Want You To Be There’ and the rousing epic finale of closing song ‘The End’.
The ‘Waiting For The Rain’ album is available to buy HERE. Album bundles include a variety of vinyl formats, CD, cassette, signed photo prints and a poncho.
Raised on a council estate in Heaton, Newcastle, Andrew’s early independent releases established his reputation before he signed to Strap Originals for his debut EP ‘You Don’t Belong’. Attracting comparisons to the likes of Sam Fender, Noel Gallagher, Jake Bugg and Jamie Webster, his live following has constantly grown too, especially in Newcastle where he has upscaled from The Cluny to NX on previous tours and now he’s set to play to 5200 people over the course of two nights at the O2 City Hall. He will celebrate the release of the album with a record store tour that starts at hmv Newcastle tomorrow. His full headline tour then starts in mid-October.
Tickets for the dates, listed below, are available HERE.
SEPTEMBER – RECORD STORE TOUR
30th Newcastle hmv
OCTOBER – RECORD STORE TOUR
2nd Bury Wax and Beans Records
3th Kingston Banquet Records
4th Coventry Just Dropped In Records
5th Leeds The Vinyl Whistle Records
OCTOBER – HEADLINE TOUR
12th Carlisle Brickyard
13th Belfast Voodoo
14th Dublin Academy 2
16th Liverpool O2 Academy 2
17th Oxford O2 Academy 2
18th London Scala
19th Bristol Thekla
21st Birmingham O2 Institute 2
22nd Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms
24th Brighton Patterns
25th Milton Keynes Craufurd Arms
26th Leicester O2 Academy 2
28th Nottingham Rescue Rooms
29th Leeds Wardrobe
31st Sheffield O2 Academy 2
NOVEMBER – HEADLINE TOUR
1st Glasgow St. Luke’s
2nd Manchester Band On The Wall
4th Newcastle O2 City Hall (SOLD OUT)
DECEMBER – HEADLINE TOUR
16th Newcastle O2 City Hall
