After playing street corners, open mics, pubs, clubs and a ticketed show at Newport’s Le Pub, Cwmbran musician Delicious Dee has taken his music on the road, travelling more than 1,000 miles and sleeping in his car during a busking tour of the West Country and south coast of England.
Dee said: “I was adamant about getting in touch with my adventurous side as much as possible too, exploring new places all around the south coast.
“Since starting my career as a musician five years ago, I’ve made sure that I take at least one of these crazy, adventurous long tours every year. Not only to share my music in new places, but to push myself to be braver, be adventurous, and document the whole process along the way.”
The local musician travelled to Brecon, Weston-Super-Mare, Taunton, Brighton and several other towns and cities, covering a total distance of over 1,000 miles.
Dee added: “Honestly, I had an unbelievable amount of fun and made such treasured memories in every single place I played.
‘Meaningful connections’
“The sheer number of strangers I got to dance and sing along with, share awesome conversations and make meaningful connections with was incredible. From the amazing musicians I got to collaborate with completely spontaneously during street performances in multiple towns, to letting others come up and perform for the first time in public, it was all so, so special.”
The tour also included some of his regular events, such as the open mic night he hosts at The Moorfields pub in Bath.
Delicious Dee also filmed the tour for his social media and shared how he was sleeping and living in his Ford Focus throughout.
Dee said: “It’s a pretty humble setup, with a small mattress in the back with the seats down, and all my gear by my side. I store all my food in the front with a cooler, camping stove ready, and have a backpack of clothes in the footwell. That’s all I’ve really needed to get me by indefinitely.”
Earlier this year, Dee played his first live ticketed show at Le Pub as part of the National Lotteries “Everywhere at once” festival over the Glastonbury weekend which was a huge success.
The independent musician hopes to encourage others to travel, adding: “It’s definitely got easier over the years to live and travel this way, and I’ve picked up a few tricks to make it as easier. But if I can show people that you have the whole of the UK at your fingertips whenever you want it, without needing a lot to start with, then I want to do everything I can to spread that message and hopefully inspire someone out there to find their adventurous spirit too!
“And one saving grace is to always remember that if anything does go wrong, you’re almost always in driving distance to home in just one day.”
Delicious Dee on social media
You can find Delicious Dee’s upcoming shows on his Instagram and Facebook and listen to some of his original songs on Spotify.