Li’l Andy's UK and Ireland tour with The Complete Recordings of Hezekiah Procter is coming up

Montreal singer-songwriter Li’l Andy is coming over for a tour of the UK and Ireland with The Complete Recordings of Hezekiah Procter (1925–1930), a project that blurs the lines between album, novel, and performance art. Framed as the rediscovered work of a fictional country music figure, Hezekiah Procter, the double LP was recorded using authentic 1930s equipment, including a rare wire recorder, to replicate the texture and imperfections of early 78-rpm records. The result has been widely praised for its uncanny authenticity, with No Depression calling it “a startling invention from Montreal’s greatest country songwriter today.”

The project began as a songwriting experiment, with Andy composing and performing in character as Procter, imagining the arc of a troubled life through old-time country songs. Collaborating with Canadian folk trio Sheesham and Lotus & ‘Son, he brought the concept to life in a series of recordings that sound like archival discoveries from nearly a century ago. Released in 2022 as a box set complete with an accompanying novel, the work has since earned multiple award nominations, including recognition at the Canadian Folk Music Awards and Quebec’s GAMIQ.

Following its release, the project expanded beyond record and page into a live experience, with European tours in 2023 and 2024 spanning six countries and 46 performances. Audiences at festivals such as Down the Rabbit Hole, Tønder Festival, Maverick Festival, and Rotterdam Bluegrass Festival were introduced to what critics describe as both a concert and a piece of immersive theatre. As Dutch writer Harry De Jonge noted, the recordings are so convincingly rendered that “you would swear you were listening to original old-time country records from 90 years ago,” underscoring the project’s unique fusion of historical homage and creative invention.