Cat Ridgeway and the Tourists at Jack Rabbits (May 1, 2025)
Orlando’s Cat Ridgeway and the Tourists kicked off their Sprinter tour last night, at Jack Rabbits, in Jacksonville.
Cat Ridgeway Setlist
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Get Well SoonTour Dates
- May 2 Savannah, GA at Sentient Bean
- May 4 Atlanta, GA at Smith’s Olde Bar (18+)
- May 6 Washington, DC at The Pie Shop (21+)
- May 7 Kennett Square, PA at Kennett Flash (all ages)
- May 8 New York, NY at Berlin (21+)
- May 9 Arlington, MA at The 4th Wall (all ages)
- May 10 Somerville, MA at Porchfest!
- May 12 Columbus, OH at Rumba Café (all ages)
- May 13 Akron, OH at Musica (all ages)
- May 14 Chicago, IL at Subterranean (17+)
- May 15 Cudahy, WI at X-Ray Arcade (all ages)
- May 16 Detroit, MI at Lager House (all ages)
- May 18 Nashville, TN at The Basement (21+)
Jack Rabbits is a hole-in-the-wall bar, in the San Marco area (you have to cross the river from downtown Jacksonville). The walls and doors outside is painted white with the words “Jack Rabbits”. Once inside, there is a bar on the right side and the stage on the left side. It feels like the 7th Street Entry, only slightly larger (Jack Rabbits capacity is listed at 300 persons)… but with similar disgusting bathrooms. There are seats and tables, and on the left side of the walls, a riser – where you can sit (and assuming stand if it is too crowded).
Opening the show was Friend of a Friend, touring in support of their third album Desire!
It’s the first night of the tour, and the duo (Claire Molek and Jason Savsani) and it’s the first time they’ve ever been to Jacksonville, but the way they’re handled being on stage, this wasn’t their first rodeo.
Molek, at times, sounds a bit like Beth Gibbons, from Portishead. Their music is a bit indie/rhythmic … as you can see how Molek and Savsani doing some compulsive dance and headbanging. If only the venue would play some sort of darkened movie landscape, that would fit better with the band… but instead you only see the Jack Rabbits logo with blue lighting.
At the end of their 45-min set, they did win over the audience, with some quickly converted to being their number one fans.
Prior to kicking off their tour in Jacksonville, Cat Ridgeway was so happy to have landed on the cover of the Orlando Weekly with a writeup on the new album Sprinter. The paper seems like the equivalent of Minneapolis’ City Pages, I can relate to her being happy and proud to be on the paper’s frontpage. I know it is a big deal.
Speaking of big deal, before she played “What If?”, she said she was more than happy to see that it’s charting #42 song on the Mediabase Activator AAA Chart and #1 song on CDX Surging And Emerging AAA Chart.
Joining Cat on stage was The Tourists, currently featuring drummer Nat and bassist Thomas. Cat mentioned that Thomas had to learn all the songs in just two days. Looking at previous performances, it seems like she would sometime have banjo, sax and trumpet players… but for this tour, it is stripped down.
For the title track, “Sprinter”, Cat said it was written in response to losing a friend to mental health. She said she should have seen the signs, like ignoring the check engine lights in her car, and urges the audience to check up on their friends and family.
First night of the tour is always the worst, but seeing as there wasn’t any detectible technical difficulties, it sounds like this is a good start.
The band ended their set with their most upbeat and rocking song of the night, “Epilogue,” dancing and bopping and singing “whatever it takes, whatever awaits, whatever to get through…”
Cat Ridgeway’s Sprinter is out now.
