Music with Eddie Rowley

FORMER Dire Straits frontman Mark Knopfler will release his new studio album, Down The Road Wherever, on November 16, with tickets for his May 2019 show at the 3Arena going on sale this Friday.

“My songs are made to be performed live,” says Knopfler. “I love the whole process of writing them alone and recording them with the band, but ultimately the best part is playing them to an audience live.”

Knopfler was built for the road, and still gets a huge kick out of touring. “I enjoy the whole circus, travelling from town to town and interacting with this group of players is a total pleasure. I’m really looking forward to the new tour.”

His 10-piece band, Mark says, is like a family to him. Most of them have been work- ing with him for more than two decades.

Hailed as one of the greatest guitarists of all time, Knopfler has sold in excess of 120 million albums across his Dire Straits and solo career.

Many of his songs have become standards, including favourites like ‘Money For Nothing’, ‘Sultans Of Swing’, ‘Romeo & Juliet’ and ‘Walk Of Life’.

His new tour, which will blow into Dublin’s 3Arena on Friday, May 24, 2019, will see Knopfler and the band play a selection of new songs, mixed in with some well-known nuggets from his extraordinary back catalogue and one or two surprises from the far flung corners of his repertoire.

Mark has a poet’s eye for telling details that infuse his songs, and Down The Road Wherever features 14 elegant new tracks inspired by a wide range of subjects, including his early days in Deptford with Dire Straits, a stray football fan lost in a strange town, and a man out of time in his local greasy spoon café.