Born in Johannesburg, South Africa and raised in Philadelphia, Gregory Alan Isakov now calls Colorado home. 

When the Grammy-nominated artist isn’t on the road, he spends much of his time writing and recording songs in his barn studio, as well as running Starling Farm  - his farm in Boulder County.

Isakov releases his new album ‘Appaloosa Bones’ on August 18th and plays Dublin’s National Stadium on November 22nd - so we caught up with him to learn more.

1. What’s the music that you listened to growing up, that you still listen to today?
I think the first record my parents got me when I was really little was this ‘We Are the World’ single. I would listen to it over and over, study the jacket cover. Learned about Dylan, Stevie Wonder, Springsteen. It was a great intro to music.

2. In three words, describe the minute before you walk on stage.
‘I am nothingness’.

3. How do you wind down after a gig?
We laugh a lot. That’s the great thing about playing with old friends. 

4. What’s the one song (by another artist) you wish you’d written or recorded first?
‘One of Us Cannot Be Wrong’ by Leonard Cohen. I’m not sure I ‘wish’ I wrote it or anything like that. It’s probably one of the most beautiful songs.

5. What is your pet peeve?
Over-packaging! Styrofoam, mainly. Yep. Can’t believe that stuff is still legal.

6. Name one record, one book and one film that everyone should hear / read / see.
Record: ‘The Ghost of Tom Joad’ by Bruce Springsteen
Book: ‘The Market Gardener’ by J.M. Fortier
Film: ‘Groundhog Day’. That one was easy.

7. Pick the director and lead actor(s) for a biopic about your life.
I always wanted to make a film about my life as an opener for other bands. Sort of a dark comedy. Always pictured Zach Galifianakis in the band, for sure.

8. You’re ordering take-away, what do you get?
Whatever is vegetarian, really. That could mean a lot of different things depending on the part of the country.

9. Describe your perfect day off.
When we tour in the summer, I love visiting local farms near the town we are playing. I’ve gotten to visit a lot over the years — see how other farms work, which seeders they use, wash station setup. Nerdy stuff like that.

10. Tell us, in one sentence, why we should come to your next gig (whenever it may be.)
The band is absolutely amazing — they completely blow my mind every night.

BONUS QUESTION: Recommend a podcast and tell us why we should subscribe to it.
'Farmer to Farmer with Chris Blanchard'. This is one of my favourite podcasts. It’s conversations with different growers across the country.

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Gregory Alan Isakov plays The National Stadium on Wednesday 22nd November. Tickets from €29.90 including booking fees are on sale now from Ticketmaster.ie.