Kayo Dot's 20th Anniversary Tour Fundraiser

Hello everyone, and thanks very much for checking out this fundraiser page.

This year, 2023, marks the 20th Anniversary of Kayo Dot, a musical project and journey of self-discovery that has been the major focus of my life and career up to this point. To celebrate not only Kayo Dot's longevity but also the impact that its debut album, "Choirs of the Eye," has had on music listeners around the globe, I've gotten the original lineup back together to embark on a brief European tour performing that album in full. I hope that this tour is the first of many to come– a possible future that's entirely dependent upon the success of this first run.

The lineup on this tour includes 7 musicians, which is the bare minimum number needed to present the music accurately. The overhead costs just to do the ten days of touring are about $20,000. I'm trying to follow the standard industry system of show fees + merch sales leading to a profit, but with such an expensive tour, it's an enormous risk basing the tour on speculation. A couple of the guys have never even toured Europe before, and they put the initial years of grind into the band with a few very hard US tours and departed before things ever reached a pro level, leaving other, newer people to reap the benefits of their foundational work. It is very meaningful for me to be able to offer those guys a homecoming with well-produced, bigger shows for appreciative communities, and I want it to be a totally positive experience for them.

Last night, someone asked me about the tour, expecting that Kayo Dot would be reissuing "Choirs of the Eye," for the tour and anniversary. I told them that we weren't, for various reasons, and they replied, "Then why do the tour?" That question has been perennial, for me. Why endure decades of hardship and financial stress, why do any of this? I constantly search my deepest depths for an answer, and the simple fact is that it's an inescapable calling. When I was writing "Choirs of the Eye," I felt a special, unique magic pass through me, with a message that this music was something else, powerfully timeline-altering, carrying a profound responsibility of stewardship. In the past many years, and especially the most recent ones, Kayo Dot hasn't had a lot of luck on the road, and that has led to the near-death of the project a few times. I don't want that to happen though; I feel that the work is important and singular. One of the biggest reasons I thought we needed to do some 20th Anniversary touring was that I believed that it would be something of heightened appeal that would get Kayo Dot back out there into the public eye after the relatively quiet period we've gone through thanks to the pandemic and general disinterest from tastemakers. I'm at a moment with Kayo Dot where it could live or die, and I've been feeling that everything hinges on this enormously risky move.

I'm writing this while currently on tour playing bass for another band, and while that tour is going well, I'm suffering some major anxiety and subsequent extreme insomnia regarding next month's Kayo Dot tour, just thinking about the finances. I haven't been able to sleep at all for two weeks now. So, I decided to start this fundraiser simply as a way to cushion some of the risk and help make this all a calmer experience.

If you can spare it, I'd be forever appreciative of your donation towards the 20th Anniversary actions. And by the way, if you're located in parts of the world that aren't being reached by this (hopefully first leg of) tour, know that your donation will help make future touring to other locations possible.

Thank you so much!

Big love,

Toby Driver