PHOTO FEATURE: Dent/Skinny Pigeons China Tour 2015

Words and photos by Kit Castagne

China34
In the depths of last year’s blustery winter, I found myself at the now defunct Outlook for a show. While many house shows are memorable, this one lead to the wildest experience of my life: the 2015 Dent/Skinny Pigeons China Tour.

Covering over 5,700 miles by train rides four to 22 hours long, Allston basement staples Dent and Skinny Pigeons embarked on the first tour of their careers: a month long, 14-city odyssey across China. Together, the two bands played double-headers in a new city almost every night, to crowds anywhere from 10 to 150 strong. From the gritty docks of Chonqing to Xiamen’s seaside gardens, tour fulfilled all manner of ambitions, desires, worries and insecurities.

For Lane, Dent’s lead singer, the tour was a chance to bring her music back to the country of her birth and reconnect with friends and family she had not seen in years. For Ian, Skinny Pigeons’ bass player, the trip was his first time leaving the country. For all eight of us, travel represented a wild opportunity: a chance to discover new cultures, to meet all kinds of people and genuinely embark on the trip of a lifetime.

As we stood outside between sets in the frigid winter air, Dent’s drummer, guitarist and singer laid forth their plan to bring their music to the other side of the world. When asked to join them as a tour photographer, I figured the 40s in their hands and their sheer scale of ambition made for simple wishful thinking. Several months later I found myself with the members of Dent: Harley Cullen, Lane Shi, Jack Whelan and Tristan Allen and Skinny Pigeons: Joey Luna, Ian Jones and Jeff Crenshaw, as we boarded a plane to Guangzhou.

Dent/Skinny Pigeons China Tour 2015

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To see more of Kit’s photos, visit www.KitCastagne.com or check out his Facebook page.