This is Tour Diary, where artists give us a behind-the-scenes look at life on the road.
It’s been a big year for Utah’s the Aces. To properly kick off Pride month, the foursome released their third album, I’ve Loved You for So Long, and took off on the eponymous world tour. Over 11 tracks, the Aces express themselves like never before — each sparkly alt-rock anthem is confessional, unveiling the heart-wrenchingly heavy experience each band member had of growing up queer in the Mormon church. In beautiful contrast, the structuring and sound are fresh, airy, and danceable — offering hope in the form of addictive songs that emulate audible confidence and come from a place of queer joy.
Read more: 6 rising artists to know this month
To much acclaim, the band, made up of sisters Cristal and Alisa Ramirez (lead vocals/guitar and drums, respectively), Katie Henderson (lead guitar/vocals), and McKenna Petty (bass), celebrated the powerful album with a show in Denmark that set their world tour in motion. With stops throughout Europe, the U.K., the U.S., and ending with their very first shows in Australia and Japan, the group gave any and all who consider them just a “girl band” a run for their money.
Lucky for us, while they were on the road, the Aces let AP in — detailing some of their favorite, intimate moments from the I’ve Loved You for So Long tour, from a special preshow ritual to the hard-boiled eggs they relished in Tokyo.
We celebrated Alisa’s birthday with a sold-out show at 9:30 Club. We popped champagne and took shots with the crowd. D.C. is always unforgettable.
There’s our Libra queen! We love you, Alisa!
Our preshow ritual. We are truly grateful to have our dream careers performing every night to our fans. We like to take a moment and appreciate that before every performance.
We love bringing our dogs on tour. Everyone’s day is a little better when the puppies are on the bus!
Rock stars — we’re just like you! Gotta swap the load with our packs on so the cycle runs during our set. It’s called efficiency!
We offered a VIP experience for fans to come in early, see us soundcheck, and do a little Q&A. These were some of the most special times on tour, where we felt like we could really connect with our fans in an intimate way. These moments remind us why we do it.
This shirt, designed by Kenna, dominated the tour — we kept having to reorder more! We noticed once the album was out that this line from our song “Suburban Blues” really clicked with our fans, and we wanted to create a fun merch piece to build on that connectivity.
Striking a pose outside our NYC hotel. This city is so special to us. It’s where we recorded our first record, and we adore every minute we get to spend there checking out new coffee shops, restaurants, and vintage stores.
We ended the U.S. leg of our tour in LA at The Wiltern. It was the most special “welcome home” surrounded by our friends and family at such an iconic venue. Truly felt like a hometown show.
Getting suited up before our sold-out London show at KOKO! The ties require a little teamwork. We didn’t grow up doing this like the boys did…
Crazy line down the block for our sold-out show in London. We felt so much love on our EU/U.K. run, and we cannot wait to be back!
Cheers! Enjoying a nice brew in Tokyo with our hard-boiled eggs on deck. We absolutely loved all of our dining experiences in Tokyo.
It’s been our dream for years to come to Japan and play for our fans, and it couldn’t have been more incredible. We came offstage screaming and hugging each other like little kids. We had the time of our lives!
We fit right in. Proof of Australia being the sickest.
From sold-out shows to the most beautiful beaches we’ve ever seen — Australia exceeded every expectation we had by a million!
That’s a wrap! Thanks to everyone who came out to see us on our world tour. It was full of constant pinch-me moments.
