This Wednesday, June 9, Aaron Jentzen and his guitarist, Brian Sproul, will take the stage at Thunderbird Cafe for a dress-rehearsal/send-off party, before embarking on a quick, 3-date tour of the UK and Berlin. Jentzen and Sproul will play between the indie-folk quartet, Horse or Cycle and the enigmatic, electric pop of The Van Allen Belt.

Aaron Jentzen and Brian Sproul. Photo via Geekstar.com

Jentzen will be adapting the rich arrangements of his Great Inventors EP (released last November) for a two-man “skeleton crew.” The duo will head to Europe on a kind of scouting mission ahead of some full-band dates on the continent in the future.

Jentzen’s tour, which has been in the works for a year, is partially funded by an artist opportunity grant from the Great Pittsburgh Arts Council. He’ll play his first date in London, opening for the London/Pittsburgh songwriter Joel Lindsey. Then it’s off to a showcase for the English-language Berlin culture magazine, EXBERLINER, before playing a final show in the London suburb of Islington.

I asked Aaron why he chose just a few dates in Europe instead of a bigger tour in the States. Aside from having some friends and contacts in the area, the biggest reason, he said, was that if he was going to do all the work arranging a tour, it “might as well be someplace I find interesting.”

Here’s to an interesting trip, Aaron.