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Veteran goth-folk-pop rocker Patrick Wolf released his first EP at the age of 19. Now 43 and finishing up the U.S. leg of his tour, the musician said he still has a few goals for the future. “My childhood dream [was to perform at] the Hollywood Bowl in America and the Royal Albert Hall in England,” said Wolf, who resides in Ramsgate, Kent. “[But] as an adult, Red Rocks and Jones Beach Auditorium are two venues I think hold great magic.”

The eclectic artist’s current album is “Crying the Neck.” He keeps fans updated on his music and travels on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/patrickwolf) and his website (https://patrickwolf.com/en-us). This interview with Wolf has been edited for clarity and length.

Q: Are there any places on your tour that are new to you?

A: Yes. I have never been to Nebraska and so Omaha is new. Musically I always associate Omaha with Connor Oberst. Being a follower of his work, there is a little familiarity there. And Ohio. I remember seeing “From Akron, Ohio” written on a Devo seven-inch [45 RPM record] my dad used to have when I was a child.These are probably the only two things I know so far of these places.

Q: How do you maintain your health on the road?

A: I would never have been able to return to touring without my sobriety and recovery. There’s no coincidence that I stopped touring in 2013 and didn’t return until 2023 – three years clean and sober. But on a day to day, I supplement each morning with strong doses of spirulina, chlorella, creatine and I carry a bowl of boiled organic eggs with a bottle of hot sauce with me to snack on. Being pescatarian and driving myself alone on tour sometimes up to 10 hours a day makes it very hard for me to eat in America. At 6-foot 5-inches, I am always having to undo the danger of folding my limbs into confined spaces for prolonged periods of time.

Q: What was a trip you took as a child that stands out?

A: Every Easter, my parents would take me on an extreme adventure holiday, which planted some wonderful seeds of imagination in me, but often ended up with me lying in a dark room for days with food poisoning somewhere like Morocco. I remember visiting the tomb of Queen Nefertari in 1995 that had only been unsealed for the public for two days for the first time since 1905 out in the Valley of the Queens in Luxor. I keep a very precious photographic memory of this moment.

Q: What are your five favorite cities?

A: I would have to say for 2026, Palm Springs for its banana cream pie, Paris for its peace, Canterbury for its miracles, Chicago for its audience and Singapore for its long-lasting impression on my imagination.

Q: Have you as a fan traveled to catch concerts?

A: I’ve traveled most to see Judy Collins over the years, I think three times in total. My favorite was a music hall in a little seaside town in the depths of winter after my mother had died. Judy was one of the main soundtracks of my childhood so it felt more like a pilgrimage, or a last moment to sit next to and hold hands with my mother. It was a very important concert for me at the end of a long train ride.

Q: What is your best vacation memory?

A: Most recently, I decided not to fly home but to explore the Sonoran Desert the day after my 43rd birthday and disappear into writing album eight. One day, after driving 7,000 miles or so from D.C., I decided to not turn on the GPS and to just drive with no destination or guidance. I ended up in a valley with a clear cold stream through a mountain ravine on a 109 Fahrenheit day. Up and down the stream, local Mexican families had dammed up parts of it with logs and were sitting there in little self-made pools with food they had made, like some kind of picnic in the cool water. I found my own little pool to sit in and felt so very free and so very alive and grateful to be on this great adventure that life turned out to be.

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(Jae-Ha Kim is a New York Times bestselling author and journalist. You can reach her at www.jaehakim.com, follow her on Instagram and X @goawaywithjae, or read more from her on Substack (jaehakim.substack.com).)

©2026 Jae-Ha Kim. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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