Backed by an All-Star Band of Florida Players, Jax Singer-Songwriter rickoLus Swings Through the Sunshine State 

In August, Jacksonville singer-songwriter rickoLus will embark on a tour of the Sunshine State with Orlando indie-rock band The Pauses.

rickoLus is the longtime project of the multi-talented Richard Colado, who, beginning with the power-pop band The Julius Airwave in the early-aughts, has been an integral member of the Northeast Florida music scene for two decades now. For the upcoming tour, Colado has assembled an all-star group made up of standout players — Ángel García from Duval salsa orchestra LPT on keys, producer and musician Ben Hackett on bass and The Pauses’ James Dreffen on the drums. 

The journey starts right here in Jacksonville, as both bands share a bill at Jack Rabbits on August 11. For the Jacksonville show, they’ll be joined by local band The Citrus Trees. Indie folk act Uncle Marty and alt-folk outfit 86hope join the St. Augustine show at Sarbez. The tour ends at Orlando’s famed indie club Will’s Pub, with hip-hop group DNA. Tickets for the Jack Rabbits show can be purchased at Tiger Records in Riverside or online here.

I got to talk with Colado about the upcoming tour. Below are highlights from that conversation.

You’ve traveled the U.S. and other countries on tour, what makes touring in Florida so special? 

Being from Florida, I feel like everything we do here is part of building and maintaining the Florida music scene. There isn’t a big music industry down here, so it’s up to us to make things happen. That’s what’s special about playing Florida, no matter how big or little the show, we are making something happen.

What song are you most looking forward to performing live for the audience?

Honestly I’m excited about the whole set. It’s the second time I’ve played with this lineup, and they make everything sound rad. “Photographs,” with all the keyboard sounds, is gonna be fun — I’ve never done that before. We’re also playing four brand new songs off my new record that’s coming out next year. It’s always fun to play new stuff, but also playing all these older ones with the full band is gonna be sick.

How did you get connected with The Pauses?

I’ve been a fan of the Pauses for a while. The first time I saw them play was in 2019 at Jack Rabbits when they opened for Built To Spill. James Dreffen was playing drums with them on that tour, that’s where we met. Originally I asked The Pauses if they just wanted to jump on the Orlando show and that quickly turned into them playing the whole weekend with us. I’m stoked it worked out.

rickoLus w/ Band & The Pauses – Florida Tour

Fri., Aug. 11 – Jacksonville – Jack Rabbits – Tix

Sat., Aug. 12 – St. Augustine – Sarbez – Tix available at the door

Sun., Aug. 13 – Orlando – Will’s Pub – Tix