Acclaimed guitarist and singer-songwriter John Smith has announced the release of his new album Headlong, due out May 19, 2017, through BARP Records. Produced by Sam Lakeman, mixed by Ruadhri Cushnan (Mumford & Sons, Flo Morrissey, The Maccabees) and featuring Cara Dillon on backing vocals
Dedicated to the memory of John Renbourn Headlong is the follow up to his 2013 album Great Lakes. Listen to‘Far Too Good,’ the first new track to emerge from the album. A 24-date UK & European tour will commence on March 29, including London Union Chapel on April 6, 2017.
https://soundcloud.com/acousticsmith/far-too-good
Speaking about ‘Far Too Good’ – driven by his trademark gravel-in-honey vocals – John says; “This is one of my favourites from the new batch, I’ve opened all my live shows with this lately. It’s one of those songs that wrote itself, a rare occurrence – I’d just got off the phone with a friend who was having a hard time, so this one is for him”.
Not by chance is it that John’s fifth album comes bearing a title implying impulsive, breakneck motion – written as it was, across various touring stints playing the guitar for the likes of Lianne La Havas and Lisa Hannigan (who fittingly lends a co-write to Headlong, on ‘Coming Home’) across the U.S. Having wound up his own successful 2 year stint touring Great Lakes round the UK & Europe (taking in sold-out shows at Union Chapel and The Purcell Rooms), in early 2016 John was finally afforded a chance to come off the road and settle in one place for a while. An opportunity which Smith soon elected to decline; “I felt like I had time on my hands, and I thought rather than go home and try to write where it just didn’t feel natural, I wanted to keep on touring. It felt right”.
Subsequently recorded in Sam Lakeman’s Somerset studios in just over a week, Headlong is marked by the loss of Smith’s close friend, Pentangle’s John Renbourn, who passed away whilst Smith was out on tour. Says John; “He was so much more to me than someone I’d played with, and who had encouraged me. He was a friend as well, so I wanted to reference him on this album- that’s why I’ve dedicated it to his memory”. Renbourn’s presence is particularly palpable in Smith’s equally sparing and striking electric guitar work- informed by a love for JJ Cale and Clapton – which weaves through Headlong, marking a break of sorts from the lush string orchestration that characterised Great Lakes.
Whilst John Smith has stood still just long enough to commit this new album to record, there’s yet little danger of moss gathering. With a 24 date UK & European tour beginning next month, Smith has also been tapped to play guitar on the forthcoming album from Joan Baez (with an appearance on the forthcoming Martin Simpson album also in the works), alongside his Great Lakes’ collaborator, Joe Henry.
John Smith UK Headline Tour
29 March BRIGHTON Komedia
31 March LEEDS Howard Assembly Room
01 April SHEFFIELD Upper Chapel
02 April BIRMINGHAM Glee Club
3 April EXETER Phoenix
04 April BRISTOL The Lantern
06 April LONDON Union Chapel
07 April MANCHESTER Dancehouse
Euro Headline Tour
09 April AMSTERDAM Paradiso
19 April FELDKIRCH Theater Am Saumarkt http://bit.ly/2n9Rrnf
20 April VIENNA Haus der Musik http://bit.ly/2n9JSg6
21 April COLOGNE Theater der Wohngemeinschaft http://bit.ly/2m6lKu7
22 April STADE Hanse Song Festival http://bit.ly/2m6lKu7
23 April BERLIN Grüner Salon http://bit.ly/2m6lKu7
24 April MÜNSTER Pension Schmidt http://bit.ly/2m6lKu7
26 April ODENSE Dexter http://bit.ly/2mKdR0U
27 April COPENHAGEN Beta http://bit.ly/2n9VwYk
29 April BASEL-CITY Parterre
30 April WINTERHUR Albani
01 May AARAU Tuchlaube
04 May BARCELONA Antiga Fàbrica Damm http://bit.ly/2m38q8I
07 May ZARAGOZA Delicias http://www.bomboyplatillo.org/
08 May CASTELLÓN DE LA PLANA Teatra Del Raval http://bit.ly/2mKavuS
10 May FERROL Centro cultural Torrente Baluster http://www.centrotorrenteballester.com/
Summer Festivals
22 July Deer Shed Festival 8
31 Aug-3 Sept End Of The Road
Headlong is out on May 19, 2017
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