The last album from Dawn Landes was Bluebird (Western Vinyl, 2014) which went on to win the 2015 IMA award for “Folk/Singer-Songwriter album of the year” and featured guest appearances by Norah Jones and members of Bon Iver. In 2015 she was invited to give a TED Talk and perform in Lincoln Center’s prestigious American Songbook Series. Her last mention on Folk Radio was also back in 2015 when she teamed up with Piers Facini for a joint EP called Desert Songs from which we premiered a track.
Although a fearlessly innovative musician, we are told that she has potentially made her boldest turn yet with ‘Meet Me At The River’, her new album out September 14th on Yep Roc Records.
Listen to the first track ‘What Will I Do’ below:
The twelve-song collection results from an unexpected partnership with Nashville legend Fred Foster, whose list of production credits includes Roy Orbison’s “Hey Pretty Woman,” Dolly Parton’s debut album and Kris Kristofferson’s first #1 ‘Jesus Was A Capricorn’.
Teaming with the Country Music Hall of Famer was far from a predictable move for Landes, whose previous collaborators include Sufjan Stevens, Nico Muhly, Norah Jones, Will Oldham and Andrew Bird. Despite shaping up as something of a musical odd couple, Landes and Foster bring the best of their respective worlds to ‘Meet Me At The River,’ creating something a more conventional pairing could never touch.
‘Meet Me At The River’ marks the first time that Foster has taken on a new act in years, only sporadically producing for friends like Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard and Ray Price. That all changed when Landes cold-called Foster from a tour with Sufjan Stevens in New Zealand. Upon her return to the States, they spent hours in Foster’s Tennessee home; listening to Hank Williams and trading stories as Landes dazzled with her heart-wrenching vocals and expressive songwriting. The connection was instant, and Foster’s semi-retirement was no more.
For the ‘Meet Me At The River’ sessions, Foster assembled an A-Team of Nashville musicians: 13-time Academy of Country Music drummer of the year Eddie Bayers, fellow Country Music Hall of Famer Charlie McCoy on harmonica and ‘From Elvis In Memphis’ pianist Bobby Wood among them. Foster even recruited Bobby Bare, with 70 hits on the country charts in a five-decade career, to duet with Landes on her original “I Don’t Dance.”
The track is one of ten Landes-penned songs on the record, embracing themes of heartbreak (“Why They Name Whiskey After Men”), wanderlust (the insatiably catchy “Traveling”) and reckoning with youth (“Southern Girl,” “Old Memories”). ‘Meet Me At The River’ also sees Landes revive a pair of lost gems from folk singer Jimmy Driftwood, a Foster collaborator from the 1960s. His politically-charged “What Is The Color Of The Soul of a Man” feels particularly poignant in Landes’ hands, even 55 years after its initial release.
Dawn Landes UK Dates
Dawn will be heading to the UK this winter, including a date at London’s Borderline on 11th October. See below for the latest dates.
11th Oct – Borderline
Orange Yd, Manette St, Soho
London, W1D 4JB UK
12th Oct – The Eagle Inn
19 Collier St, Greengate
Salford, M3 7DW UK
13th Oct – Whelans
25 Wexford St
Dublin 2, D02 H527 Ireland
15th Oct – Poetry Club
100 Eastvale Pl
Glasgow, G3 8QG UK
16th Oct – The Basement
City Screen Picturehouse, 13-17 Coney St
York, YO1 9QL UK
17th Oct – Portland Arms
129 Chesterton Rd
Cambridge, CB4 3BA UK
18th Oct – The Greys
105 Southover St
Brighton, BN2 9UA UK
Vist her website for full tour details http://www.dawnlandes.com/