Things seem to be on a roll for Peter One, a 67-year-old country-folk musician originally from Cote d’Ivoire, West Africa, now living in Nashville as a US citizen. A father of two, Peter One has had his musical aspirations on hold for a while…three decades on, having retired from a nursing job, he’s making his Grand Ole Opry stage debut on April 14th and playing the Royal Albert Hall on May 15th (details below).
Earlier this month, he released his new single, Birds Go Die Out Of Sight (Don’t Go Home), on which he’s joined by Allison Russell; it’s is also our Song of the Day. There’s a genuine warmth to his music that somehow makes that vital connection we find so hard to define.
Talking about his major label debut album Come Back To Me (out on May 5th via Verve Records), he told Rolling Stone, “I feel lucky. I feel also really, really happy because it’s kind of a revival,” he says. “It’s an opportunity for me to get back to an unfinished job.”
Watch him performing the song live below:
Originally from Cote d’Ivoire, Peter One was once a star in West Africa, as one half of a duo (alongside his writing partner Jess Sah Bi) who created a seminal folk album, Our Garden Needs Its Flowers, in 1985. The album gained momentum across the region and found Peter performing his music for presidents, and first ladies, adoring sold-out crowds, and even soundtracking the release of Nelson Mandela from prison in 1990, as shown on the BBC. Peter moved to the United States in the 90s due to political unrest in his home country in an attempt to pursue his music career stateside. However, due to the cost of living, he was forced to switch jobs and has been working in relative obscurity as a nurse, first in Delaware, then Tennessee, for the better part of 20 years, until now.
A re-issue of his earlier album in 2018 brought him deserved attention. His new album, Come Back To Me, was co-produced (alongside Peter One) and engineered by Matt Ross-Spang (Jason Isbell, John Prine) and features some of Nashville’s finest musicians, including Pat Sansone (Wilco), Ken Coomer (Uncle Tupelo), Paul Niehaus (Calexico), and more. The result is a heartfelt collection of folk songs sung in English, French and Guro, sharing tales of a painful divorce, love and loss, as well as reflecting on concepts of the healing power of music, diaspora, immigration and home.
“If people love those songs in African languages even more than the English songs, I’ll be really happy because then I know that the music is making the connection.”
Peter One
Pre-Order the album here: https://peterone.lnk.to/ComeBackToMe
UK Dates
May 15th – Royal Albert Hall, London UK
May 16th – Third Man Blue Basement, London, UK
Follow Peter One: