New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Grammy Award winner John Paul White is set to continue his North American tour in support of his new solo album The Hurting Kind (out now on Single Lock Records) with a run of west coast performances with Shovels & Rope. Tickets go on sale on July 19 at 10 a.m. local time, see below for a list of dates.
While recently performing the new material on the road, White's live performance received extensive critical acclaim with NPR
Music praising his "stunning [set] guided by enormous vocals," while Glide Magazine notes that "the 90-minute set left the audience shouting for more" and Americana Highways raves that "this is going to be one of those reviews that I won't be able to capture and convey just how good it was...it truly was a special evening, one that bordered on magical."
Leading up to the sessions for The Hurting Kind, White was inspired by artists like Jim Reeves, Patsy Cline, Roy Orbison, Chet Atkins and Bill Porter. Drawing on these timeless influences, White sought out classic writers like Whisperin' Bill Anderson and
Bobby Braddock to collaborate with. "Coming out of each and every one of these situations, I got a resounding thumbs-up that I was on that right track," says White of the collaborations. "I didn't need anybody else's approval after that."
The Hurting Kind was recorded at Sun Drop Sound, White's new home studio that he converted from an old, turn-of-the-century home in the historic district of Florence, AL, and at legendary FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, AL. The record was co-produced with Ben Tanner (Alabama Shakes) and features additional contributions from a core group of musicians including Jon Radford (Leigh Nash, Odessa) and Reed Watson on drums, Pat Bergeson (Chet Atkins, Emmylou Harris) on electric guitar, Jon Estes (Robyn Hitchcock, Kesha) and
David Hood(Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section) on bass and Lillie Mae (Jack White) on fiddle, plus guest vocals from
Lee Ann Womack and background vocals from Erin Rae and The Secret Sisters.
With The Hurting Kind, White draws on the lush, orchestrated music made in Nashville in the early 1960s, writing about overwhelming love, unraveling relationships and the fading memory of a loved one.
"I approached this album differently on the songwriting side before I ever got into the studio," says White. "I really wanted there to be a torch song quality to it, the classic timeless quality. To not be afraid of the big note, and not be afraid of the drama."
White grew up in tiny Loretto, Tennessee, and now lives in Florence, Alabama, not far from Muscle Shoals. He has cultivated his career in Nashville for two decades, first as a songwriter for a major publisher, then as half of The Civil Wars-a groundbreaking duo that won four Grammy Awards before disbanding in 2012. White's collaborations include contributions to recordings by Rodney Crowell, Hiss Golden Messenger, Rosanne Cash, Jason Isbell,
Candi Staton and Emmylou Harris, and production work with Lera Lynn, Lindi Ortega, Dylan LeBlanc, Penny & Sparrow and Donnie Fritts' Oh My Goodness, which also marked White's debut as a producer. White is also a partner in Single Lock Records, an independent record label based in Florence, Alabama.
In 2016, White released Beulah to widespread critical acclaim with Rolling Stone praising, "the strength of White's songwriting lies in the masterful balance he strikes between character and confession." The Hurting Kind is White's third solo album.
JOHN PAUL WHITE LIVE
* with Shovels & Rope
July 16 Newport, KY Southgate House Revival
July 17 Knoxville, TN The Open Chord
July 18 Abingdon, VA Abingdon Market Pavilion
July 19 Arlington Park, PA Allegheny Cty Summer Concert Series
July 21 Marietta, OH People's Bank Theatre
July 22 Ann Arbor, MI The Ark
July 23 Indianapolis, IN Hi-Fi
July 25 Chicago, IL Taste of Lincoln
July 26 Iowa City, IA The Mill
July 28 Eau Claire, WI The Plus
July 29 Milwaukee, WI Back Room at Colectivo
August 17 Corbin, KY Moonbow Nights
August 27 Montgomery, AL Alabama Shakespeare Festival
October 23 Salt Lake City, UT Commonwealth Room*
October 25 Vancouver, BC Commodore Ballroom*
October 26 Seattle, WA Neptune Theatre*
October 27 Portland, OR Crystal Ballroom*
October 29 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore*
October 30 Los Angeles, CA Regent Theater*
November 1
Santa Fe, NM Meow Wolf*
November 2 Austin, TX The Scoot Inn*
November 3 Dallas, TX Granada Theater*
