New York, NY (Top40 Charts) The
Blind Boys of
Alabama will release their first album in three years, entitled
Almost Home, on August 18. The album will be released on the band's own BBOA Records label and was developed in collaboration with Amazon Music. The 12-song collection serves as a fitting capstone to a seven-decade career that has both defined the sound of the American South and pushed it forward from the 20th century and into the 21st. Starting August 18,
Almost Home will be available to stream exclusively on Amazon
Music - both Amazon
Music Unlimited and Prime Music, in addition to its exclusive availability as a digital download and physical release.
Almost Home is now available for pre-order at: https://amazon.com/almosthome. This morning NPR
Music shared a playlist of four album tracks, calling them "a gorgeous rumination on the body's labor and soul's legacy," listen here: https://n.pr/2tC5AN6
Almost Home was recorded over four different sessions with four different GRAMMY-winning producers in four different cities. The album is composed primarily of original songs, which focus on the remarkable journey of the band's two surviving original members, long-time leader Clarence Fountain, and current leader Jimmy Carter. It features songwriting contributions from an exceptional collection of artists including
Valerie June, North Mississippi Allstars, Phil Cook, John Leventhal, Marc Cohn, Ruthie Foster, and more. Leventhal (Rosanne Cash,
William Bell) recorded with the
Blind Boys and their band in New York City, Vance Powell (Chris Stapleton, Jack White) in Nashville, Chris Goldsmith (Charlie Musselwhite, Ben Harper) in Seattle, and Los Lobos' Steve Berlin (Faith No More, Buckwheat Zydeco) at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals.
Almost Home succeeds in looking backwards, while still sounding as vital and modern as ever. From the propulsive, piano-pounding groove of "I Kept on Walking" to the album's shining, soul-filled title track, the epic story of the struggles and triumphs of the octogenarian original members is revealed. A stripped-down, gorgeous cover of Bob Dylan's "I Shall Be Released" and an upbeat version of Billy Joe Shaver's "Live Forever," both of which fit the theme, help to round out the tracklist.
Since releasing their debut single in 1948, the
Blind Boys have been hailed as "gospel titans" by Rolling Stone, received five GRAMMY Awards (plus one for Lifetime Achievement), entered the Gospel
Music Hall of Fame, collaborated with everyone from Mavis Staples and
Stevie Wonder to
Prince and Lou Reed, and performed on some of the world's most prestigious stages. The New York Times said that they "came to epitomize what is known as jubilee singing, a livelier breed of gospel music," adding that "they made it zestier still by adding jazz and blues idioms and turning up the volume, creating a sound…like the rock 'n' roll that grew out of it." The New Yorker simply called them "legendary."
The
Blind Boys will play select shows around the release date of
Almost Home, and will then embark on a lengthy tour with Irma Thomas, "The Soul
Queen of New Orleans," in September.
Almost Home Tracklist (with songwriter info):
Stay on the Gospel Side (John Leventhal/Marc Cohn/Clarence Fountain)
Let My Mother Live (John Leventhal/Marc Cohn/Jimmy Carter)
God Knows
Everything (John Leventhal/Marc Cohn)
Pray For Peace (Luther Dickinson/Cody Dickinson/Oteil Burbridge/Joey Williams/Ray Ladson/Charles Driebe)
Singing
Brings Us Closer (Phil Cook)
Almost Home (Randall Bramblett/Clarence Fountain/Jimmy Carter)
Live Forever (Billy Joe Shaver)
I Shall Be Released (Bob Dylan)
Train Fare (Valerie June)
I Can See (Joey Williams/Ray Ladson/Jimmy Sloan)
I Kept on Walking (Cris Jacobs)
I Was Called (Ruthie Foster/Scottie Miller)
Production Notes:
Tracks 1-3 Produced by John Leventhal in New York City
Tracks 4-6 Produced by Vance Powell and Charles Driebe in Nashville
Tracks 7-9 Produced by Chris Goldsmith in Seattle
Tracks 10-12 Produced by Steve Berlin in Muscle Shoals, Alabama
To learn more about the band, visit https://www.blindboys.com/. See below for the band's upcoming tour dates.
To learn more about Amazon Music, visit amazon.com/AmazonMusicUnlimited
2017- 2018
Blind Boys Tour Dates:
24-Jun Saskatoon, CAN at the Broadway Theatre
4-Jul Hoover, AL at the Freedom Festival
15-Jul Peer, Belgium at the Blues Festival
17-Jul London at Ronnie Scott's
18-Jul London at Ronnie Scott's
19-Jul Dublin at the
National Concert Hall
21-Jul Edinburgh at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre
22-Jul Paris at New Morning
23-Jul Juan les Pins, FR at Pinede Gould
25-Jul Vannes, FR at the Jazz a Vannes Festival
29-Jul Colorado Springs, CO at the Blues Under Bridge
6-Aug Appleton, WI at the Mile of
Music Fest
12-Aug Winnipeg, CAN at the Winnipeg BBQ & Blues
9-Sep Bowling Green, OH at the
Black Swamp Arts Fest
15-Sep Lone Tree, CO at the Lone Tree Arts Center
17-Sep Telluride, CO at Telluride Blues & Brews Festival
23-Sep Vancouver, CAN at the Chan Centre
With Irma
Thomas and the Preservation Hall Legacy Quintet:
30-Sep Rohnert Park, CA at the Weill Hall Legacy
1-Oct Folsom, CA at the Harris Center for the Arts
2-Oct Berkeley, CA at Freight & Salvage
3-Oct
Santa Cruz, CA at the Rio Theatre
5-Oct Solana Beach, CA at the
Belly Up
7-Oct Phoenix, AZ at Musical Instrument Museum
8-Oct Tucson, AZ at the Fox Tucson Theatre
10-Oct
Santa Fe, NM at the Lensic PAC
11-Oct Midland, TX at the Wagner Noel PAC
17-Oct Oklahoma City, OK Tower Theatre
20-Oct Fairfield, IA at the Fairfield Convention Center
23-Oct Minneapolis, MN at the Guthrie Theatre
25-Oct Findlay, OH at the Marathon Center
26-Oct Notre Dame, IN at the Leighton Concert Hall
27-Oct Chicago, IL at the Symphony Center
28-Oct Clinton Township, MI at the Macomb Center
29-Oct Detroit, MI at the
Music Hall of Detroit
1-Nov Wilmington, DE at the Grand Opera House
2-Nov Binghampton, NY at the Osterhout Concert Theatre
3-Nov Boston, MA at the Berklee Performance Center
4-Nov Bloomsburg, PA at the Haas Center for the Arts
5-Nov Greenvale, NY at the Tilles Center
7-Nov Toms River, NJ at the Grunin Center
8-Nov Pittsburgh, PA at the Byham Theater
10-Nov Winchester, VA at the Armstrong Concert Hall
11-Nov Richmond, VA at the Camp Concert Hall
12-Nov North Bethesda, MD at the
Music Center at Strathmore
13-Nov Durham, NC at the Carolina Theatre
16-Nov Atlanta, GA at the Emerson Concert Hall
17-Nov Irmo, SC at the Harbison Theater
19-Nov Daytona Beach, FL at the Peabody Auditorium
20-Nov The Villages, FL at the Morse Performing Arts Center
21-Nov St. Petersburg, FL at the Mahaffey Theater
15-Dec Orange, CA Musco Center at Chapman
16-Dec
Santa Barbara, CA UCSB Campbell Hall
17-Dec Los Angeles, CA Theatre At The Ace Hotel
19-Dec San Luis Obispo, CA
Christopher Cohan Center
21-Dec Edmonds, WA Edmonds Center for the Arts
22-Dec Bremerton, WA Admiral Theatre
12-Jan Marion, IN
Indiana Wesleyan University
With Marc Cohn:
18-Jan Rohnert Park, CA at the Green
Music Center
19-Jan Livermore, CA at the Bankhead Theater
20-Jan Redding, CA at the
Cascade Theatre
21-Jan Bend, OR at the Tower Theatre
23-Jan Mount Vernon, WA at Lincoln Theatre
25-Jan Wenatchee, WA at the Numerica Performing Arts
26-Jan Kirkland, WA at the Kirkland Performance Center
27-Jan Tacoma, WA at Broadway Center
31-Jan Medicine Hat, CAN at the Esplanade Arts & Heritage
1-Feb Calgary, CAN at the Jack Singer Concert Hall
2-Feb Sherwood Park, CAN at the Festival Place
4-Feb Salem, OR at the St. Paul's Episcopal Church
17-Feb Hampton, VA at the American Theatre
11-May Athens, GA at the Hodgson Concert Hall
