New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Punch Brothers' album Hell on Church Street is out now on Nonesuch Records. The album is the band's reimagining of, and homage to, the late bluegrass great Tony Rice's landmark solo album Church Street Blues. The record features a collection of songs by Bob Dylan,
Gordon Lightfoot, Bill Monroe, and others. An in-the-studio video of the band playing the album track "Pride of Man," written by Hamilton Camp, may be seen below. Punch Brothers are now touring the US in support of the album, heading to California in the week ahead, followed by stops across the country, including Chicago, New York, and Boston.
Recorded at Nashville's Blackbird Studio in November 2020, during a time of great uncertainty, Hell on Church Street was intended as both its own work of art and a gift to Rice, who died that Christmas. Punch Brothers said of Tony Rice and Church Street Blues: "No record (or musician) has had a greater impact on us, and we felt compelled to cover it in its entirety, with the objective of interacting with it in the same spirit of respect-fueled adventure that Tony brought to each of its pre-existing songs."
Hell on Church Street follows Punch Brothers' critically acclaimed and Grammy Award-winning 2018 album All Ashore, which featured nine original songs written by the band. The
Boston Globe said of All Ashore, "Punch Brothers have crafted a deeply meaningful and downright gorgeous record that takes the world for what it is, but doesn't use that as an excuse to give up."
Punch Brothers - guitarist Chris Eldridge, bassist Paul Kowert, banjoist Noam Pikelny, mandolinist/singer Chris Thile, and fiddler Gabe Witcher - formed in 2006 and released its first Nonesuch record, Punch, in 2008. In 2009, the band began a residency at NYC's intimate Lower East Side club The Living Room, trying out new songs and ultimately spawning Antifogmatic (2010). Those albums were followed by the critically praised Who's
Feeling Young Now? (also recorded at Blackbird Studio) in 2012 and 2015's T Bone Burnett-produced The Phosphorescent Blues.
PUNCH BROTHERS ON TOUR
Jan 14 The
Cascade Theatre Redding, CA
Jan 15 Fox Theater Oakland, CA
Jan 17 Sunset Center Carmel, CA
Jan 18 Campbell Hall, UCSB Santa Barbara, CA
Jan 19 The Theatre at Ace Hotel Los Angeles, CA
Jan 20 Virginia G. Piper Theater Scottsdale, AZ
Jan 23 Tower Theatre Oklahoma City, OK
Jan 24 Powell Hall St. Louis, MO
Jan 25 Palace Theatre St. Paul, MN
Jan 27 Riviera Theatre Chicago, IL
Feb 14 Southern Theatre Columbus, OH
Feb 15 Ryman Auditorium Nashville, TN
Feb 17 Brown Theatre Louisville, KY
Feb 18 The Tabernacle Atlanta, GA
Feb 19 Walker Theatre Chattanooga, TN
Feb 20 Tennessee Theatre Knoxville, TN
Feb 22 Byham Theatre Pittsburgh, PA
Feb 23 The
National Richmond, VA
Feb 24 The Fillmore Philadelphia Philadelphia, PA
Feb 26&27 Lincoln Theatre Washington, DC
Feb 28 Troy Savings Bank
Music Hall Troy, NY
Mar 2 Beacon Theatre New York, NY
Mar 3 Orpheum Boston, MA
Mar 4 Flynn Center for the Performing Arts Burlington, VT
Mar 5 State Theatre Portland, ME
Mar 6 Jorgensen Center Storrs, CT
Mar 18-25 Cayamo cruise Miami, FL
Due to the ongoing situation surrounding Covid-19, and in partnership with the venues and promoters, Punch Brothers will be requiring proof of vaccination or a negative test result to enter all shows on this tour (with the exception of Columbus, where masks are mandatory for admittance). Certain shows will require proof of full vaccination only to attend. Please refer to the venue policy for each individual show for more information on the latest policy as they may change.
