Dawn Landes is set to release her new album Meet Me At The River ahead of a run of dates including a Manchester gig at The Eagle Inn.
The album, which is due for release on 14 September, comprising twelve songs which came about from an unexpected partnership which Nashville legend Fred Foster. Foster has previously produced Roy Orbison’s Hey Pretty Woman, Kris Kristofferson’s first number one Jesus Was A Capricorn and Dolly Parton’s debut album.
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.
The musical ‘odd couple’ teamed up to create Meet Me At The River after Landes cold-called Foster from a tour with Sufjan Stevens in New Zealand. The album 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.
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.”
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 – including What Is The Color Of The Soul Of A Man.
When does Dawn Landes perform at The Eagle Inn?
Dawn Landes performs at The Eagle Inn on 12 October 2018. The Manchester gig is one of seven UK and Ireland dates she has scheduled:
11 October – London, Borderline
12 October – Manchester, The Eagle Inn
13 October – Dublin, Whelan’s
15 October – Glasgow, Poetry Club
16 October – York, The Basement
17 October – Cambridge, Portland Arms
18 October – Brighton, The Greys