On Wednesday, Bonny Light Horseman—a supergroup consisting of Anaïs Mitchell, Eric D. Johnson (Fruit Bats) and Josh Kaufman (Craig Finn, Josh Ritter, The National)—released a new single and announced their debut album along with a corresponding tour. The album, eponymously titled Bonny Light Horseman, comes out on January 24th, 2020 via 37d03d Records.
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Produced by Kaufman, the album contains a mixture of the trio reimagining traditional songs and writing new songs in the spirit of their folk roots. Their new single, “Deep In Love,” is one such new song, described by the band in a press statement as “a Fruit Bats sketch, until Kaufman recognized its uncanny (and unplanned) similarity to a traditional tune by that name (it shares some lyrics with ‘Waly Waly’ / ‘The Water Is Wide’). What you hear is the first and only take of the song, recorded in the wee hours of a midwinter’s night at Dreamland Studio in Woodstock, NY.”
The album also features a wide array of guests, such as Justin Vernon (Bon Iver), Aaron Dessner (The National), Kate Stables (This Is The Kit), Lisa Hannigan, The Staves, Christian Lee Hutson, Michael Lewis, JT Bates and more.
“I think it’s fair to say we are all inspired by traditional music in different ways,” Mitchell says. “We wanted to rework old songs but not in a ‘research project’ way. The emotions, the feeling of momentousness, the openness—even the chords being in open tuning—we wanted everything to be wide open. It was very healing to delve into these old stories and images that have existed for so long that you can rest in them.”
Listen to “Deep In Love” and check out Bonny Light Horseman’s tour dates below.
Bonny Light Horseman Tour Dates:
01/21 – Los Angeles, CA – Lodge Room
01/22 – San Francisco, CA – The Chapel
01/24 – Portland, OR – Mississippi Studios
01/25 – Seattle, WA – Tractor Tavern
01/29 – Glasgow, UK – Celtic Connections w/ Anaïs Mitchell (at Old Fruitmarket)
01/30 – Glasgow, UK – Celtic Connections w/ Anaïs Mitchell’s CAMPFIRE (at Saint Luke’s)
01/31 – London UK – Roundhouse w/ Anaïs Mitchell
02/04 – Washington, DC – Songbyrd Music House
02/05 – Philadelphia, PA – Boot & Saddle
02/06 – Brooklyn, NY – Rough Trade
02/07 – Woodstock, NY – Levon Helm Studios w/ Joe Pug
02/08 – Burlington, VT – Higher Ground Ballroom
02/07 – Woodstock, NY – Levon Helm Studios w/ Joe Pug
02/08 – Burlington, VT – Higher Ground Ballroom
