By Damian Fanelli | Photo: JonnyLang.com
Jonny Lang has announced a new studio album, Signs, which will be released in North America September 8 via Concord Records. The album—Lang’s sixth major-label release—is his first in four years. As a gift to fans, Lang has made the album’s first single, “Make It Move,” available as a free download at this location. You also can check out the tune via the YouTube player below.
“A lot of my earlier influences have been coming to the surface [futureusgallerylately], like Robert Johnson, and Howlin’ Wolf,” Lang says. “I have been appreciating how raw and unrefined that stuff is. I had an itch to emulate some of that, and I think it shows in the songs. Still, I let the writing be what it was and that was sometimes not necessarily the blues.”
Signs, which features elements of funk, rock and blues, is held together by Lang’s distinctive playing and singing—and the lyrics, which focus on themes of battles and self-empowerment.
“Some of the songs are autobiographical, but not usually in a literal way,” Lang says. “The main goal is for folks to be able to relate to what I went through. If I can’t make it work using just my personal experience, I use my imagination to fill in blanks.”
Check out “Make It Move,” and all of Lang’s scheduled tour dates, below.
For more about Lang and the new album, visit jonnylang.com.
NORTH AMERICAN APPEARANCES ANNOUNCED TODAY
ALL DATES OTHER THAN 9/30 – GENERAL ON-SALE FRIDAY, MAY 19
8/11 Los Angeles, CA Teragram
8/13 Arlington, WA Stillaguamish Festival
8/19 North Thornton, NH White Mountain Boogie
8/22 New York, NY Highline Ballroom
8/23 Philadelphia, PA World Café Live
8/25 Toronto, ON Danforth Music Hall
8/26 Trois-Rivieres, QUE Trois-Rivieres en Blues
9/08 Aspen, CO Belly Up
9/09 Boulder, CO Boulder Theater
9/10 Arvada, CO Arvada Center
9/14 Dallas, TX House of Blues
9/15 Houston, TX House of Blues
9/16 Austin, TX ACL Live
9/18 Kansas City, MO Knuckleheads
9/19 St. Louis, MO Pageant
9/21 Milwaukee, WI Potawatomi Casino
9/22 Milwaukee, WI Polawatomi Casino
9/23 Chicago, IL House of Blues
9/24 Louisville, KY Bourbon & Beyond Festival
9/26 Indianapolis, IN The Vogue
9/29 Huntington, NY Paramount
9/30 Hartford, CT Infinity Hall (On-Sale 5/18)
10/01 Fairfield, CT Warehouse (On-Sale 5/31)
10/03 Boston, MA The Wilbur Theater
10/04 Portland, ME Aura
10/06 Cranston, RI Park Theatre
10/07 Hampton Beach, NH Hampton Beach Casino
EUROPEAN APPEARANCES ANNOUNCED TODAY INCLUDE:
10/22 Zwolle, NL Hedon
10/23 Cologne, Germany Gloria
10/25 Berlin, Germany Columbia Club
10/27 Hamburg, Germany Mojo
10/29 Copenhagen, Denmark Amager Bio
10.30 Oslo, Norway Rockafeller
10/31 Stockholm, Sweden Nalen
11/04 London, UK SBE (London Folk and Roots Fest)
11/05 Leuven, Belgium Hep Depot (Leuven Blues Festival)
11/07 Cleon, France La Travene (Blues de Travene)
11/09 Marseille, France Espace Julien
11/10 Six-Fours-les-Plages, France Espace Malraux
11/11 Paris, France La Cigale
11/13 Prague, Czech Republic Lucerna
11/14 Vienna, Austria Porgy and Bess
11/16 Sumperk, Czech Republic House of Culture (Blues Alive Fest)
ALREADY ANNOUNCED AND ON-SALE:
5/18 Rochester, NY Rochester Lilac Festival
5/20 St. Joseph, MI BBQ, Blues & Bluegrass
5/21 Annapolis, MD Chesapeake Bay Blues Festival
6/10 Birmingham, AL Alys Stephens Performing Arts
6/11 Nashville, TN Schermerhorn Symphony Center
6/16 Riverside, IA Riverside Casino & Golf Resort
6/17 Aurora, IL Blues on the Fox Fest
6/18 Moorehead, MN Bluestem for the Arts Amphitheatre
6/22 Columbia, MO The Blue Note
6/23 Wichita, KS Orpheum Theatre
6/24 Okmulgee, OK Musogee (Creek) Nation Festival
7/06 Lexington, MI Lexington Village Theater
7/07 Kent, OH Kent Stage
7/08 Rochester, MI Meadowbrook
7/13 Peoria, IL Riverfront
7/14 Minneapolis, MN Music In The Zoo
7/15 Sioux Falls, SD Sioux Falls Jazz Fest
7/20 Tucson, AZ Rialto theatre
7/21 Chandler, AZ Chandler Center
7/22 Las Vegas, NV Boulder Station
7/28 Saratoga, CA Mountain Winery
7/29 Lincoln, CA Thunder Valley Casino