On the heels of 2019’s From Another World, the prolific, two-time GRAMMY Award-winning American music icon Jim Lauderdale will release his 33rd album, When Carolina Comes Homes Again, March 6 on Yep Roc Records. The first single, “As A Sign,” co-written with Robert Hunter, is now available at all digital platforms.
Returning to his geographical and musical roots, the 13-track bluegrass album pays homage to his native North Carolina and harkens back to the earliest music he learned to play. Recorded at Echo Mountain Recording in Asheville, NC, the 13-track album features instrumental accompaniment from various members of NC-based acts, including Balsam Range, Cane Mill Road, Hank Pattie & the Current, John Stickley,, Songs From The Road Band, Steep Canyon Rangers, and Town Mountain; as well as Matt Pruett (banjo); Pattie Hopkins Kinlaw (fiddle); Aaron Ramsey (mandolin); Nick Dauphinais and Presley Barker on guitars.
“North Carolina has such a long and important heritage in bluegrass music,” Lauderdale says. “Since it’s where I’m originally from and where I started playing bluegrass, it seemed right to go back to my roots in bluegrass there and collaborate with musicians in that area. There’s just something in the atmosphere there. Hearing bluegrass in different areas and settings in North Carolina, the music is just there in the air. The first bluegrass festival I ever went to was Union Grove when I was 14, and it blew my mind. The music got into my bones, and I just had to get a banjo.”
After a heavy 2019 touring schedule, including two trips to Australia, Lauderdale will continue his From Another World tour with a string of U.S. dates across the West Coast in May, before embarking on a tour in support of When Carolina Comes Home Again. A full list of tour dates is below.
“After the experience of taking From Another World around the world and back,” says Lauderdale, “getting to play with all these different musicians and to such a variety of audiences, I can’t wait to bring the tour out West.”
The shows will feature the legendary singer-songwriter backed by a red hot band hand-picked by Lauderdale from across three separate countries, performing a selection of songs from across his formidable catalog – from the hits artists like George Strait and Patty Loveless ruled the charts within the 90s through to selections from the acclaimed From Another World.
You never know what to expect at a Jim Lauderdale gig, with recent shows featuring surprise duets, impromptu audience requests, and guest horn sections briefly turning the show into a soul revue. “One thing I’m looking forward to doing in these shows is paying tribute to my late friend, hero, and co-writer Robert Hunter. We’re going to do a mini-set of some of my favorite songs he and I wrote together, our way of bringing his spirit to the stage each night,” adds Lauderdale.
A fixture of the Palomino scene in Los Angeles, alongside contemporaries like Lucinda Williams and Dwight Yoakam, Lauderdale’s West Coast roots run back to the ‘80s raising the roof of the legendary North Hollywood country club night after night, which built the following that launched his career.
“I’ve got so many great memories of LA – it’s always a treat to get back,” recalls Lauderdale. “Playing songs like “The King of Broken Hearts” only a short drive from where I wrote them, seeing people in the crowds who used to pack out the Palomino decades ago, it makes it extra special.”
Lauderdale will be joined on tour by special guest Imogen Clark, an acclaimed Australian singer-songwriter. She toured the East Coast with Clare Bowen earlier this year and has performed at the Americana Music Festival in Nashville.
When Carolina Comes Home Again is now available for pre-order.
When Carolina Comes Home Again Tracklisting:
1. When Carolina Comes Home Again – John Oates & Jim Lauderdale
2. As A Sign – Robert Hunter & Jim Lauderdale
3. Misery’s Embrace – Charles R. Humphrey III & Jim Lauderdale
4. The Last To Know – Charles R. Humphrey III & Jim Lauderdale
5. It Takes One To Wonder – Graham Sharp & Jim Lauderdale
6. Cackalacky – Si Kahn & Jim Lauderdale
7. You’ll Have To Earn It – Charles R. Humphrey III & Jim Lauderdale
8. You’ve Got This – Jim Lauderdale
9. Mountaineer – Jim Lauderdale
10. I’m Here To Remind You – Sara Douga & Jim Lauderdale
11. Moonrider – Jim Lauderdale
12. Spin A Yarn – Jim Lauderdale
13. Better Than You Found It – Logan Ledger & Jim Lauderdale
