Acclaimed Texas singer-songwriter Matthew Logan Vasquez has announced the release of his excellent new album. The Delta Spirit frontman’s third solo LP, LIGHT’N UP arrives via Dine Alone Records on Friday, February 22.
LIGHT’N UP is preceded by the hard driving first single, “Trailer Park,” along with its b-side “Poor Kids.” “Trailer Park” premieres today exclusively at Rolling Stone Country, alongside an official companion video directed by Michael Parks Randa (Deer Tick, Rick Ross, mewithoutYou) and streaming now at Vasquez’s official YouTube channel. Both songs are available now at all DSPs.
Currently residing in Oslo, Norway, Vasquez will celebrate LIGHT’N UP on a truly epic world tour, with North American headline dates beginning May 7at Oklahoma City’s Tower Studio and then continuing into the summer. Full details – including European dates, ticket information, and additional updates – can be found at matthewloganvasquez.com. Tickets for the tour go on sale today.
MATTHEW LOGAN VASQUEZ ON TOUR 2019
MAY
7 – Oklahoma City, OK – Tower Studio
8 – Davenport, IA – Raccoon Motel
9 – Minneapolis, MN – Icehouse
10 – Chicago, IL – Schubas
11 – Indianapolis, IN – HIFI
13 – Toronto, ON – The Monarch
15 – Boston, MA – Middle East
16 – Brooklyn, NY – Rough Trade
17 – Philadelphia, PA – Boot & Saddle
18 – Washington, DC – DC9
20 – Charleston, SC – The Royal American
21 – Decatur, GA – Eddie’s Attic
22 – Nashville, TN – High Watt
24 – Dallas, TX – Kessler Theater
25 – Houston, TX – Heights Theater
JUNE
20 – Costa Mesa, CA – The Wayfarer
21 – San Diego, CA – Soda Bar
22 – Los Angeles, CA – Moroccan
25 – Santa Cruz, CA – The Catalyst
26 – San Francisco, CA – Bottom of the Hill
28 – Seattle, WA – The Sunset
29 – Portland, OR – Mississippi Studios
JULY
1 – Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge
2 – Denver, CO – Globe Hall
5 – Austin, TX – Scoot Inn
ADDITIONAL DATES TO BE ANNOUNCED
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LIGHT’N UP captures Matthew Logan Vasquez amid a season of deep despair. The dynamic Texas singer-songwriter wrote nine introspective songs in solitude while separated from his family during the darkest part of winter after loneliness set in.
The day after Christmas in 2017, Vasquez’s wife, and their son moved to Norway to be closer with her Dad, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease. With a record to make and a tour planned, Vasquez had to stay behind.
“If a record is the sum of a chapter in a person’s life, this is a yearbook for me. It’s who I was then. It’s what I was thinking and feeling – all the heartbreak and longing,” Vasquez says. “I usually don’t go this dark and put so many sad songs on a record.”
Even the up-tempo tunes, “Ball Pit” and “Trailer Park” come packed with internal conflict that turns the LP’s vibe a full 180 from the hard-rocking intensity of Vasquez’s previous solo records, 2016’s SOLICITOR RETURNS and 2017’s DOES WHAT HE WANTS.
On “Poor Kids,” Vasquez reflects on defining struggles of his childhood – poverty, losing faith in religion and being sexually awakened too soon. His friends Michael Trent and Cary Ann Hearst of Shovels and Rope contribute haunting harmonies on the chorus. Wild Child singer Kelsey Wilson, a member of Vasquez’s brainchild super group Glorietta, and vocalist Taylor Nix (of Atlantis Aquarius) also contribute backing vocals to the LP. Judson Johnson, a longtime member of Vasquez’s touring band, handled drumming duties throughout while master multi-instrumentalist Spencer Garland (PR Newman, Black Pumas) added electric guitar on “Character Assassination” and played accordion on “I Love My Boy,” Vasquez’s lamentation on missing his son, Thor. LIGHT’N UP closes with “Oslo,” featuring angelic strings played by the Parkington Sisters backing Vasquez’s lyrical portrait of his struggle to come to terms with his new life in Norway and all he left behind in Texas.
“This record is about a period in life we all go through,” Vasquez says. “There’s a season for everything, and for me this one was all about struggle, relationships and fear of change. If anyone is feeling the way I was feeling maybe these songs will be there for them.”
(Dine Alone Records)
Release Date: February 22, 2019
TRACKLISTING:
Ballad In My Bed
Trailer Park
Vacation
I Love My Boy
Poor Kids
Ghostwriters
Ball Pit
Character Assassination
