New album for Grammy nominee Eric Bibb, ahead of Aus/NZ tour
Announcement posted by Jameson & Co 05 Apr 2024
Friday, April 5, 2024 - Just weeks before commencing his Australasian solo tour, blues and roots music legend Eric Bibb's new album, Live at The Scala Theatre has released worldwide today through Stony Plain Records, under an exclusive worldwide license agreement from Repute Records.
The brand new release follows 2023's Ridin', which was nominated for a Grammy Award® in the Best Traditional Blues Album category, has also received two Blues Music Award nominations from The Blues Foundation, whose winners will be announced May 9 in Memphis.
Bibb also recently taped a performance at the SiriusXM Radio studios In New York City that will premiere on BB King's "Bluesville" channel in April around his live album release, and then air shortly thereafter on "The Village."
Performed in front of a live audience at Stockholm's Scala Theatre in 2022, the atmosphere captured in these recordings is electric. Live at The Scala Theatre contains a selection of songs cherry-picked from Bibb's history, infused with the folk and blues tradition with contemporary sensibilities. The performance features an all-star lineup of musicians including Bibb's longtime collaborator, musical director and producer Glen Scott on bass, keys, drums and backing vocals; Olle Linder on drums and acoustic bass; Johan Lindström on pedal steel and electric guitar; Christer Lyssarides on electric guitar and mandola; Esbjörn Hazelius on fiddle and cittern; Greger Andersson on harp; Lamine Cissokho on kora and vocals; special guest vocalists Sarah Dawn Finer, Rennie Mirro and Ulrika Bibb, as well as string arrangements by Erik Arvinder and David Davidson, performed by Hanna Helgegren and Sarah Cross on violins, Christopher Öhman on viola and Josef Ahlin on cello.
"The Live at The Scala concert was, without a doubt, the most ambitious gig and recording project of my career," says Bibb. "Captained by my super-talented friend, musical director and producer, Glen Scott and graced by an amazing array of musicians, the resulting album is one that defines me as an artist. I couldn't be more pleased and eager to share it with you all.
"In selecting the album's songs we wanted to cover three categories: 1)Tried and true fan favourites that had not appeared multiple times on previous live recordings; 2) A few songs from the recently released studio albums, Dear America and Ridin'; 3) At least one song that I'd never before recorded.
"Every song on the album holds a special place in my heart. I'll elaborate on three of them: 'Rosewood,' which tells the story of the horrendous massacre in 1923, that wiped out the African American community of Rosewood in Florida, is both an important history lesson, particularly relevant today in the current climate of disunity in America and the world and hopefully, a story that encourages us to face and learn from our past. 'Whole World's Got The Blues' is, in the way that songs can sometimes be, prescient. It is both a lament about the current state of the world and a warning. 'Things Is 'Bout Comin' My Way,' adapted from 'Sittin' On Top Of The World' and written by Walter Vinson, is a bluesy affirmation that resonates with my own journey. And one of my fondest memories of that night at The Scala Theatre was being surrounded by the spirited singing, on stage and in the audience, of 'Mole In The Ground.'"
With a career now spanning five decades, three Grammy nominations, a multitude of Blues Foundation awards and countless more accolades, Bibb has secured his legacy as a legendary figure in the blues and roots genre.
As Bibb reflects on his musical journey, gratitude pervades. Evolution is evident in his voice and guitar playing, with his words grounded in truth and fostering a vision of unity in a world filled with divisive rhetoric. Eric Bibb is more than a blues troubadour - he is a storyteller and philosopher. His legacy is not just in the notes he plays or the stages he graces but in the questions he poses and the hope he instills.
Live at The Scala Theatre is a continuation of the vision that informs Bibb's artistry as a modern-day Blues troubadour. Grounded in the folk and blues tradition with contemporary sensibilities, Bibb's music continues to reflect his thoughts on current world events and his own lived experiences, whilst remaining entertaining, uplifting, inspirational and relevant.
Bibb summarises the new album by saying: "To all the wonderful players, singers and facilitators who contributed to this triumphant endeavor, I can only say, from the bottom of my heart: Thank You! Merci Mille! Tusen Tack!"
Eric Bibb "Live At The Scala Theatre" is available now on digital, CD and vinyl formats.
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ERIC BIBB AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND TOUR 2024
After an extensive sell out tour in early 2023 and with a third Grammy nomination in hand, blues legend Eric Bibb has announced his return to Australia. In solo mode, he will be back by popular demand to play at Blues On Broadbeach and select venues around the country in May and June, 2024.
New Zealand fans are also in for a treat, with "the ultimate blues brother" kicking off the tour in Auckland and Christchurch on May 9 and 10 respectively.
He will then perform two dates at Blues On Broadbeach (Gold Coast) before travelling to theatres and venues in Sydney, Newcastle, Canberra, Adelaide, Hobart, Castlemaine, Melbourne and Upwey.
Joining him on the New Zealand and Victorian dates will be New Zealand's blues veteran Grant Haua, who is signed to Europe's revered blues music label, Dixie Frog.
The ultimate "blues brother", Eric Bibb is known and revered globally as a fiery singer- songwriter with true soul, grounded in the folk/blues tradition but with contemporary sensibilities.
Testament to his endurance as one of the most relevant, leading bluesmen of our time, Eric's 2023 album, Ridin' received a Grammy nomination in the Best Traditional Blues Album category.
It sits in the Top 10 of multiple blues and roots charts, has over three million Spotify streams and has been lauded by critics as his "late life classic" and "a fervent gospel-backed blues manifesto". The past twelve months alone has seen his entire catalogue clock up 15 million streams.
He comes to Australasia with a brand new album under his belt, Live At The Scala Theatre, recorded in Stockholm, where he calls home.
It is easy to point to Eric's accomplishments: A five-decade career recording with folk and blues royalty. Three Grammy nominations and multiple Blues Foundation awards. A following that not only crosses borders, it crosses continents. But what Eric Bibb is about is much, much larger than that.
To experience Eric live is to be struck by his sheer humanity and convictions based in the values of the civil rights movement of the sixties. His music works in service of that dream, holding out a hope for a new world. He challenges us to do better, to reach higher, and strive harder. Like Mavis and Pops Staples, he wants to take us there.
Eric carries this mantle honestly. His father, the late Leon Bibb, was an activist, actor, and folk singer who marched at Selma with Dr. Martin Luther King. Eric's youth was spent immersed in the Village folk scene. Names like Dylan, Baez, and Seeger were visitors to his home. He was deeply influenced by Odetta, Richie Havens, and Taj Mahal. And he has synthesised all of that into his very own style.
Eric is an artist who preserves the best traditions of pre-war blues, even while he expands his own oeuvre.
As Blues Brother actor, Dan Aykroyd famously declared to the American born singer, 'You are what the blues in the new century should be about.'
Eric sings of the Freedom Train. He believes it. He lives it. He wants to take us on that ride. Maybe you already have your ticket. But if you haven't, no need to worry. There's still time to get on board.
MEDIA CONTACT (for interviews, images, reviewer tickets and album link for airplay and/or reviews)
Erin Jameson - erin(at)jamesonandco(dot)com | +61 419 323 663
LISTINGS INFO:
AUCKLAND
Thursday, May 9 (with special guest Grant Haua)
The Tuning Fork, 42/80 Mahuhu Crescent, Parnell (All ages)
Time: 7.00pm
Tickets: $80 ($70 concession)
https://moshtix.co.nz/v2/event/eric-bibb-us/160363
CHRISTCHURCH
Friday, May 10 (with special guest Grant Haua)
The Piano, 156 Armagh St, Christchurch (All ages)
Time: 8.00pm
Tickets: $85.30 (U$75.05 concession)
QUEENSLAND
Friday, May 17 & Saturday, May 18
Blues On Broadbeach, Gold Coast (All ages)
More info (No bookings required - free event)
NEW SOUTH WALES
Wednesday, May 15
Centro CBD, 28 Stewart St, Wollongong (18+)
Time: 8.00pm
Tickets: $80 (show only); $110 (meal & show)
Sunday, May 19
Lizotte's, 31 Moorhead St, Lambton (18+)
Time: 2.00pm
Tickets: $82 (show only); $141 (meal & show)
Sunday, May 19
Lizotte's, 31 Moorhead St, Lambton (18+)
Time: 8.00pm
Tickets: $82 (show only); $141 (meal & show)
Friday, May 24
Concourse Theatre, 409 Victoria Ave, Chatswood (All ages)
Time: 7.30pm
Tickets: $75 ($70 concession)
AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY
Thursday, May 23
Street Theatre, 15 Childers St, Canberra (All ages)
Time: 7.30pm
Tickets: $75 ($70 concession)
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Saturday, May 25
Trinity Sessions, 318 Goodwood Rd, Clarence Park (18+)
Time: 7.30pm
Tickets: $80
TASMANIA
Thursday, May 30
Theatre Royal, Cnr Campbell & Collins Sts, Hobart (All ages)
Time: 8.00pm
Tickets: $75 ($70 concession)
VICTORIA
Friday, May 31 (with special guest Grant Haua)
Theatre Royale, 30 Hargraves St, Castlemaine (All ages)
Time: 8.00pm
Tickets: $85 ($75 concession)
Saturday, June 1 (with special guest Grant Haua)
National Theatre, 20 Carlisle St, St Kilda
Time: 8.00pm
Tickets: $80 ($70 concession)
Sunday, June 2 (with special guest (Grant Haua)
Burrinja Cultural Centre, 351 Glenfern Rd, Upwey
Time: 8.00pm
Tickets: $80 ($70 concession)
MORE ABOUT ERIC BIBB'S GRAMMY AWARD NOMINATED ALBUM, RIDIN':
- Eric Bibb is one of the world's most prolific Blues troubadours, with an illustrious career spanning 5 decades and over 40 albums. Eric Bibb has received three Grammy nominations, multiple Blues Foundation 'Artist of the Year' and 'Album of the Year' awards, and countless more accolades along the way.
- Ridin' Press:
- "The latest release by the 71-year-old New Yorker is a fervent, gospel-backed blues manifesto." - The Times
- "Eric Bibb reminds us what a brilliant storyteller and musician he is." - Rock & Blues Muse, Best Albums of 2023
- "Rootsy groove blues has never been better." - Guitar Magazine, Album of the Month
- "At 71, Eric Bibb has made a late-life classic." - MOJO ****
- "From beginning to end, Ridin 'is a condensed cultural, intellectual and musical masterpiece." - Paris Move
- Ridin' awards:
- 2024 GRAMMY nomination 'Best Traditional Blues Album'
- 2024 Blues Foundation nomination 'Best Contemporary Blues Album'
- German Record Critic's Award - Aug 2023
- Ridin' chart positions in last 12 months:
- #3 Top Blues albums on iTunes US
- #11, #23 & #103 in Blues:Global Spotify chart
- Top #10 in the Roots Music Report Top 10 Acoustic Blues Albums
- #2 Most Played Album in Blues Top 40 - April 2023 - collated by the Independent Blues Broadcaster Association