NEW ALBUM WAITING ON A SONG, JUNE 2 ON EASY EYE SOUND
ANNOUNCES TOUR DATES WITH JOHN PRINE
“Auerbach’s second solo album confirms The Black Keys’ leader as a craftsman of rare skill
and few equals. As lush, escapist pop, Waiting On A Song is a triumph.” – Mojo (★★★★)
Friday morning, nine-time GRAMMY–winner Dan Auerbach premiered his music video for “Waiting on A Song” via Rolling Stone. The song is the title track off his forthcoming album, Waiting on A Song due June 2nd on Easy Eye Sound. Says Auerbach: “Not only does the video evoke the feeling of the song, but it also pays tribute to the great tradition of Nashville songwriters. It was fun to have John Prine and Pat McLaughlin have cameos in the video as I wrote the song with them. It also has appearances by other Nashville songwriters, like Michael Heeney and Luke Dick, as well as David Ferguson who was the executive producer on the album with me.” Added director Bryan Schlam about his inspiration: “When I first heard ‘Waiting On A Song’, I instantly thought about summer hijinks, basically anything that could happen during the last summer between high school and college. I’ve always wanted to make a movie about that weight, the feeling of moving from childhood to pseudo adulthood.” Watch the video for “Waiting on A Song” here.
Waiting On A Song is Auerbach’s follow-up to 2009’s Keep It Hid and is his love letter to Nashville. As such, he recruited some of Nashville’s most respected players to write and record his latest, including John Prine, Duane Eddy, Jerry Douglas, Pat McLaughlin as well as Bobby Wood and Gene Chrisman of the Memphis Boys. Auerbach said about working with his musical heroes: “Living in Nashville has definitely changed the way I think about music and the way that I record it. I didn’t have all of these resources before. I am working with some of the greatest musicians that ever lived.” Waiting On A Song is available for pre-order on CD, vinyl, and digitally. The album will also be available in limited-edition bundles, including an exclusive 8 track and a vintage 8 track player signed and customized by Auerbach, a seat cushion and various autographed and colored vinyl sets. Pre-order the album on all formats here.
Today, Dan Auerbach also announces tour dates opening for John Prine, with whom he wrote the title track off Waiting On A Song. Auerbach will open for Prine in Charleston, Charlotte, Washington D.C., and Richmond, and tickets are on sale now here.
Last Friday, Auerbach appeared on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert to perform the songs “Shine On Me” and “King Of A One Horse Town” (an online exclusive) off Waiting On A Song. Recently, NPR Music premiered the video for Waiting On A Song’s first single, “Shine on Me”. Auerbach also shared the music video for “King of a One Horse Town” via Pitchfork.
Dan Auerbach moved to Nashville from his native Akron, Ohio in 2010 and with this release, his first solo album in eight years, it is clear that he has made Music City his home. During the summer of 2016, taking a break from the non-stop touring he’d done with The Black Keys and the Arcs, he finally got acquainted with the city he loves so much, as well as the world-class musicians who live there, and subsequently collaborated with some of Nashville’s heavyweights. Of the process he reveals, “They’d come over, and we’d be in a little room in my house with the door closed, and we’d just write. Monday through Wednesday we’d write, and then Thursday through Sunday we’d record, every week.” Auerbach wrote a handful of songs with John Prine, and the one that made the album is its title track. Mark Knopfler’s immediately identifiable guitar elevates “Shine on Me” into an anthem. Iconic guitarist Duane Eddy is featured on “Livin’ in Sin” and the cinematic “King of a One Horse Town.”
Waiting On A Song is the debut release, and marks the launch of Easy Eye Sound, Dan Auerbach’s new record label which will feature soon-to-be-announced releases from other artists and is distributed by Auerbach’s longtime label Nonesuch Records. The label is built equally around Auerbach’s Easy Eye Studio in Nashville, where The Black Keys recorded their last two albums, as well as the collection of famous session musicians that have come to call the studio home. Auerbach says, “Sometimes I feel I created my own Field of Dreams. I built the studio because I knew something was going to happen. I built it to accommodate live musicians playing, and then all of a sudden the best musicians in Nashville show up, and it’s happening.”
Dan Auerbach– Waiting On A Song Track List
1. Waiting On A Song
2. Malibu Man
3. Livin’ In Sin
4. Shine On Me
5. King Of A One Horse Town
6. Never In My Wildest Dreams
7. Cherrybomb
8. Stand By My Girl
9. Undertow
10. Show Me
Dan Auerbach Tour Dates w/ John Prine
September 15 /// North Charleston SC /// North Charleston Performing Arts Center
September 16 /// Charlotte NC /// Belk Theatre
October 10 /// Washington DC /// DAR Constitution Hall
October 11 /// Richmond VA /// Altria Theater