INTERNATIONAL TOUR STARTS SEPTEMBER 28
Nashville-based independent artist Ron Pope’s new album Work is out now on his own Brooklyn Basement Records. Pope kicks off his international tour September 28 with a pair of dates at New York’s Irving Plaza.
Critical Acclaim for Work:
“Sounds Like: Earnest, melodic story songs written and sung by a guy who knows his way around an electric guitar…For Fans of Tom Petty’s hooks, Little Feat’s grooves, the rock and soul wing of Americana.” —Rolling Stone Country “10 New Country Artists You Need To Know”
“Atlanta’s answer to The Boss. Work finds Pope more in thrall with the E Street Band than ever on vivacious blue-collar anthems such as “Can’t Stay Here” & “Let’s Get Stoned.” Yet he’s at his best when his swagger is set aside on the banjo-laden “Someday We’re All Gonna Die” the gentle lilt of “The Weather” and the plaintive title track, which filters its obvious Nebraska influence via the 21st century troubadourisms of Ryan Adams and Josh Ritter.” –Uncut
“…seriously addictive” —Team Coco
“Pope actually has more of a background as a rocker, a Bruce Springsteen devotee who played in the band the District before going solo in 2007. Led by ‘Bad For Your Health’—inspired by a disastrous spring break trip during college—the decidedly uptempo Work is intended to send that message to the world.” —Billboard
“Ron Pope’s music is honest, it comes from the heart, and defies any glib categorisation. Work embodies that integrity with a collection of songs based on his own experiences involving people who have featured in his life and is perfectly recorded in a few takes to tape.” –No Depression
“Our favorite braid-wearing wonder and Nashville-based purveyor of explosive Americana” –Mother Church Pew
“[Of “The Last”] Impressive harmonies? Butter-smooth vocals? Nuanced, thoughtful lyrics? Check, check, and check.” –The Shotgun Sear
Work follows last year’s critically acclaimed Ron Pope & The Nighthawks,of which Entertainment Weekly raved, “Heavier, deeper, bigger, louder. The warm glow of the West, and a heavy meditation on classic sounds of the South seeps out.”
Work is Pope’s seventh studio album. To date, he has surpassed one million monthly listeners on Spotify, sold out shows in more than 20 countries, sold over 2 million digital tracks, had over 200 million streams on Spotify, 630 million plays on Pandora and 150 million views on YouTube. Pope’s music has been featured on NBC’s “The Voice,” CW’s “Vampire Diaries,” “90210,” and multiple seasons of FOX’s “So You Think You Can Dance,” which sent two of his albums into the top 100 on iTunes simultaneously. Pope also guest starred as himself in season three of the show “Nashville.”
The album was recorded completely in analog at Welcome to 1979 in Nashville, where Pope and his fellow musicians locked themselves in the studio for one week until the album was complete. Work was co-produced and recorded with Grammy award-winning engineer Ted Young, his third consecutive collaboration with Pope. The lead single “Bad For Your Health” was co-written by Pope and Jonathan Tyler.
Of the new recording, Pope says, “This album follows me from when I was thirteen and a teacher told my mother that I’d probably end up in prison; I started messing around writing songs that year. It’s been mostly uphill ever since.”
Appearing on the new album are Jay Collins on sax (Gregg Allman Band), Mike Riddleberger on drums (Bleachers), Andrew Pertes on bass (Savoir Adore), Kai Welch on keys/accordion (Abigail Washburn, Glen Campbell), Jeff Malinowski on guitar (Frances Cone), Alex Brumel on guitar/pedal steel and Charles Ray on flugelhorn/trumpet. The record also features guest vocals on select tracks from Mary Richardson (The Banditos), Katie Schecter, Molly Parden and Vanessa McGowan.
RON POPE LIVE
September 28 & 29 /// New York, NY /// Irving Plaza
September 30 /// Syracuse, NY /// Wescott Theater
October 1 /// Toronto, ON /// Opera House
October 4 /// Portland, ME /// Port City Music Hall
October 5 /// Uncasville, CT /// Wolf Den @ Mohegan Sun
October 6 /// Boston, MA /// Paradise Rock Club
October 7 /// Asbury Park, NJ /// Stone Pony
October 8 /// Philadelphia, PA /// Trocadero
October 10 /// Washington, DC /// 9:30 Club
October 12 /// Knoxville, TN /// Bijou Theatre
October 13 /// Nashville, TN /// Cannery Ballroom
October 14 /// Atlanta, GA /// Buckhead Theatre
October 16 /// Cincinnati, OH /// Bogart’s
October 17 /// Detroit, MI /// The Majestic
October 19 /// Milwaukee, WI /// Turner Hall Ballroom
October 20 /// Minneapolis, MN /// First Ave
October 21 /// Chicago, IL /// Park West
October 22 /// Indianapolis, IN /// Deluxe
October 28 /// Stockholm, SE /// Fryshuset (Klubben)
October 29 /// Oslo, NO /// Parkteatret
October 30 /// Copenhagen, DK /// DR Koncerthuset
October 31 /// Hamburg, DE /// Terrace Hill
November 1 /// Amsterdam, NL /// Bitterzoet
November 2 /// Cologne, DE /// Artheater
November 3 /// Munich, DE /// Ampere
November 5 /// London, UK /// The Garage
November 6 /// Manchester, UK /// Academy 3