BWW Exclusive: Eleri Ward and Bobby Conte Perform 'Move On' From ACOUSTIC SONDHEIM: LIVE FROM BROOKLYN

The new album from singer/songwriter Eleri Ward – Acoustic Sondheim: Live from Brooklyn – will be released in digital and streaming formats on Friday, June 2. Below, get an exclusive first listen to the album as Eleri and Broadway star Bobby Conte perform the clasic song, "Move On" from the musical Sunday in the Park with George!

This album is the final entry in a trilogy of Ward's introspective folk guitar exploration of Stephen Sondheim's singular musical theater canon, following the viral hits Keep A Tender Distance and its follow-up A Perfect Little Death. Acoustic Sondheim is available for pre-order today, Friday, May 19. The new collection is produced by Allen Tate and Eleri Ward. Pre-save the album at Eleriward.lnk.to/AcousticSondheimLive.

Acoustic Sondheim: Live from Brooklyn will be released in digital formats the same day that its predecessor, Keep A Tender Distance, will be available on vinyl. Ward will celebrate both events with a special concert at Joe's Pub on Monday, June 5.

Acoustic Sondheim retains the emotional resonance and musical depth of the first two Sondheim albums, but at the same time, it uses her simple solo guitar and pure voice to strip away all extra production elements, making this Ward's most intimate collection yet. The set features selections from both A Perfect Little Death (“Children Will Listen,” “Send in the Clowns”), and Keep A Tender Distance (“Move On”), in addition to Eleri's first recordings of the songs “Giants in the Sky” and “Good Thing Going,” and the Into the Woods medley that's been a longtime staple of her concert repertoire.

After gaining a viral TikTok following, in 2021 Eleri released A Perfect Little Death – currently available on vinyl, CD and all streaming platforms – on Ghostlight to great acclaim, with several sold-out shows at New York's Joe's Pub. The album was called “a harmonious marriage of musical theater and indie folk music, with hauntingly beautiful arrangements” by Forbes and “an incandescent new record, something genuinely new” from American Theatre Magazine. John Platt of WFUV Radio hailed the album as a “breathtaking, life-affirming gift.” Keep A Tender Distance followed last year to national attention from The New York Times, Associated Press and New York Public Radio. Along with New York shows at Sony Hall and City Winery, Eleri promoted the album with concerts in major markets around the nation in “The Tender Tour.”

“This live album Acoustic Sondheim feels like a perfect bow to tie my time making these Sondheim arrangements,” says Eleri. “Since I perform most of these arrangements differently when I am singing in concert, this seemed like the perfect way to honor the shows I've been playing and my albums, while also creating something new. I use the dynamics of my voice more in concert, as well as strum more on the guitar. So my live versions take on a different personality, versus listening to the finely curated sound of the albums. Lots of folks have requested I put out the live versions of these songs, so that's just a bonus reason to do it.”

“I recorded the album the day after Sondheim's birthday in honor of him,” she continues. “So just knowing that I created my own little Sondheim birthday concert is very special to me. And to be able to release it the day Keep A Tender Distance will be available on vinyl and two years after A Perfect Little Death was released is such a wonderful way to put out something that encapsulates everything I've done surrounding this music over.”

Eleri Ward is a New York City-based actor, singer, and musician whose original pop music has been called “soaring” (Nexus Music Blog), “astonishing” (Rising Artists), and “dreamy” (Neon Music). Her most recent EP, Friction, was released in 2021. She has been singing and acting since she was eight years old, and has always strived to carve out her own space with the uniqueness she brings to the theater. Eleri studied songwriting at Berklee College of Music before transferring and graduating from The Boston Conservatory with a BFA in Musical Theater and an emphasis in Songwriting, which shows itself clearly in the way she has taken on the Sondheim canon. In the summer of 2022, she opened for global superstar Josh Groban, alongside the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, on his national tour. Last fall, she was featured at MCC Theater's Off-Broadway production of Only Gold, created by Kate Nash, Andy Blankenbuehler, and Ted Malawer. www.eleriward.com @eleriward

GHOSTLIGHT RECORDS has become the leading independent force in Original Broadway Cast Recordings – building a library of over 200 records over the past 23 years, featuring some of the most successful Broadway musicals and solo albums by Broadway's brightest stars. Founded by Grammy Award winner Kurt Deutsch, Ghostlight has won Grammy Awards for The Band's Visit, The Book of Mormon, In the Heights and Beautiful – The Carole King Musical. Ghostlight has also released solo albums from Patti LuPone, Kelli O'Hara, Sutton Foster, Billy Porter, and more. The label continues to support the new generation of musical theater composers and has developed extensive relationships with Jason Robert Brown, Michael John LaChiusa, and David Yazbek, as well as Lin-Manuel Miranda, Pasek & Paul, Tom Kitt, Joe Iconis, and Shaina Taub. Ghostlight Records is part of the Arts Music division at Warner Music Group.

Eleri Ward “ACOUSTIC SONDHEM” – TRACK LIST

1. Johanna (Reprise) – Live in Studio

2. Send in the Clowns – Live in Studio

3. Giants in the Sky – Live in Studio

4. Being Alive / Sorry Grateful – Live in Studio

5. Good Thing Going – Live in Studio

6. Move On – Live in Studio (featuring Bobby Conte)

7. Into the Woods Medley – Live in Studio

8. Sunday – Live in Studio