Amos Lee Unveils New Album & Tour; Shares First Song & Video
This is his first new album of original songs in more than two years.
By: Josh Sharpe Apr. 24, 2024
Acclaimed singer-songwriter Amos Lee has announced his eagerly awaited new album, Transmissions, available Friday, August 9 on his own Hoagiemouth Records via Thirty Tigers.
Lee’s 11th studio album and first new collection of original songs in more than two years, Transmissions is heralded by today’s premiere of the graceful first single, “Hold On Tight,” available everywhere now. An official music video by Anthony Mulcahy & James Delahunty premieres today on YouTube.
“This is about having a much tighter handle on how important our people are to us, your friends and your family, and watching people go that you love,” says Amos Lee. “It’s about appreciating people and wanting to make sure everybody that you love knows you love them and find them important. It’s a pretty simple little song. There’s not a ton going on. I like the lyrics because they’re saying a lot with very few words, which I really love. The band really did a great job on this one. I didn’t want it to be hard to get through, I wanted it to be a thing people can sing to each other.”
Transmissions sees Amos Lee continuing to expand his sonic range while sharpening his closely observed lyrics that squarely address death, aging, and love. Self-produced by Lee for only the second time in his chart-topping, RIAA Gold-certified career (following 2013’s Spirit), the Philadelphia, PA-based artist returned to an old-school style of recording, working with his longtime band in a studio in rural Marlboro, NY built by drummer Lee Falco and his dad out of reclaimed wood from an old church. Playing live on the floor for long hours in close quarters, Lee and his fellow musicians were able to capture the album’s twelve songs in less than a week. Despite the simplicity of the set-up, Lee augmented his band’s soulful, folk-funk sound with arrangements that extend the scope of songs like the autobiographical “Beautiful Day” and the upbeat, jam-powered “Darkest Places.”
“There’s a lot of existential stuff in these songs,” says Amos Lee. “If you really listen to what’s in between the lines, there’s a lot of grappling with your place in the world, grappling with loss. There’s a lot of grappling with the balance between bailing out the boat and rowing at the same time – the experience of writing music and playing songs while trying, as we all are right now, to make sense of a world that feels like it’s changing really quickly.”
Transmissions represents the first release of original music on Lee’s recently launched label, Hoagiemouth Records (distributed through Thirty Tigers), following last year’s Honeysuckle Switches: The Songs of Lucinda Williams. A full range of exclusive merchandise is available now at his official web store HERE.
Lee will celebrate Transmissions with a busy live schedule that includes a much-anticipated headline run beginning May 7 at Bowling Green, KY’s SKyPAC and continues into mid-July. Special guests throughout the tour include Julia Pratt (May 7-25) and Mutlu (June 21-28). Additional highlights include a special three-night stand at Nashville, TN’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center accompanied by the Nashville Symphony (Andrew Lipke, conductor) set for May 9-11, as well as an exclusive solo acoustic performance at Charleston, SC’s renowned Spoleto Festival on May 28. In addition, Lee will join forces with Indigo Girls for a co-headline tour getting underway September 13 at Vail, CO’s Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater and featuring sold-out shows at Dillon, CO’s Dillon Amphitheater (September 14), Morrison, CO’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre (September 15), and San Francisco, CA’s The Masonic (September 25). For complete details and remaining ticket availability, please visit www.amoslee.com.
AMOS LEE - ON TOUR 2024
MAY
7 – Bowling Green, KY – SKyPAC *
9-11 – Nashville, TN – Schermerhorn Symphony Center +
13 – Huntington, WV – Joan C. Edwards Performing Arts Center *
14 – Asheville, NC – Thomas Wolfe Auditorium at Harrah’s Cherokee Center *
16 – Wilmington, NC – Greenfield Lake Amphitheater *
17 – Washington, DC – Warner Theatre *
18 – New Brunswick, NJ – State Theatre New Jersey *
20 – Albany, NY – The Egg - Hart Theatre *
21 – Boston, MA – MGM Music Hall at Fenway *
22 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Paramount Theater *
24 – Ridgefield, CT – Ridgefield Playhouse *
25 – Portland, ME – State Theatre *
28 – Charleston, SC – Spoleto Festival ^
JUNE
21 – Chicago, IL – Auditorium Theatre #
22 – Indianapolis, IN – Rock The Ruins #
24 – St. Louis, MO – The Pageant #
25 – Kansas City, MO – Uptown Theater #
27 – La Vista, NE – The Astro #
28 – Minneapolis, MN – State Theatre #
29 – Milwaukee, WI - Summerfest
JULY
1 – Ann Arbor, MI – Michigan Theater **
3 - Grand Rapids, MI - Fifth Third Bank Summer Concerts at Meijer Gardens **
5 – Cleveland, OH – House of Blues **
6 – Columbus, OH – Southern Theatre **
8 – Deerfield, MA – Tree House Brewing Company
11 – Lancaster, PA – American Music Theatre **
13 – Atlantic City, NJ – Music Box at the Borgata
SEPTEMBER
13 – Vail, CO – Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater †
14 – Dillon, CO – Dillon Amphitheater † (SOLD OUT)
15 – Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre † (SOLD OUT)
17 - Salt Lake City, UT - Red Butte Garden
19 – San Diego, CA – The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park †
21 – Santa Barbara, CA – Santa Barbara Bowl †
23 – Los Angeles, CA – Greek Theatre †
24 – Saratoga, CA – The Mountain Winery †
25 – San Francisco, CA – The Masonic † (SOLD OUT)
27 – Troutdale, OR – McMenamins Edgefield Amphitheater †
28 - Woodinville, WA – Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery †
* w/ Special Guest Julia Pratt
** w/ Mikela Davis
+ w/ The Nashville Symphony
^ Amos Lee Solo Acoustic Performance
# w/ Special Guest Mutlu
† Co-Headline w/ Indigo Girls
Photo Credit: Denise Guerin
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