Donnie Emerson to Embark on First-Ever West Coast Tour

Acclaimed label Light in the Attic has announced the first West Coast Tour for Donnie Emerson with Nancy Sophia. Following on the heels of the acclaimed biopic, Dreamin’ Wild, Emerson will play five shows accompanied by his wife and musical partner, Nancy Sophia. The duo will perform fan favorites from Donnie & Joe Emerson’s cult classic LP Dreamin’ Wild (1979), which Pitchfork called “A godlike symphony to teenhood” and includes the smash hit “Baby,” – currently with nearly 50 million streams and available on all platforms.

2023 saw the release of the film Dreamin’ Wild which follows the fascinating real-life story of brothers Donnie & Joe Emerson, whose teenage dreams of rock stardom suddenly came true 30 years later, and stars Academy Award® winner Casey Affleck, Emmy®-nominee Zooey Deschanel, Emmy®-nominee Walton Goggins, Chris Messina, Noah Jupe, Jack Dylan Grazer, plus Emmy® and Grammy Award®-winner Beau Bridges. 

Now, Donnie Emerson with Nancy Sophia has released a new single "Sister Oh Yeah" that was originally recorded live at Gold Diggers in Los Angeles on July 29, 2023.

About the song, Emerson explains: “‘Sister Oh Yeah’ was written around 1981 and has an old school 70’s funk vibe. When I was 19 years old living in Fruitland, WA, we used to put on barn dances that I played music at. This song was my eyes view from the stage, seeing people without dates. I could relate, I lived in a rural area, a very small town."

Copies of the Dreamin’ Wild LP and Dreamin’ Wild Original Motion Picture Soundtrack will be available for purchase on the tour, as well as a previously unreleased 7” from Donnie & Joe Emerson which will be released physically and digitally on October 4 and is available for pre-order now at Light in the Attic. 

Recorded at Dunham Studios in New York City and featuring both Donnie & Joe Emerson together in the studio for the first time in over 30 years, the physical and digital 7" “Searching’” b/w “Finally Found Someone” were written by Donnie Emerson and recorded and produced by Tommy Brenneck (Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Charles Bradley, Amy Winehouse). Brenneck, the founder of both Dunham Studios and Diamond West, an acclaimed label and recording studio, seized the moment to record Donnie & Joe in an unplanned, spontaneous session one hot, summer night in 2013 immediately following a packed Emerson brothers gig at The Mercury Lounge in New York City. The resulting tracks evoke a feeling of nostalgia, longing, and wistful reflection—it’s everything you’d hope for from Donnie & Joe, a seamless continuation of their musical output captured like lightning in a bottle.

For more on Donnie & Joe, listen to Dreamin’ Wild with Donnie & Joe Emerson, the latest episode of Light in the Attic’s Liner Notes podcast produced by Ruinous Media, out today! Featuring exclusive interviews with Donnie & Joe, Don Emerson, Sr., and Jack Fleischer, the record collector who fatefully unearthed that first copy of Dreamin’ Wild in a Spokane thrift store in 2008. 

Donnie Emerson with Nancy Sophia - West Coast Tour Dates:

10/8 – Seattle, WA – Madame Lou's
10/11 – Portland, OR – Hollywood Theatre *
* Dreamin' Wild film screening + Q&A w/ Donnie & Nancy
10/15 – San Francisco, CA – 4 Star Theater
10/19 – Los Angeles, CA – Zebulon
10/21 – San Diego, CA – Soda Bar
11/8 – Portland, OR – Turn! Turn! Turn!