English Harpist Hattie Webb Releases 'Shakespeare's Shores'

English Singer/Songwriter/Harpist Hattie Webb has released the second single “Shakespeare’s Shores” from her forthcoming solo album Wild Medicine.  The new album will be released September 20th on Hearts Connect Records, distributed via Missing Piece Records. The track received early praise from Rock & Roll Globe, who said "the tune itself feels more like a gentle breeze of English folk, albeit with a twist of Wildflowers." The album is available for pre-save/pre-order HERE.  

“Shakespeare’s Shores” was written by Hattie Webb and Heartbreaker Ron Blair and produced by Webb and Grammy nominated producer/bassist Roscoe Beck (Leonard Cohen, Dixie Chicks, Eric Johnson.) Beck also performs on the track. The new song is one of Hattie’s favorites, she said “It’s about turning a corner after heartbreak and finding a way to accept the losses one faces in life,” She continues. “It’s like a ‘Hansel and Gretel’ story, leaving a trail so you can still be found but also a bittersweet letting go of how life once felt, and letting go of someone who is technically in your past but still living on within.”

Wild Medicine is Webb’s second solo album, but she is no newcomer. Webb began her musical career alongside her sister as a duo known as The Webb Sisters who, in addition to recording and releasing their own music, toured with the likes of Leonard Cohen and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. Over the years critics have lauded the sisters as “simply astonishing,” “angelic harmonies,” “brilliant,” “ethereal voices,” “huge talent and undoubted beauty,” “delicious voices,” “unique musical gifts” even calling them "female Simon and Garfunkel for the modern age" and Q Magazine compared them to Florence & The Machine.

Of their time with Cohen, Webb said “We thought the tour was going to be six months but it turned out to be six years. It was the best of times. It was also the most challenging of times. But never was there a moment it wasn't extraordinary, particularly to witness Leonard's presence and process in everything he did.” 

In addition to Cohen and Petty, Hattie has worked with Sting, Gotye, Glen Hansard, Steve Martin & Edie Brickel, Rick Rubin, The Avett Brothers & Natalie Maines. She’s performed for both Princess Anne and HRH Queen Elizabeth II. Later this year Webb will again tour the world with another living legend -  guitarist David Gilmour.

Joining Webb on WIld Medicine are some truly spectacular players; Mike Campbell (who also co-wrote two songs on the album), Benmont Tench, Vinnie Colaiuta, Eric Johnson, and Pat Leonard to name a few. These seasoned vets contribute a solid foundation to support Hatties ethereal voice and sublime harp playing while providing a framework for her exploration of genres. The project contains a kaleidoscope of colors, her music flows between Celtic Folk to Americana, from Pop to a somber Waltz dedicated to her dear Leonard. She even lands on, of all things, a Bob Seger cover while touching on everything in between.

The end result is not, perhaps, the type of album we’ve come to expect from someone whose primary instrument is harp. “Playing the harp growing up, people expect you to be more gentle, or to perhaps not be so direct with how you feel,” Hattie says “In my years of studying, going to harp festivals, I struggled with the more creatively narrow narrative that the harp is sometimes given. There's so much intensity and meat in the instrument, like a grand piano, and I really wanted to explore how that could translate into the songs I was writing.” Hattie Webb and her harp have cooked up some Wild Medicine and listeners are ready for a dose or two.

David Gilmour Tour 2024

September 27, 28, 29 Circo Massimo, Rome 
October 1, 2, 3  Circo Massimo, Rome 
October 9, 10, 11, 12 Royal Albert Hall, London UK
October 14, 15 Royal Albert Hall, London UK
October 29, 30, 31  Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles 
November 4, 5, 6 Madison Square Garden, New York 
November 9, 10 Madison Square Garden, New York  

Wild Medicine Track List

01. Wild Medicine (Hattie Webb, Paul Kelly)
02. Ruined In the Rain (Hattie Webb)
03. Night Soul  (Hattie Webb, Mike Campbell, Nina Baker)
04. Never Just Your Daughters  (Hattie Webb, Patrick Leonard)
05. Golden (Hattie Webb, Ben Cullum)
06. Shakespeare's Shores (Hattie Webb, Ron Blair)
07. Hearts Connect (Hattie Webb, Mike Campbell, Nina Baker)
08. Love Springs Eternal (Hattie Webb)
09. Boy At The Beach (Nina Baker, Hattie Webb)
10. Forever  (Hattie Webb)
11. Waltz for Leonard (Hattie Webb, Roscoe Beck)
12. A Song Called Love (Hattie Webb, Nina Baker)
13. Chapters of Love (Hattie Webb, Patrick Leonard) 
14. Shine (Hattie Webb, Paul Kelly)
15. You'll Accompany Me (Bob Seger)

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