Iris DeMent Releases 'The Sacred Now' from 'WORKIN' ON A WORLD' Album

Celebrated singer/songwriter Iris DeMent releases the hopeful track "The Sacred Now" from her long-awaited upcoming album Workin' On A World out February 24. Written with Pieta Brown, "The Sacred Now" shares that we are all in this life together, no matter what divides us. In addition, DeMent releases a remixed version of her 2020 song "How Long" today as well.

About "The Sacred Now," DeMent notes, "Every day in 2020, some new trauma was being added to the old ones that kept repeating themselves, and like everybody else, I was just trying to bear up under it all. Songs, ever since I was a child, have been lending me a hand. Writing songs, singing songs, putting them on records, has been a way for me to extend that hand to others.

One day, in the middle of the mayhem, I got the idea to send a melody and a title for a song I'd been working on to my friend, and fellow songwriter, Pieta Brown. Within a few hours, she'd sent me a handful of verses she'd come up with; I sent her a handful back. We looked over all our verses and noticed that two of hers and two of mine went good together. Abracadabra! 'The Sacred Now'."

Early excitement for the album came with the announcement of the title track in Pitchfork, NPR Music, Rolling Stone, Stereogum and more. DeMent will take Workin' On A World on the road when she begins a US tour on February 17th in Notre Dame, IN. For a special evening, DeMent will support The Avett Brothers at their show in Vienna, VA. A full list of tour dates is below and at irisdement.com.

Iris Dement's debut album Infamous Angel in 1992 has been hailed as one of Rolling Stone's Greatest Country Albums of All Time and one of Pitchfork's Best Albums of the 1990s. DeMent has earned numerous Grammy nominations and awards, along with the respect of peers/collaborators John Prine, Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris and others. The Guardian has called her "one of the finest singer-songwriters in America," while NPR called her "one of the great voices in contemporary popular music."

Iris DeMent U.S. Tour Dates

Feb 17 - Notre Dame, IN - DeBartolo Performing Arts Center
March 9 - Lafayette, LA - Acadania Center for the Arts*
March 10 - Houston, TX - The Heights Theater*
March 11 - Austin, TX - The 04 Center*
March 12 - Dallas, TX - The Kessler*
Mar 23 - Kansas City, MO - Knuckleheads#
Mar 24 - Omaha, NE - The Waiting Room Lounge#
Apr 15 - Elkton, FL - Gamble Rogers Folk Festival
Apr 27 - Berkeley, CA - Freight & Salvage*
April 28 - Grass Valley, CA - Center for the Arts*
May 12 - Green Lake, WI - Thrasher Opera House#
May 13 - Stoughton, WI - Stoughton Opera House#
May 14 - Eau Claire, WI - Jamf Theatre#
May 27 - Vienna, VA - The Filene Center~
*with special guest Pieta Brown
#with special guest Ana Egge
~supporting The Avett Brothers