When Black Prairie formed, part of their vision was to become a backing band for singers. To quote dobroist Chris Funk, “As Dylan nor Neil Young have yet to make that call into the home office,” Black Prairie decided to surge forward with their own series of EPs, backing singers from different parts of the country and different walks of musical life. The first will focus on singers who call the city of Portland, Oregon home, kicking off with tracks from James Mercer (Shins/Broken Bells) and Sallie Ford (Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside), which will each comprise a side on the 7-inch Record Store Day release. The full EP, set for release in the spring, will feature Langhorne Slim, The Minus 5, folk legend Michael Hurley, Caleb Klauder from The Foghorn String Band and Luzelena Mendoza from Y La Bamba.
Following the Singers project, the band has plans to release a full-length LP, their second for the Sugar Hill label, in the fall of 2012. Grammy-nominated producer Tucker Martine is at the helm and the LP will feature more gorgeous vocals from Annalisa Tornfelt as well as full drums and a few surprise guests.
In other news, Black Prairie was recently commissioned by the Oregon Children’s Theater to write the score to a children’s play called “The Storm in the Barn,” based on Matt Phelan’s award-winning book by the same name. The show debuts on April 28th with two shows per day. For tickets and more information, visit http://www.octc.org/onstage/storminthebarn
Black Prairie’s upcoming tour dates will be posted on their website: www.blackprairie.com
