Bay Area bluegrass matriarch, Laurie Lewis, is no stranger to sharing a song and microphone with those lucky enough to share a stage with her, but not often does one catch that energy behind the closed door of a recording studio. Never one to back down from anything, Lewis called upon a number of her West Coast cohorts to bottle up these little jolts of collaborative lightning on her newest release, and Laurie Lewis. Out March 27th, Lewis’s 13-track collection of duets isn’t a release for release’s sake, but a thoughtful contribution to the American music canon, honoring the relationships and friendships that have brought her to the present moment, and also supporting the young musicians who will help carry her legacy into the next generation. “There are things that you can communicate musically together, which are hard to put into words,” Lewis explains. “To have those conversations with people I love and who have been so significant throughout my career is a beautiful thing.”
Putting together an album’s worth of songs has never been an issue for Lewis and her lifetime deep catalog of originals and passed-down folksongs, but with and Laurie Lewis, each of the 13 songs feels like a standout—like a subconsciously preordained compilation of hits, roughly half self-penned and the rest covered from elsewhere. The album opens with “You Are My Flower,” a duet with Molly Tuttle on a song which Lewis learned “through osmosis” from the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s first Will The Circle Be Unbroken album. Lewis has followed and supported Tuttle from her early days as a kid at regional bluegrass festivals to her modern-day award-winning guitar prowess and Tuttle has looked up to Lewis throughout that entire rise to bluegrass stardom. Their history creates a beautiful, easy interplay on “You Are My Flower,” where one voice effortlessly picks up where the other leaves off.
“Troubled Times” hones in on that vocal interplay with an a capella arrangement of a Lewis original featuring Leah Wollenberg’s perfectly supportive accompaniment. “I wrote this song many years ago, and I guess it has just been waiting for the right voice to sing in harmony,” says Lewis. “I have known Leah since before she was born, and our voices fit like family.” Fans should not be misled by the title of the song that Lewis has chosen to sing with her decades-long cohort, Tom Rozum. Their voices combine with Lewis’ 1935 Martin D-18 guitar and Rozum’s 1922 Lloyd Loar-signed Gibson Master Model mandolin on the obscure version of “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” which Lewis and Rozum learned from Bill and Charlie Monroe.
In some ways, and Laurie Lewis is a career retrospective, in others, it’s a step towards the future and the passing of a torch. It’s a commitment to community and an invitation for others to join in the tradition, to keep a focus on the importance of folk music and storytelling. On and Laurie Lewis, Lewis looks effortlessly into the future through the lens of her past and the vision is steadfast and clear.
In support of the new album, Laurie Lewis will hit the road with the Right Hands in April for festival appearances—including a hometown celebration/release show at the famed Berkeley Bluegrass Festival—and headlining dates with the Right Hands. Additionally, Laurie Lewis and the Right Hands will be announcing a May 2020 UK and European tour in the coming weeks. See a full list of tour dates below.
Catch Laurie Lewis On Tour:
April 1 – Santa Cruz, CA – Michael’s on Main-
April 2-5 – Berkeley, CA – Berkeley Bluegrass Festival*
April 8-11 – Corbett, OR – Bluegrass In The Gorge Music Camp^
April 17 – Mamaroneck, NY – Emelin Theatre*
April 18 – Germantown, MD – BlackRock Center For The Arts*
April 26 – Herdon, VA – Frying Pan Farm Park*
May 1 – Sebastopol, CA – Sebastopol Community Center%
May 2 – Kelseyville, CA – Fore Family Winery%
May 3 – Willits, CA – Willits Theatre%
May 8 – Haag am Hausruck, Austria*
May 14 – Bietigheim-Bissingen, Germany*
May 15 – Willisau, Switzerland*
May 16 – Bühl Bluegrass Festival, Bühl, Germany*
May 18 – Chichester, England – Chidham Village Hall, Chidham
May 20 – Halifax, West Yorkshire, England – Square Chapel Arts
May 21 – Selby, North Yorkshire, England – Selby Town Hall
May 22 – Basingstoke, Hampshire, England – The Forge
May 23 – London, England – The Green Note
May 24 -Pulborough, West Sussex, England – Music at the Buildings
May 28 – Berkeley, CA – Freight and Salvage – River Of Song benefit#
June 11 – Wray, CO – Main Listening Room*
June 12-13 – McCook, NE – Buffalo Commons Storytellers Festival*
June 14-17 – California Bluegrass Association Music Camp – Nevada County Fairgrounds*
June 20-21 – California Bluegrass Association Father’s Day Bluegrass Festival – Nevada County Fairgrounds*
June 25 – Sebastopol, CA – Kate Wolf Festival
July 2-6 – Hood River, OR – Rogue River Bluegrass+
July 9 – Snowmass, CO*
July 10 – Telluride, CO*
July 11-12 – Westcliffe, CO – High Mountain Hay Fever Bluegrass Festival*
-Laurie Lewis and Missy Raines
*Laurie Lewis and the Right Hands
^Laurie Lewis, Tom Rozum, Brandon Godman, Justin Hiltner, Eli West, Haselden Ciacco
+Laurie Lewis and Tom Rozum
%Laurie Lewis and Nina Gerber
