Elton John - 'Live from the Rainbow Theatre with Ray Cooper' out on Vinyl, CD & Digitally on July 25 via UMe

Elton John - Live from the Rainbow Theatre

with Ray Cooper

Out on Vinyl, CD & Digitally on July 25^th via UMe

Pre-Order HERE

Photo Credit: Watal Asanuma / Shinko Music

Elton John - Live from the Rainbow Theatre with Ray Cooper will be released on July 25 via UMe. One of Elton John’s most celebrated performances, the live album was initially released on a limited vinyl run for this year's Record Store Day. Now receiving a wider release, it will be available both digitally and on CD for the first time, alongside a vinyl repress. The CD and digital editions include a brand-new bonus track, "Goodbye," plus the original twelve-song tracklist, personally curated by Elton, and additional liner notes.

 

In May 1977, Elton John took the stage at London’s iconic Rainbow Theatre with percussion legend Ray Cooper for a six-show residency. These performances were the first of 233 Elton-and-Ray only shows that would follow, and featured the live debut of deep cuts; “Roy Rogers”, “Cage The Songbird”, “Idol”, and “I Feel Like A Bullet (In The Gun Of Robert Ford)”.

 

May 1977 was the first time in five years that a full month had passed without an Elton LP or single appearing on the UK charts. It had also been eight months since his last performance, after averaging one show every four days throughout the previous seven years. Ticket holders expecting to see a typical Elton concert were in for a big surprise. The first half of the set would be Elton alone at the piano, the second half would see him accompanied by Ray Cooper, the two performers working together telepathically, harking back to the earliest days of Elton’s rise to superstardom. The stripped-back performances have since been regarded as some of the finest of his career.

 

The material selected represents a generous sampler of Elton's career to date, yet without the big hits that were part of his regular set, offering a glimpse of what he would have been playing had he been a cult artist, not the global superstar he had become.

 

Speaking on the album, Elton John says: “I’m delighted that Live from the Rainbow Theatre with Ray Cooper will be available for my fans to enjoy. It’s an album I’m incredibly proud of, and listening back to it, I’m astounded by how great it sounds. The freedom I felt playing with just the two of us is something I will always remember.”

 

The release comes in the wake of Elton’s chart-topping album with close friend and eleven-time GRAMMY-winning US superstar Brandi Carlile, Who Believes In Angels? A true collaboration between Elton, Brandi, Bernie Taupin, and multiple GRAMMY Award-winning producer and songwriter Andrew Watt, the ten-track LP was a global critical and commercial success and Elton’s tenth UK number one album.

 

Elton John - Live from the Rainbow Theatre with Ray Cooper Track List:

1. The Greatest Discovery
2. Border Song
3. Cage The Songbird
4. Where To Now St. Peter?
5. Ticking
6. Better Off Dead w/Ray Cooper
7. Sweet Painted Lady
8. Tonight w/Ray Cooper
9. Idol w/Ray Cooper
10. I Feel Like A Bullet (In The Gun Of Robert Ford) w/Ray Cooper
11. Roy Rogers
12. Dan Dare (Pilot Of The Future)
13. Goodbye*

 

*Bonus track available on digital and CD release only

 

About Elton John:

Elton’s career achievements to date are unsurpassed in their breadth and longevity. Elton is one of the top-selling solo artists of all time. In the UK and US charts alone he has 2 Diamond, 43 Platinum or Multi-Platinum, and 26 Gold albums as well as over 85 Top 40 hits. He has sold more than 300 million records worldwide.

Among the many awards and honours bestowed upon him are six GRAMMYs, including a GRAMMY Legend award, a Tony, two Oscars, a Best British Male Artist BRIT Award, induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Kennedy Center Honor, Legend of Live Award, 13 Ivor Novello Awards and a knighthood from HM Queen Elizabeth II for “services to music and charitable services”. In January 2024, Elton John joined Hollywood’s elite group of EGOT winners after securing his first-ever EMMY Award for his historic Disney+ live, concert special Elton John Live: Farewell from Dodger Stadium.

He holds the record for the biggest-selling physical single of all time, “Candle in the Wind 1997,” which sold over 33 million copies. Released in 2017 ‘Diamonds’ the Ultimate Greatest Hits album, became Elton’s 43rd UK Top 40 album and has spent over 300 consecutive weeks in the top 75 of the UK album charts, over 200 of these in the top 20. This release celebrated 50 years of his songwriting partnership with Bernie Taupin. It topped the UK charts in January 2025, becoming his 9th UK number 1 album, achieving 4 times Platinum status in the process and is the longest charting album of Elton’s career 62-deep catalog.

August 2018 saw Elton named as the most successful male solo artist in the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart history, having logged 71 entries, including nine No. 1s and 29 Top 10s. ‘The Lockdown Sessions’, an album of collaborations recorded during the COVID-19 Pandemic, was released in October 2021 and went straight to No. 1 in the UK album Charts, becoming Elton’s 8th UK No. 1 album in the process. Its lead single “Cold Heart (PNAU Remix) with Dua Lipa” became a bona fide global hit, reaching No. 1 in over 20 charts worldwide, including the UK and Australia. Its success meant that Elton became the first ever solo artist to score a UK Top 10 hit single in six consecutive decades. In America, he holds the record for the longest span between Billboard top 40 hits among soloists at 51 years and currently has logged 57 entries. Elton also holds the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart record with 18 No. 1s and 76 total songs. Summer of 2022 saw another global smash single, as Elton and Britney Spears released ‘Hold Me Closer’, a Top 5 hit in the UK and a No. 1 hit in the Australian single charts.

Elton announced the ‘Farewell Yellow Brick Road’ tour at New York’s Gotham Hall in January 2018. The tour kicked off on 10th September 2018 in North America and subsequently saw Elton play 330 shows to over 6.25 million fans across the UK, Europe, North America, and Australia. The shows marked his retirement from touring after more than 50 years on the road. In 2019, it was named Billboard's Top Rock Tour and Pollstar’s Major Tour Of The Year. The U.S. leg of the tour concluded with 3 sell-out shows at Dodger Stadium. The concert was live-streamed on Disney+ + in every single territory the channel broadcasts in, a global first. Elton headlined Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage in June 2023, the final UK show before the Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour concluded. The Sunday night closer was widely heralded as one of the greatest performances in the festival's rich history, attracting one of the largest crowds ever witnessed at the festival. It also received the biggest ever televised audience for a Glastonbury set, reaching 7.6m overnight on BBC1. Elton has delivered more than 4,600 performances in more than 80 countries since launching his first tour in 1970.

2019 also saw the release of ‘Rocketman’ and global best-selling autobiography, ‘ME’. An epic fantasy musical motion picture of Elton’s life, 'Rocketman' has been a commercial and critical hit, taking close to $200m at the box office. It has won an Oscar, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Critics’ Choice Award and garnered four BAFTA nominations. The soundtrack was also nominated for a GRAMMY Award. ‘Elton John: Never Too Late’ follows Elton as he looks back on his life and the astonishing early days of his 50-year career in an emotionally charged, intimate, and uplifting full-circle journey. Directed by R.J. Cutler and David Furnish the documentary premiered in December 2024, on Disney+.



In 1992, Elton established the Elton John AIDS Foundation, which today is a leader in the global fight against HIV/AIDS. So far the Foundation has raised more than $600 million for HIV/AIDS grants, funding more than 3,000 projects in over 90 countries. In June 2019, President Emmanuel Macron presented Elton with the Légion d’honneur, France’s highest award, for his lifetime contribution to the arts and the fight against HIV/AIDS. Elton was awarded the Companion of Honour in the 2021 New Year Honours list in the UK. The highest acknowledgement in the list, Elton became one of only 64 people to hold the Honour. September 2022 saw President Biden award him the National Humanities Medal in recognition of his storied career and advocacy work to end AIDS.



Always a tireless champion of new artists, Elton has been a leading industry voice in lobbying the government for young artists’ visa-free touring rights in Europe post-Brexit.

 

In 2024, Fragile Beauty opened at the V&A Museum to widespread critical acclaim. Running until 2025, the exhibition showcases an unparalleled selection of the world’s leading photography from Elton and David Furnish’s collection.

 

# # #

Tyler Childers’ highly anticipated new album "Snipe Hunter" out July 25, “Nose on the Grindstone” out today

 This just landed in my inbox; the forthcoming Rick Rubin-produced new album from Tyler Childers lands on July 25 ...Robert Kinsler

TYLER CHILDERS’ HIGHLY ANTICIPATED NEW ALBUM SNIPE HUNTER OUT JULY 25, “NOSE ON THE GRINDSTONE” OUT TODAY  

PRODUCED BY RICK RUBIN

EXTENSIVE HEADLINE TOUR UNDERWAY WITH UPCOMING STOPS IN NEW YORK, NASHVILLE
AND MORE 

   

photo credit: Sam Waxman // album cover artwork, credit: Erik Thor Sandberg

June 12, 2025—7x Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter, musician and performer Tyler Childers will release his highly anticipated new album, Snipe Hunter, July 25 via Hickman Holler Records/RCA Records (pre-order/pre-save here).

Childers further establishes himself as “one of country music’s most compelling and unpredictable artists” (Associated Press), as he puts forth a thirteen-track collection that showcases the signature artistry he’s cultivated throughout his esteemed career, while continuing to push his own creative boundaries. Longtime fans will no doubt note and appreciate the inclusion of fan-favorite, “Nose on the Grindstone,” which is officially out now for the first time after years of being played on the road. 

Listen HERE and watch a new performance video HERE. 

Snipe Hunter is produced by Rick Rubin with additional production from Childers and Sylvan Esso’s Nick Sanborn.  

“One of his generation’s most important voices” (Rolling Stone), Childers has released five acclaimed albums to date including his 2017 RIAA Platinum debut, Purgatory, 2019’s #1 Country Squire and 2023’s Rustin’ In The Rain, which debuted at #10 on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart. The record features seven tracks including the 2x Grammy, VMA and ACM-nominated single, “In Your Love,” which, since its release, has garnered over 13.7 million video views, 215 million on-demand streams and received overwhelming praise from outlets such as NPR Music, Rolling Stone, Billboard, USA Today, Pitchfork, Stereogum and many more. Childers has also performed countless sold-out shows across the world and been featured on CBS Mornings, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Late Night with Seth Meyers, NPR Music’s “Tiny Desk Concert” series and Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown.  

Known for his electric live shows, Childers and his band The Food Stamps—James Barker (guitar, pedal steel), Craig Burletic (bass), CJ Cain (guitars), Kory Caudill (keyboards), Rodney Elkins (drums), Matt Rowland (keyboards) and Jesse Wells (guitar, fiddle)—will tour through this fall with his extensive “Tyler Childers On The Road Tour,” which includes upcoming stops New York’s Forest Hills Stadium (two nights), Nashville’s GEODIS Park (two nights) and London’s O2 Arena among many others. See below for complete tour itinerary. 

TYLER CHILDERS CONFIRMED TOUR DATES

July 18—Redmond, OR—Fairwell Festival

July 20—Whitefish, MT—Under the Big Sky Festival

July 24—Omaha, NE—CHI Health Center*

July 26—East Troy, WI—Alpine Valley Music Theatre‡

September 19-20—Ashland, KY—Healing Appalachia

September 22—Charlottesville, VA—John Paul Jones Arena

September 24—Camden, NJ—Freedom Mortgage Pavilion†

September 25—Mansfield, MA—Xfinity Center†

September 27—Bristow, VA—Jiffy Lube Live†

September 29—Forest Hills, NY—Forest Hills Stadium*

September 30—Forest Hills, NY—Forest Hills Stadium*

October 3—Cincinnati, OH—Riverbend Music Center+

October 5—Memphis, TN—Mempho Music Festival

October 7—Cuyahoga Falls, OH—Blossom Music Center+

October 10—Nashville, TN—GEODIS Park^

October 11—Nashville, TN—GEODIS Park^ 

November 15—London, U.K.—O2 Arena~

*with special guest Medium Build

‡with special guests The Hold Steady and Medium Build

†with special guests Medium Build and SOMA

+with special guest Hayes Carll

^with special guests Charley Crockett and Cory Branan

~with special guests The Magic Numbers and Omni of Halos

www.tylerchildersmusic.com

New music: Ann Wilson & Tripsitter, Styx, Garbage

A trio of new releases are featured in my column this week, including titles featuring Ann Wilson & Tripsitter, Styx and Garbage.

Artist: Ann Wilson & Tripsitter

Title: Live In Concert (Mercury Studios)

You might like if you enjoy: Ann Wilson, Heart

Tell me more: Heart lead singer Ann Wilson and her four-member band Tripsitter made the most of a performance at Nashville's Brooklyn Bowl in July 2023, performing a winning mix of classic Heart selections as well as material from that year's album Another Door and reworked covers from several Rock and Roll Hall of Fame favorites. The concert was filmed and originally aired on PBS in November 2023, and is now newly available on Blu-ray as well as on digital video. One of rock music's all-time great vocalists, Wilson and company are outstanding across the 90-minute performance. Highlights include the buoyant opener "Crazy On You," the Renaissance-flavored rock ballad "This Is Now," the tender "Miss One & Only" (the latter two songs from Another Door), a fiery take on Led Zeppelin's"Immigrant Song" showcasing Tripsitter and an artful reading of Heart's beloved genre-defying gem "Mistral Wind." Wilson's impressive soprano is also showcased in a powerful version of John Lennon's emotive "Isolation" and the set-ending rock classic "Barracuda."  Information: AnnWilson.com and MercuryStudios.co.

Artist: Styx

Title: Circling From Above (Alpha Dog 2T/UMe)

You might like if you enjoy: Styx, Asia, Queen

Tell me more: Styx is back with the band's 18th studio album, Circling From Above, an ambitious concept album whose 13 tracks look at the human experience as explored through the dissimilar worlds of modern technology and nature. The concept album is an intoxicating listen, with the band's signature sound celebrated via top-tier songs featuring the contributions from all seven members of Styx — founding guitarist-vocalist James "JY" Young, guitarist-vocalist Tommy Shaw, original bassist Chuck Panozzo, drummer Todd Sucherman, keyboardist-vocalist Lawrence Gowan, guitarist-vocalist Will Evankovich and bassist Terry Gowan. Among my favorite tracks on the first half of the disc are the soaring "Build and Destroy" featuring Gowan's tenor lead vocals, the introspective rocker "Michigan" featuring Shaw's urgent vocals and the band's lush harmonies, the prog rock foray "King of Love" and beautiful acoustic-flavored "Forgive." The momentum of the masterwork continues with strong originals including the Celtic-mining "Blue Eyed Raven," music hall delight "She Knows," resplendent "Ease Your Mind" and the mellifluous "The Things That You Said." The album closes with the wonderfully bluesy "We Lost the Wheel Again" and genuinely introspective "Only You Can Decide." According to a media release, "the album was produced by Evankovich, who also helmed the band's previous two albums before becoming an official member in 2022. All 13 songs were penned in various combinations by the band's songwriting triumvirate of Shaw, Evankovich and Gowan." While the album won't be officially available on streaming or digital outlets until July 18, Circling From Above CD and vinyl copies are available for immediate delivery when purchased via StyxWorld.com. Fans can also purchase physical copies of the album on any of the band's "Brotherhood of Rock" tour dates. Information: StyxWorld.com.

Artist: Garbage

Title: Let All That We Imagine Be the Light (BMG)

You might like if you enjoy: The Pretenders, Garbage

Tell me more: Garbage is back with Let All That We Imagine Be The Light, the groundbreaking band's eighth studio album and one of the truly great discs of 2025. The 10-track album produced by the quartet and longtime engineer Billy Bush is filled with originals that are as literate as they are powerful; the songs here crafted with in-the-pocket rhythms, sharp guitar layers, an electronic veneer, nuanced dynamics, soaring choruses and singer Shirley Manson's signature vocals all delivered in the service of strong convictions. Among the terrific cuts on the album is the sumptuous opener "There's No Future in Optimism" with its mix of electronica and rock textures surrounding Manson's enticing vocals, the driving electronic rocker "Get Out My Face AKA Bad Kitty," fiery "Chinese Fire Horse" looking at the bias faced by women as they grow older, the tender "Hold," experimental rocker "Radical" and thought-provoking closer "The Day That I Met God." On Let All That We Imagine Be The Light, Manson, Duke Erikson (guitar, bass, keyboards), Steve Marker (guitar, keyboards) and Butch Vig (drums, percussion) prove they continue to chart the singular course of one of the world's most ambitious and important modern rock bands. Information: garbage.com.

Robert Kinsler

Ivy announce new album & share lead single "Say You Will"

Listen to Ivy's bewitching new single "Say You Will" and watch the official music video for the track too...Robert Kinsler 

IVY 

ANNOUNCE NEW ALBUM 

TRACES OF YOU

OUT SEPT 5TH VIA BAR/NONE RECORDS

SHARE LEAD SINGLE “SAY YOU WILL”

LISTEN | WATCH

Ivy have announced their first new album in 15 years. Built from the ground up using demos and song fragments dating from between 1995 to 2012, Traces of You is due out September 5 via Bar/None Records. “The world thought IVY was gone after 2012, and for a time we did too. And after Adam’s death in 2020 it seemed certain,” shares the band’s Andy Chase “So Dominique and I are thrilled to give everyone a brand new IVY album, with our beloved Adam playing on every song!” Formed in 1994, Ivy includes Andy Chase, Dominique Durand, and the late Adam Schlesinger. Sadly, Durand and Chase assumed that Ivy was in the rearview after Schlesinger tragically passed away from COVID-19 in 2020. While prepping recent reissues of their back catalog, the band unearthed a trove of reel-to-reel tapes and old hard drives stored in their Rhode Island studio. The duo knew they would only consider working on Ivy demos featuring Schlesinger, but they were overwhelmed by deciding which songs to finish. In response, they reached out to Ivy's backing keyboardist and guitarist, Bruce Driscoll, to help go through the archives and revive these lost recordings.  Every song on Traces of You features contributions from Schlesinger, with the blessing of his family. The resulting music possesses the twinkling magic of Ivy’s classic work, paired with the kind of emotional wisdom gleaned from surviving life’s most challenging moments. Lead single “Say You Will,” an oceanic synth-pop song featuring drums from Joey Waronker (Beck, R.E.M.), was built from a 2009 demo where Schlesinger played bass and keyboard. WATCH OFFICIAL VIDEO FOR “SAY YOU WILL”

From their 1995 debut Realistic on forward, Ivy specialized in chic pop music brimming with empathy and gorgeous textures. Their six studio albums featured exquisite arrangements and influences: 1997’s Apartment Life was an indie-pop classic; 2000’s Long Distanceincorporated trip-hop and a Stereolab-esque electronic sheen; and 2005’s In the Clear was a glowing synth-pop opus. Along the way, Ivy dabbled in the film world, contributing a cover of Steely Dan’s “Only a Fool Would Say That” to the movie Me, Myself & Irene and scoring the film Shallow Hal, among others.  Over the years, a new generation of artists discovered Ivy, citing them as a major inspiration and influence, recognizing the cinematic nature of Durand’s vocals, and the band’s airtight arrangements and airy dreampop sound. These include some of indie’s biggest names (Snail Mail, Beach Fossils) and emerging artists who are making huge waves in 2025 (Momma, Slow Pulp, Wishy, DJ Python). The band broke their years long silence in late 2021 to honor the passing of Adam Schlesinger, compiling home videos from studio sessions and those early tours in memory of their friend and bandmate into a moving tribute video. Over the last few years, they’ve reissued Realistic, Apartment Life, and Long Distance, including rare demos and unreleased music with each release.

Ivy by Michelle Shiers

Tracklist: 01 The Midnight Hour 02 Fragile People 03 Mystery Girl 04 Traces of You 05 The Great Unknown 06 Say You Will 07 Heartbreak 08 Lose It All 09 Wasting Time 10 Hate That It’s True Understandably, recording without Schlesinger was often an emotional experience, with Durand citing “Fragile People” especially as a tune that brought her and Chase to tears in the studio. “Unintentionally, the song stirred up something really melancholy for us— in a very specific way—about Adam,” she says. She notes that Ivy didn’t want to lean on cliches about losing Adam when writing lyrics. “It's influenced by the loss of someone like him, but we did it in a way that's very subtle,” she says. “There's a ghostly feeling in the meaning of the lyrics.” Poignantly, Traces Of You ends with “Hate That It’s True.” An aching pop song about the pain of unresolved grief and the power of eternal love, it’s dominated by a melancholy Schlesinger acoustic guitar and Driscoll, Chase and Durand whispering incantations of affection. In the end, the album honors Schlesinger’s musical talents and creativity—but just as much magnifies the magic of Ivy, and the indelible chemistry and spirit that can’t be broken by space or time. “You can imagine how terrible it's been to lose Adam,” Chase says. “The only silver lining is that we could breathe life into these songs that he contributed to and it was a great experience making this record happen. It was some of the most fun I've ever had, working on music with Dominique and Bruce.” “It was also bittersweet,” he adds. “But what was nice about the bittersweetness was that I wasn't alone in feeling that way. We all did. We were like a school of fish— three little fish, missing that fourth fish, all swimming in perfect union with each other, going through both the highs and lows.” Connect with Ivy: Official Website | Facebook

Walter Trout To Release SIGN OF THE TIMES on September 5 - Official Music Video for "Artificial" Out Today

Walter Trout is back with a fantastic new song; love the vocals, blues harp and guitar work too...Robert Kinsler

 

BLUES ROCK RESILIENT ICON WALTER TROUT TO RELEASE HIS NEW STUDIO ALBUM TITLED "SIGN OF THE TIMES" ON SEPTEMBER 5, 2025

Watch The Video for “Artificial” HERE

 

Walter Trout at The Coach House in San Juan Capistrano, CA
on Feb. 28, 2020. / Photo: Bob Steshetz

Great artists take the pulse of their times and Walter Trout holds a mirror up to society’s anger and angst on Sign Of The Times, which will be released on September 5 via Provogue. He has also revealed his blistering new single “Artificial.” You can watch the video HERE.

 

In his half-century as a street-level social observer and scaldingly honest songwriter, blues-rock’s resilient icon Walter Trout has never told his fans what to think, how to feel, or where to stand politically. But in an era when his home nation – and the wider world – is ripping at the seams over the battlelines of modern life, the iconic U.S. bluesman’s hard-rocking new album, Sign Of The Times, is a primal scream and pressure valve for all of us. “I wanted to reflect upon what’s going on in the world,” explains the 74-year-old. “For me, writing these songs is therapy. They’re not just about what’s happening out there, but how it affects you in your head. Sign Of The Times just became the obvious title…”

 

The album explodes to life with the first single and opening song, “Artificial”: a scornful, satirical, harmonica-spiced rebuke of the fake world we risk creating. “We got artificial photos, artificial music, you could go on and on,” considers the bluesman. “I’m freaked out by AI. I read articles about how it’s gonna do all these wonderful things in the medical world. Then I hear Bill Gates say that eighty percent of jobs are gonna disappear. What happens then?”

 

It feels like the amps have barely cooled from 2024’s Broken, which debuted in Billboard at #1. But the era-chronicling songs from Sign Of The Times wouldn’t wait, these urgent riffs flying off the guitarist’s fingers, assisted once again by Marie, Walter’s wife, manager and co-writer, who penned the lyrics for some of the tracks. “This album flowed pretty easily,” he reflects of the writing process. “I had so many song ideas and pages of lyrics from Marie. We could have kept going and made a triple album.”

 

With ten new songs written and arranged, Trout was ready to call up his studio band – longtime drummer Michael Leasure, bassist John Avila and keys man Teddy ‘Zig Zag’ Andreadis – for the recording sessions at Strawhorse Studios in Los Angeles. Immediately, the tinderbox subject matter sparked one of the toughest-sounding records in his catalogue. Self-producing, and having the material mixed by sonic genius, J.J. Blair, added yet another bit of edge to the sound. “Let me put it this way, I really felt like rocking on this album. We had heavy things to talk about, and we went for it musically too.”  

 

The recent death of British blues godfather John Mayall has naturally brought Trout’s mid-’80s tenure with the Bluesbreakers into sharp focus. “His influence on my life, I can’t overstate,” reflects the guitarist. As a man who has always been open about his past agonies, pain is never far away. “’Hurt No More’ is my recovery song, with cutting yourself representing killing yourself with drugs and booze,” he says of the dust-blown rocker. 

 

With its dancing guitar lick and undeniable chorus, “I Remember” is also a moment of respite from the album’s stormier subject matter. “That song is a longing for when life was simpler,” he explains. “Like, when I was 20 and starting out. Or when Marie and I had just got together, and we had no money and were pawning guitars, but we were madly in love and the future was ahead of us.”

 

The combustible title track is one of the most experimental cuts in Trout’s half-century studio output, “I wanted it to be dissonant. Dissonance is a sign of the times. Marie came to me with a set of lyrics, and I realized it fit the song perfectly,” he says. Whilst “No Strings Attached” skewers hypocrisy, bigotry, and hatred, the album is no one-note diatribe. 

 

For Trout – who survived an eleventh-hour liver transplant in 2014 – his second chance at life still holds joy, beauty and pain. “’Mona Lisa Smile’ came to me in a dream,” he says of the gorgeous, bucolic acoustic strum decorated by accordion, mandolin and violin from famed string arranger Stevie Blacke (Snoop Dog, Joe Cocker, Alice in Chains). “Y’know, Marie is strong and potent – but there’s another side to her which makes me love her even more. That song is about when I see her vulnerability, or her moments of self-doubt and sadness.”

 

Even by Trout’s standards, Sign Of The Times is a record that puts you through the emotional wringer. But as long as there’s poignant and relevant music, we have a fighting chance. The complete track listing features “Artificial,” “Blood On My Pillow,” “Sign Of The Times,” “Mona Lisa Smile,” “Hurt No More,” “No Strings Attached,” “I Remember,” “Hightech Woman,” “Too Bad,” “Struggle To Believe.”

 

As a lifelong road warrior, Trout will be taking the Sign Of The Times material to global audiences throughout 2025. And for those glorious two hours of playing to audiences, political divides and culture wars will crumble as a crowd with little else in common melts into a communion of souls. “I could be on social media, writing very explicit posts,” he considers. “But I don’t want to contribute to the division. When I’m up onstage playing a minor-key blues, and I look down at the front row and there’s a burly biker – and he’s crying – at that moment, I’m hitting him in our common humanity, and it doesn’t matter who he voted for. At that moment, we are all in this together…”

 

Confirmed appearances include:

NORTH AMERICAN ACTIVITY:

6/12     San Luis Obispo, CA                                                  Fremont Theatre

6/13     Monterey, CA                                                             Golden State Theatre

6/14     Napa, CA                                                                    Uptown Theatre

6/15     San Jose, CA                                                               Fountain Blues and Brews Festival

 

EUROPEAN APPEARANCES:

7/17     Tuttlingen, DE                                                                        Honberg Sommer

7/18     München, DE                                                              Backstage

7/19     Hanover, DE                                                               Bluesgarage

7/20     Leer (Ostfriesland), DE                                              Zollhaus Gastro

7/22     Aakirkeby, DK                                                           Ekkodalshuset & Café Genlyd

7/25     Narcao, IT                                                                   Narcao Blues Festival 2025

7/27     Piacenza, IT                                                                Dal Mississippi Al Po

8/01     Notodden, NO                                                             Notodden Bluesfestival 2025

8/15     Leipzig, DE                                                                Parkbühne (Clara Zetkin Park)

8/17     Struer, DK                                                                  Gimsinghoved Festival 2025

 

NORTH AMERICAN ACTIVITY:

9/03     Phoenix, AZ                                                                MIM

9/05     Las Vegas, NV                                                            Big Blues Bender

9/06     Salt Lake City, UT                                                      The State Room

9/07     Boise, ID                                                                     Treefort Music Hall

9/09     Seattle, WA                                                                Jazz Alley

9/10     Seattle, WA                                                                Jazz Alley

9/11     Portland, OR                                                               Aladdin Theater

9/12     Victoria, CAN                                                            Wicket Hall

9/18     Evanston, IL                                                               SPACE

9/20     Cleveland, OH                                                                        Beachland Ballroom & Tavern

9/21     Cincinnati, OH                                                            The Ludlow Garage

9/24     New Orleans, LA                                                        The Jazz Market

9/25     New Orleans, LA                                                        The Jazz Market

 

EUROPEAN APPEARANCES:

10/25   Svalbard, NO                                                              Dark Season Blues Festival

10/28   Odense, DK                                                                Musikhuset

10/29   Aarhus, DK                                                                 Train

10/30   Fredericia, DK                                                                        Eksercerhuset

10/31   Viborg, DK                                                                 Vesterbrogade 10

11/01   Copenhagen, DK                                                        Amager Bio

11/04   Gothenburg, SE                                                          Pustervik

11/06   Uppsala, SE                                                                Katalin And All That Jazz

11/09   Helsinki, FI                                                                 House of Culture

11/12   Hamburg, DE                                                              Markthalle

11/13   Dresden, DE                                                               Tante Ju

11/14   Berlin, DE                                                                   Kesselhaus

11/18   Zurich, CH                                                                  Kaufleuten

11/19   Stuttgart, DE                                                               Im Wizemann

11/20   Heidelberg, DE                                                           Halle02

11/22   Herenthout, BE                                                           Lux Herenthout

11/25   Utrecht, NL                                                                 TivoliVredenburg

11/26   Köln, DE                                                                     Kantine

11/27   Alkmaar, NL                                                               Victoriepark

11/28   Zoetermeer, NL                                                          Poppodium Boerderij

11/29   Hengelo, NL                                                               Metropool Hengelo

11/30   Bochum, DE                                                               Zeche Bochum

 

 

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