Jim Lauderdale Finds ‘Reason and Rhyme’ With New Album
Master lyricists Jim Lauderdale and Robert Hunter have united, once again, to release 'Reason and Rhyme,' the follow-up to their critically-acclaimed 2010 project, 'Patchwork River.'
"This one's back to total bluegrass," Jim explains of the new album, released this week. "We started on this one last August. This time around, we wanted to keep the momentum from 'Patchwork River' going. I started sending him melodies, and ten days later we had 18 songs to choose from."
With a partnership much like the legendary creative union between Elton John and Bernie Taupin, Robert's gift of crafting poetic lyrics combined with Jim's ear for strong melodies has thrived since the two musicians first joined forces in 2004 on their collaborative debut, 'Headed for the Hills.'
"I have worked just about every way you can think of -- writing in the same room, adding lyrics to music and music to lyric, but whichever way we go, he's the lyric guy and I'm the music guy."
The end result is 'Reason and Rhyme,' a dynamic 11-song collection that recalls Jim's childhood admiration for bluegrass music. The singer-songwriter has embarked on a cross-country tour to promote the project, with the first show tonight (June 22) at Nashville's Music City Roots. Click here to purchase tickets.
Jim Lauderdale 2011 Tour Dates
June 22 - Nashville, Tenn. - Music City Roots
June 24 - Nashville, Tenn. - Station Inn
June 27 - New York, N.Y. - The Living Room
July 22 - Trumansburg, N.Y. - Grassroots Festival
July 24 - Washington, D.C. - Hill Country
July 26 - Abindgon, Va. - Virginia Highlands Community College
August 6 - Casper, Wyo. - Beartrap Summer Festival
August 8 - Helena, Mont. - Myrna Loy Center
August 10 - Boise, Idaho - Alive After Five
August 11 - Snowmass Village, Colo. Jazz Aspen Snowmass Summer Series
August 13 - Alta, Wyo. - Targhee Music Festival
September 6 - Woodlands, Texas - Real Life - Real Music @ Dosey Doe
September 17 - Bristol, Tenn. - Bristol's Rhythm and Roots Reunion
October 6 - Richmond, Va. - Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden
October 7 - Asheville, N.C. - The Orange Peel (with the Blind Boys of Alabama)
October 13 - Nashville Tenn. - Americana Music Conference
October 21 - North Bethesda, Md. - Strathmore