Jason Isbell & John Paul White Join Paula Cole on 'For The Birds'

Grammy-winning songwriter and producer Paula Cole has released For The Birds, a new set of songs recorded with fellow luminaries and Grammy award winners Jason Isbell and John Paul White. Lead single "Mother, Son and Holy Ghost" is a collaboration of three iconic singers and lyricists, and the song sees the three harmonizing on lyrics that paint an introspective portrait of loss and longing.

Also released today is "Ricochet," an uptempo ballad that Cole recorded with John Paul White. For The Birds is available for download now and will be released on vinyl this fall, pre-order here.

"'Mother, Son and Holy Ghost' is about a man who has lost his wife and child," writes Cole. "The song describes his lonely landscape, his attempts to fill the void. Of course, a tight grip is futile. He must come to terms with loss in order to be fully alive."

"I was beyond thrilled to get the note from Paula to collaborate," writes John Paul White. "She's an enigmatic performer, a brilliant wordsmith, a riveting singer - and an even better human being. So happy to be a small part of her fantastic career, and to be her friend."

"I think our collaboration is beautiful," Cole elaborates. "John Paul plays a gorgeous acoustic guitar part, Jason plays iconic slide guitar. They are both tremendous musicians. I play piano. We all sing. It felt like a band, I loved this experience."

Cole describes how the collaboration came about writing, "I wrote a song for Jason, John Paul and myself. I sent them a demo. Thankfully, they liked it well enough, and I booked us some time at Oceanway Studio in Nashville. I mused upon the lyrical idea of the holy trinity for us as a trio, except I feminized God. Our meeting felt like a reunion, so natural. I had never met Jason or John Paul before, and yet, we felt kindred."

"Jim Cole loved birds and bird-watching, and we used to hike on Audubon sanctuary. Giving back to Audubon feels meaningful, for giving to the birds means giving to habitat preservation, which will help so many species, including the human species. On the North American continent alone, we have lost 3 billion birds in my lifetime. That's one third of the continent's bird population gone. We must preserve old growth, green space, wildlife corridors, trees. We must bear the responsibility of tending the garden - for ourselves, for generations behind us."

Listen to the new single here:

Paula Cole Tour Dates

10/08/22 - Concord, NH @ Capitol Center for the Arts
10/09/22 - Arundel, ME @ Vinegar Hill Music Theatre
10/15/22 - Franklin, TN @ The Franklin Theatre
10/16/22 - Atlanta, GA @ City Winery
10/18/22 - Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel
10/19/22 - Cincinnati, OH @ Memorial Hall OTR
10/20/22 - Carmel, IN @ The Center for the Performing Arts
10/27/22 - Courtenay, BC @ Sid Williams Theatre
10/28/22 - Sidney, BC @ Mary Winspear Centre
10/29/22 - Nanaimo River, BC @ Port Theatre
10/30/22 - Campbell River, BC @ Tidemark Theatre
11/04/22 - Brownfield, ME @ Stone Mountain Arts Center
11/06/22 - Riverhead, NY @ Suffolk Theater
11/09/22 - Fairfield, CT @ Sacred Heart University
11/10/22 - South Orange, NJ @ SOPAC
11/11/22 - Chester, NY @ Sugar Loaf Performing Arts Center
11/12/22 - Lexington, MA @ Isaac Harris Cary Memorioal Building
11/18/22 - Stuart, FL @ Lyric Theatre
11/20/22 - Orange Park, FL @ Thrasher-Horne Center

Test and expand your Broadway knowledge with our new game - The Broadway Match-Up! How well do you know your Broadway casting trivia?	Play the Daily Game, explore current shows, and delve into past decades like the 2000s, 80s, and the Golden Age. Challenge your friends and see where you rank!
How well do you know your Tony Awards history? Take our never-ending quiz of nominations and winner history and challenge your friends.	Can you beat your friends? Play today’s daily Broadway word game, featuring a new theatrically inspired word or phrase every day!