Liam Forde's Debut Album GREAT TO BE HERE Out Today

BALLYHOO MUSIC has announced that the debut album from pop/jazz vocalist and songwriter Liam Forde, Great to Be Here, is available today Friday, March 25. Tonight, Forde will celebrate the album with a concert at New York's Rockwood Music Hall (196 Allen Street). Tickets, which are $20, are available at RockwoodMusicHall.com. Great to Be Here is produced by Zach Eldridge and engineered by Grammy Award nominee Geoff Countryman (Patti LaBelle, Wu-Tang Clan, Dr. Luke). For updates, follow him on Instagram @Liam.Forde.Music and at Liam-Forde.com. Stream the album at liamforde.hearnow.com

The Rockwood concert will feature Liam Forde on piano and vocals, album producer Zachary Eldridge on drums, Chris Bonner on bass, Adam Stoler on guitar, Mamiko Watanabe on keyboard/piano, Kali Rodriguez-Peña on trumpet, Gina Benalcázar López on trombone, album engineer Geoff Countryman on saxophone and flute, and Tyrone Davis, Jr. and Kiena Williams on backup vocals.

A special music video for the album's first single "When My World's in Tune" recorded at the legendary Players Club and directed by Richard Cerato, is available to watch!

The album's second single "Geraniums" - a ravishing chamber-pop original at once hopeful and melancholy - features Forde's lilting vocals hovering over the melodic, cello-laced opening, which then builds to a lush, emotional crescendo.

Great to Be Here features original songs that blend cosmopolitan pop and a vintage sound with contemporary influences like Jon Batiste, Lake Street Dive, and Rufus Wainwright. Forde's authentic points of view create something fresh while drawing from a decidedly 1960s soundscape that encompasses the dry wit of Cole Porter, the infectious rhythms of Stevie Wonder, and the sweeping grandeur of classic Hollywood soundtracks.

Other highlights include "Plaza Hotel," Forde's yearning homage to café society's heyday, complete with a wry vocal and zesty horn arrangement; "Paris When It's Grey," an achingly tender jazz waltz with the style of Audrey Hepburn and the verve of Henry Mancini, featuring a bravura solo by Parisian guitarist Vladimir Médail; and "Mrs. Dudley," a humorous sunshine pop character study with a lyric in the vein of Noël Coward. "Gratitude Song" closes the album: a gospel-infused shuffle that is an introspective yet upbeat meditation on the importance of taking one moment at a time.

All songs on Great to Be Here have music and lyrics by Liam Forde.

Liam Forde is a New York-based singer and songwriter who has already received numerous press accolades.

Forde has been the recipient of many honors, including the Bistro Award for "Performer on the Rise," the Nightlife Award for "Outstanding Male Vocalist," the Mabel Mercer Foundation's Julie Wilson Award, and a Helen Hayes Award for "Outstanding Performance." In addition to headlining shows in London, he has performed concerts in Paris at L'Auguste Théâtre, Café Universel, and Le Carré Parisien.