Chris Smither Drops New Single 'All About The Bones'

Revered guitarist/songwriter Chris Smither has released the second single, "All About The Bones," today on all streaming outlets; it's the title track of upcoming album out May 3 on Signature Sounds Records.

The song is classic Smither, highlighting his rumbling baritone, foot stomps, wry lyrics and Delta-blues style picking. PopMatters writes, "'All About The Bones' is peak Chris Smither, a song that seems at once both a revelation and not unlike the return of a long-awaited friend."

The folk blues icon has also shared a performance video for the song where he's backed by longtime colleague David “Goody” Goodrich (electric guitar, electric diddley bow, percussion), Zak Trojano (drums, percussion), Chris Cheekus (baritone sax) and Betty Soo (vocals). 

“This is about as solid as it gets, and rest assured, even this won't last forever," Smither says of the song. "It's a theme that surfaces many times in the album, the search for the essence, the inner framework that holds everything together, which we hope will be lasting, and like everything, is transitory. S'OK, I can live with it."

The sound and imagery on All About The Bones is as elemental as the inky black shadows cast by a shockingly bright moon. The listener is welcomed into some gothic mansion on an imaginary New Orleans street, and there in the lamplit parlor confronts the band, a minimalist skeleton crew: Smither's inimitable propulsive guitar and rumbling baritone are joined seamlessly to producer Goodrich's carpetbag of instruments, Zak Trojano's rock-steady, primal drumming, Betty Soo's diaphanous harmony vocals, and the flat, mournful flood of Jazz legend Chris Cheek's saxophone.

Smither and David Goodrich have been refining their musical conversation for decades, both in the studio and onstage, and by now, their bond verges on the telepathic.

After six decades of sharpening his knife as a songwriter, Smither can damn near conjure anything with a flick of his wrist. God and the Devil are opened here. Mortality is too. Politics, consciousness, renewal, family, vulnerability, surrender… Smither has sat with these topics like so many Zen koans, for so long, that every line is a pearl.

Smither turns 80 this year, but his tour schedule, including dates at the Iridium in New York City, Levon Helm's studio in Woodstock and two nights at McCabe's in Los Angeles, shows he has no intention of slowing down. (Scroll down for complete dates.)

TOUR DATES:

# with special guest Peter Mulvey

% with special guest Betty Soo

SA MAR 23 Eastham, MA - First Encounter Coffeehouse 

SA MAR 30 Charleston, WV - Clay Center's Walker Theater/Woody Hawley Concerts

FR APR 12 Elkton, MD - Elkton Music Hall

SA APR 13 Blairstown, NJ - Roy's Hall

SU APR 14 Tuckerton, NJ - Lizzie Rose

TH APR 18 Concord, NH - Capitol Center for the Arts (Cloudbelly opens)

FR APR 19 Brownfield, ME - Stone Mountain Arts Center

SA APR 20 Brunswick, ME - Concerts for a Cause

WE MAY 01 Asheville, NC - Grey Eagle Music Hall

TH MAY 02 Nashville, TN - Bluebird Cafe 

SA MAY 04 Decatur, GA - Eddie's Attic

FR MAY 17 Fall River, MA - Narrows Center for Arts #

SA MAY 18 Boston, MA - City Winery Boston #

SU MAY 19 Portsmouth, NH - 3S Artspace #

SA MAY 25 Pomeroy, OH - Fur Peace Ranch #

WE MAY 29 Washington, DC - The Hamilton #

TH MAY 30 Philadelphia, PA - World Cafe Live #

FR MAY 31 Woodstock, NY - Levon Helm Studios #

SA JUN 01 Northampton, MA - Bombyx Center for Arts & Equity #

TH JUN 06 Annapolis, MD - Ram's Head On Stage #

FR JUN 07 New York City, NY - Iridium #

TH JUN 20 Madison, WI - The Bur Oak %

FR-SA, JUN 22 - 23 Effingham, IL - Moccasin Creek Festival 

FR JUN 21 Evanston, IL - SPACE %

TH JUL 11  Berkeley CA - Freight and Salvage

FR JUL 12  Santa Monica, CA - McCabe's

SA JUL 13 Santa Monica, CA - McCabe's

WE JUL 17 Eugene, OR - Shedd Institute 

TH JUL 18 Portland, OR - Alberta Rose Theatre

TUE JUL 23 Seattle, WA - Tractor Tavern

Photo: Credit: Jo Chattman

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