Nicki Bluhm Announces New Album + Tour Dates

Compass Records is excited to announce the release of renowned singer/songwriter Nicki Bluhm's new album, TO RISE YOU GOTTA FALL, out June 1. To celebrate the announcement, Rolling Stone premiered the title track yesterday, hailing the song as "a blast of Memphis soul." TO RISE YOU GOTTA FALL was recorded in Memphis at the legendary Sam Phillips Recording studio and features two co-writes with Ryan Adams and a Dan Penn cover. For these live band analog sessions, Bluhm brought in producer Matt Ross-Spang (Margo Price, Jason Isbell), and the studio band included Will Sexton (guitar), Ross-Spang (guitars), Ken Coomer (drums and percussion), Al Gamble (Hammond B3), Rick Steff (piano) and Dave Smith (bass), with Reba Russell and Susan Marshall (background singers), Sam Shoup (string arrangements) and various special guests. "To Rise You Gotta Fall" is available to listen on all streaming platforms here.

"It was the very first song we tracked," Bluhm told Rolling Stone, "and Ken just started playing the groove and the band slowly started to drift in. Ken is such a present musician, and he's listening to the words and reading the room and the vibe...There's a line in the song that says, 'I went looking for some perspective, so I knocked on my mama's door,' and he just hit the drum - the rim - like a knock, which brought a playfulness and lightness to the song. I love Will's guitar playing, too. It's so understated, but he makes himself known. It's like the old saying goes: 'The young bull charges down the hill, but the old bull takes his time.' These musicians were tasteful; they're all old bulls full of experience and class. Having a string section arranged by Sam Shoup was the icing on the cake. Memphis had melted into my California soul."

After six years with her band the Gramblers, and recent high-profile collaborations (Phil Lesh, Infamous StringDusters, Ryan Adams), Bluhm wrote the life-chronicling songs for TO RISE YOU GOTTA FALL over a two-year period, during which she got divorced and moved to Nashville, TN. The album is a chronicle of her state of mind following these deep and fundamental life changes.

"These songs are quite personal," Bluhm says. "They are the conversations I never got to have, the words I never had the chance to say, and the catharsis I wouldn't have survived without."

Bluhm will be touring this year and beyond in support of TO RISE YOU GOTTA FALL. The confirmed tour dates are below. More will be announced soon.

NICKI BLUHM

TO RISE YOU GOTTA FALL

Tracklisting:

1. How Do I Love You

2. Battlechain Rose

3. To Rise You Gotta Fall

4. Staring At The Sun

5. Something Really Mean

6. I Hate You

7. Can't Fool The Fool

8. Things I've Done

9. You Stopped Loving Me (I Can't Stop Loving You)

10. It's OK Not To Be OK

11. Last To Know

NICKI BLUHM 2018 TOUR DATES:

April 11 - Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue*
April 12 - Madison, WI @ Majestic Theatre*
April 13 - Chicago, IL @ Vic Theatre*
April 14 - Chicago, IL @ Vic Theatre*
April 15 - Saint Louis, MO @ The Pageant*
April 17 - Cincinnati, OH @ Taft Ballroom*
April 18 - Ann Arbor, MI @ The Ark*
April 19 - Indianapolis, IN @ The Vogue*
April 20 - Knoxville, TN @ Bijou*
April 21 - Brevard, NC @ Songsmith Gathering
April 22 - Charlotte, NC @ Tuck Fest
May 27 - Colorado Springs, CO @ Meadowgrass Music Festival
May 28 - Aspen, CO @ Belly Up
May 31 - Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater
June 1 - Eagle, CO @ Bonfire Brewing Block Party
June 2 - Taos, NM @ Music on the Mothership
June 3 - Flagstaff, AZ @ Hullabaloo
June 5 - Solana Beach, CA @ Belly Up
June 7 - West Hollywood, CA @ The Troubadour
June 8 - San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
June 10 - Crystal Bay, NV @ Crystal Bay Club Casino
June 12 - Chico, CA @ Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
June 13 - Arcata, CA @ Humbrews
June 14 - Eugene, OR @ HiFi
June 15 - Portland, OR @ Dog Fir Lounge
June 16 - Seattle, WA @ Tractor Tavern
July 13 - Atlanta, GA @ Atlanta Botanical Gardens
July 14 - Charlotte, NC @ Knight Theater
July 19 - Scranton, PA @ Peach Music Festival
July 20 - Alexandria, VA @ Hamilton
July 22 - Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair
July 25 - Floyd, VA @ FloydFest
July 25 - New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
July 26 - Philadelphia, PA @ The Foundry
July 29 - Nashville, TN @ 3rd & Lindsley

*Nicki solo supporting The Wood Brothers