Ron Pope Releases Single 'The Last,' New album Work Out 8/18
By: Caryn Robbins Jul. 28, 2017
Today, Ron Pope shares "The Last" exclusively on Spotify; listen/share the track HERE via Soundcloud and download HERE. The track is taken from the Nashville-based independent artist's forthcoming album Work, due August 18 on his own Brooklyn Basement Records. Of the song Pope notes, "We've all given ourselves that pep talk after a relationship ends, the one where you try to convince yourself that you're better off without her. The sentiment is something along the lines of 'Yeah, she fooled me, but she fooled people before I showed up and she'll fool people after I'm gone. It's not the end of the world.' I'm saying all of that with a smile on my face; she's someone else's problem now so here's a great big stack of harmonies!"
Pope was recently included in Rolling Stone Country's "10 New Country Artists You Need To Know" July feature. The site also premiered the video for "Can't Stay Here."Read the full feature HERE and share the video HERE. Pope kicks off his international tourSeptember 28 with a pair of dates at New York's Irving Plaza.
Work follows last year's critically acclaimed Ron Pope & The Nighthawks, of whichEntertainment Weekly raved, "Heavier, deeper, bigger, louder. The warm glow of the West, and a heavy meditation on classic sounds of the South seeps out."
Work is Pope's seventh studio album. To date, he has surpassed one million monthly listeners on Spotify, sold out shows in more than 20 countries, sold over 2 million digital tracks, had over 200 million streams on Spotify, 630 million plays on Pandora and 150 million views on YouTube. Pope's music has been featured on NBC's "The Voice," CW's "Vampire Diaries," "90210," and multiple seasons of FOX's "So You Think You Can Dance," which sent two of his albums into the top 100 on iTunes simultaneously. Pope also guest starred as himself in season three of the show "Nashville."
The album was recorded completely in analog at Welcome to 1979 in Nashville, where Pope and his fellow musicians locked themselves in the studio for one week until the album was complete. Work was co-produced and recorded with Grammy award-winning engineer Ted Young, his third consecutive collaboration with Pope. The lead single "Bad For Your Health" was co-written by Pope and Jonathan Tyler.
Of the new recording, Pope says, "This album follows me from when I was thirteen and a teacher told my mother that I'd probably end up in prison; I started messing around writing songs that year. It's been mostly uphill ever since."
Appearing on the new album are Jay Collins on sax (Gregg Allman Band), Mike Riddleberger on drums (Bleachers), Andrew Pertes on bass (Savoir Adore), Kai Welch on keys/accordion (Abigail Washburn, Glen Campbell), Jeff Malinowski on guitar (Frances Cone), Alex Brumel on guitar/pedal steel and Charles Ray on flugelhorn/trumpet. The record also features guest vocals on select tracks from Mary Richardson (The Banditos), Katie Schecter, Molly Parden and Vanessa McGowan.
Earlier this year Pope performed "Baby, I Love You" at Carnegie Hall as part of The Music of Aretha Franklin tribute show. He also recorded a cover of the song and an accompanying in-studio video in celebration of Franklin's 75th birthday. Glide proclaims, "Taking on Aretha is a daunting task, but with Pope's vivacious voice and the top notch players behind him, this rendition is blessed with [it's own] unique wow factor while retaining its original luster." See the full post HERE and share HERE.
RON POPE LIVE
September 28 & 29 /// New York, NY /// Irving Plaza
September 30 /// Syracuse, NY /// Wescott Theater
October 1 /// Toronto, ON /// Opera House
October 4 /// Portland, ME /// Port City Music Hall
October 5 /// Uncasville, CT /// Wolf Den @ Mohegan Sun
October 6 /// Boston, MA /// Paradise Rock Club
October 7 /// Asbury Park, NJ /// Stone Pony
October 8 /// Philadelphia, PA /// Trocadero
October 10 /// Washington, DC /// 9:30 Club
October 12 /// Knoxville, TN /// Bijou Theatre
October 13 /// Nashville, TN /// Cannery Ballroom
October 14 /// Atlanta, GA /// Buckhead Theatre
October 16 /// Cincinnati, OH /// Bogart's
October 17 /// Detroit, MI /// The Majestic
October 19 /// Milwaukee, WI /// Turner Hall Ballroom
October 20 /// Minneapolis, MN /// First Ave
October 21 /// Chicago, IL /// Park West
October 22 /// Indianapolis, IN /// Deluxe
October 28 /// Stockholm, SE /// Fryshuset (Klubben)
October 29 /// Oslo, NO /// Parkteatret
October 30 /// Copenhagen, DK /// DR Koncerthuset
October 31 /// Hamburg, DE /// Terrace Hill
November 1 /// Amsterdam, NL /// Bitterzoet
November 2 /// Cologne, DE /// Artheater
November 3 /// Munich, DE /// Ampere
November 5 /// London, UK /// The Garage
November 6 /// Manchester, UK /// Academy 3
September 30 /// Syracuse, NY /// Wescott Theater
October 1 /// Toronto, ON /// Opera House
October 4 /// Portland, ME /// Port City Music Hall
October 5 /// Uncasville, CT /// Wolf Den @ Mohegan Sun
October 6 /// Boston, MA /// Paradise Rock Club
October 7 /// Asbury Park, NJ /// Stone Pony
October 8 /// Philadelphia, PA /// Trocadero
October 10 /// Washington, DC /// 9:30 Club
October 12 /// Knoxville, TN /// Bijou Theatre
October 13 /// Nashville, TN /// Cannery Ballroom
October 14 /// Atlanta, GA /// Buckhead Theatre
October 16 /// Cincinnati, OH /// Bogart's
October 17 /// Detroit, MI /// The Majestic
October 19 /// Milwaukee, WI /// Turner Hall Ballroom
October 20 /// Minneapolis, MN /// First Ave
October 21 /// Chicago, IL /// Park West
October 22 /// Indianapolis, IN /// Deluxe
October 28 /// Stockholm, SE /// Fryshuset (Klubben)
October 29 /// Oslo, NO /// Parkteatret
October 30 /// Copenhagen, DK /// DR Koncerthuset
October 31 /// Hamburg, DE /// Terrace Hill
November 1 /// Amsterdam, NL /// Bitterzoet
November 2 /// Cologne, DE /// Artheater
November 3 /// Munich, DE /// Ampere
November 5 /// London, UK /// The Garage
November 6 /// Manchester, UK /// Academy 3
Photo credit: Blair Clark
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