Video: Corinne Bailey Rae Debuts Video for 'New York Transit Queen'

Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Corinne Bailey Rae unveils the music video for her new riot grrrl punk inspired single, “New York Transit Queen,” Watch/share the video here at noon ET.

In celebration of the video debut, Corinne Bailey Rae will livestream at 11:40 AM ET to talk about the album and answer questions from fans. Her new album Black Rainbows is set for release September 15 via Thirty Tigers. Pre-save/pre-order the album here.

Bailey Rae’s inspiration for “New York Transit Queen,” is drawn from a photo of Miss New York Transit pageant winner Audrey Smaltz. “Audrey Smaltz’s song became a riot grrrl punk song because she has this playful, hellraiser look in her eye, Bailey Rae notes. “The sexy or domestic would be reimagined as powerful/tough/sexy/outside of male gaze flyers for all girl band nights.”

Wide ranging in its themes, Black Rainbows’ subjects are drawn from encounters with objects in the Arts Bank, a curated collection of Black archives comprising books, sculpture, records, furniture and problematic objects from America’s past.

From the rock hewn churches of Ethiopia to the journeys of Black Pioneers westward, from Miss New York Transit 1957 to how the sunset appears from Harriet Jacobs’ loophole. Black Rainbows explores Black femininity, Spell Work, Inner Space/Outer Space, time collapse, ancestors and music as a vessel for transcendence.

In celebration of the new project, Bailey Rae is taking her live show to select U.S. cities this fall including Yale University’s Schwarzman Center, New York’s National Jazz Museum in Harlem, University of Chicago’s Rockefeller Memorial Chapel, and Bailey Rae will be making an appearance at the 35th Annual Chinati Weekend in Marfa, TX. See below for the full tour routing.

ABOUT CORINNE BAILEY RAE

English singer/songwriter/musician Corinne Bailey Rae shot to stardom with her self-titled #1 U.K. debut album in 2006, featuring the global hits “Put Your Records On” and “Like A Star.” Over the course of her career she has released three critically acclaimed studio albums—Corinne Bailey Rae, The Sea and The Heart Speaks in Whispers—and earned two Grammy Awards, two MOBOS, and has been nominated for multiple awards including the BRIT Awards, Mercury Music Prize and BET Awards.

Her work for film and television includes the theme to Stan Lee’s Lucky Man (SKY1), “The Scientist” for Universal Pictures’ Fifty Shades Darker opening title and soundtrack which charted globally, and in 2020 her song “New to Me” was performed in the film The High Note by Tracee Ellis Ross.

Bailey Rae has collaborated with a wide range of artists including Mary J. Blige, Al Green, Herbie Hancock, KING, Paul McCartney, Kele Okereke (Bloc Party), Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Questlove, Salaam Rami, RZA, Tyler The Creator, Paul Weller, Richard Hawley, Stevie Wonder, Tracey Thorn, Pharrell, Logic, Mick Jenkins and many more.

CORINNE BAILEY RAE LIVE

September 5—Long Island, NY—Staller Center for the
Arts at Stony Brook University
September 6—Washington, DC—Lincoln Theatre
September 8—Philadelphia, PA—Theatre of Living Arts
September 9—New Haven, CT—Schwarzman Center at Yale University
September 10—New York, NY—The National Jazz Museum in Harlem
September 12—Cincinnati, OH—Memorial Hall
September 14—Chicago, IL—Rockefeller Memorial Chapel
at University of Chicago
September 17—Nashville, TN—CMA Theater
September 19—Charleston, SC—Charleston Music Hall
September 20—Durham, NC—Carolina Theatre
September 22—Sugar Hill, GA—The Eagle Theatre at Sugar Hill
September 24—Birmingham, AL—Alys Stephens Center
at University of Alabama
September 26—New Orleans, LA—Orpheum Theater
September 29—Austin, TX—The Paramount Theatre
October 1—Houston, TX—Stafford Centre
October 3—Dallas, TX—Texas Theatre
October 5—Santa Fe, NM—Lensic Performing Arts Center
October 7—Marfa, TX—Saint George Hall

photo credit: Koto Bolofo

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