Anaïs Mitchell Releases New Single 'Bright Star'; Announces New Solo Album & US Tour

Tony- and Grammy-award-winning singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell (Hadestown, Bonny Light Horseman, Big Red Machine) has announced her first solo record in over a decade. The self-titled full-length will be available on January 28, 2022 via BMG.

Preorder the album here.

Produced by Josh Kaufman, the 10-song album also features core players including Kaufman, Michael Lewis, JT Bates, Thomas Bartlett and Aaron Dessner, with string and flute arrangements provided by Nico Muhly. Dubbed by NPR as "one of the greatest songwriters of her generation," the Vermont-based Mitchell is a master of the worlds of narrative folk song, poetry and balladry, and the 10 songs on this record are a perfect showcase of her skills. In addition, Mitchell has also shared the album's stunning first single, "Bright Star".

After leaving her life in Brooklyn at nine months pregnant and moving back home during the pandemic, the album chronicles Mitchell's reconnection with the Vermont roots that have been so formative in her life and music. "Bright Star" finds her making peace with the idea of being at peace in the familiar setting of her grandparents' house.

"During the first pandemic summer I was staying on the family farm where I grew up, in a little house that belonged to my grandparents when they were alive. I could see the stars for the first time in a long time," Mitchell recalled. "I wasn't traveling anywhere, or even doing much of anything, for the first time in a long time. 'Bright Star' is about looking back on years of restless pursuit and making peace with the source of that longing: the Muse, the Great Unknown, the One That Got Away - those things that motivate us that we never can touch."

Mitchell will headline a US tour that kicks off in January 2022, where she will be joined by players from the record, as well as her own Bonny Light Horseman bandmates, who will also perform their own set. And today, she adds more US and UK/EU tour dates for next year. See all shows below.

Mitchell is a Tony® and Grammy®-award-winning creator of the Broadway musical Hadestown for which she wrote the book, music and lyrics. Hadestown won 8 Tony Awards overall including Best Musical as well as the Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album.

Tour Dates

1/26 - Solana Beach, CA - Belly Up Tavern

1/27 - Los Angeles, CA - Ace Hotel

1/28 - Berkeley, CA - The UC Theatre

1/29 - Santa Barbara, CA - Lobero Theatre

1/30 - Stanford, CA - Bing Concert Hall

2/1 - Boulder, CO - Boulder Theater

2/2 - Beaver Creek, CO - Vilar Performing Arts Center (VPAC)

2/4 - Iowa City, IA - Englert Theatre

2/5 - Eau Claire, WI - Pablo Center at the Confluence

2/8 - Cincinnati, OH - Longworth-Anderson Series at Memorial Hall

2/10 - Springfield, OH- Kuss Auditorium

2/11- North Bethesda, MD - The Music Center at Strathmore

2/12 - Princeton, NJ - McCarter Theatre Center

2/14 - New York, NY - Webster Hall

2/15 - Hanover, NH - Hopkins Center for the Arts

2/16 - Tarrytown, NY - Tarrytown Music Hall

2/17 - Portland, ME - Merrill Auditorium

2/18 - Boston, MA - Berklee Performance Center

2/19 - Burlington, VT - Flynn Center for the Performing Arts

2/20 - Kingston, NY - Old Dutch Church

2/23 - Roanoke, VA - Jefferson Center

2/24 - Charlotte, NC - Knight Theater

2/26 - Athens, GA - Hugh Hodgson School of Music

2/27 - Auburn, AL - Jay and Susie Gogue Performing Arts Center at Auburn University

2/28 - Greenville, SC - The Peace Center

4/28 - Evanston, IL - Space

5/01 - Minneapolis, MN - Turf Club

5/04 - Seattle, WA - The Crocodile

5/05 - Portland, OR - Revolution Hall

Watch the new music video here:

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