I’m With Her – Wild and Clear and Blue
Beloved folk trio I’m With Her – comprised of multi-GRAMMY winners (7 wins, 31 nominations collectively) Sarah Jarosz, Aoife O’Donovan, and Sara Watkins — will return this Spring with a stunning new record entitled Wild and Clear and Blue, out on May 9th via Rounder Records.
Recorded in New York at both The Outlier Inn in the Catskills and The Clubhouse in Rhinebeck, Wild and Clear and Blue was produced by Josh Kaufman—a member of Bonny Light Horseman and multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, arranger and producer who’s worked with Bob Weir and The National— and mixed by D. James Goodwin. The result is the long-awaited sophomore album from a close-knit alliance of highly esteemed musicians, each graced with a deep understanding of folk tradition and unbridled passion for expanding its possibilities. The group’s first album led to a GRAMMY nomination, wins at the Americana Music Association Awards and International Folk Music Awards, #1s on the Billboard Bluegrass Albums and Folk Albums charts (where it remained charting for 7 months), and much more. Now, on their forthcoming record, I’m With Her bring their luminous harmonies to a soul-searching body of work about reaching into the past, navigating a chaotic present, and bravely moving forward into the unknown.
Alongside today’s album announcement is the release of “Ancient Light,” the stunning first single and album opener of Wild and Clear and Blue.
“Ancient Light” is a tender meditation on ancestral ties and cycles of life, adorned with a lavish instrumental section featuring Watkins’ artful layering of fiddle and cello. With Jarosz on lead vocals, “Ancient Light” embodies a spirit of subtle resolve as she calmly narrates the havoc around her (“While everything’s unraveling/I’m building a fire/Sparks and smoke rings/Fill up the night/When it catches/I’ll be swimming in the ancient light”).
Of the track, the band says: “We started playing around with this riff in a Silverlake bungalow in October of 2022. We were still at the beginning of writing this album, and as these images of joyful melancholy floated towards us, we found ourselves reaching for them in a free-flowing way that felt wholly new to us, yet completely natural. This song is a journey, and (producer) Josh Kaufman encouraged us to open the song up and let it breathe. ‘Ancient Light’ sets the tone for the entire album, communing with our past and future selves.”
With the song, I’m With Her shares an incredible music video, full of self-recorded behind-the-scenes footage from the making of Wild and Clear and Blue.
Tour Dates
4/25 – Wilkesboro, NC – MerleFest
5/26 – Amsterdam, NL – Paradiso
5/29 – London, UK – Barbican
6/5 – St. Louis, MO – The Pageant
6/6 – Bloomington, IN – Buskirk-Chumley Theater
6/7 – Ann Arbor, MI – Michigan Theater
6/8 – Grand Rapids, MI – Venue TBA
6/10 – Madison, WI – Capitol Theater
6/13 – Chicago, IL – Thalia Hall
6/14 – St. Paul, MN – The Fitzgerald Theater
6/15 – Iowa City, IA – The Englert Theatre
6/17 – Kansas City, MO – Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts
6/19 Telluride, CO – Telluride Bluegrass Festival
7/10 – Interlochen, MI – Interlochen Center for the Arts *
7/11 – Cincinnati, OH – Taft Theatre *
7/12 – Asheville, NC – Asheville Yards Amphitheater *
7/13 – Cary, NC – Koka Booth Amphitheatre *
7/15 – Vienna, VA – Wolf Trap *
7/16 – Westport, CT – Levitt Pavilion
7/18 – Oak Hill, NY – Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival
7/19 – Portland, ME – Thompson’s Point *
7/20 – Burlington, VT – The Green at Shelburne Museum *
7/21 – Northampton, MA – The Pines Theater *
7/23 – Richmond, VA – Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden *
7/24 – Glenside, PA – Keswick Theatre *
7/25 – Lafayette, NY – Beak and Skiff Apple Orchards *
7/26 – Newport, RI – Newport Folk Festival
9/25 – Oklahoma City, OK – Tower Theatre
9/26 – Dallas, TX – The Majestic Theatre
9/27 – Austin, TX – Paramount Theatre
9/29 – Santa Fe, NM – The Lensic Performing Arts Center
10/1 – San Diego, CA – Epstein Family Amphitheater at UC San Diego
10/2 – Los Angeles, CA – Venue TBA
10/3 – Santa Barbara, CA – Campbell Hall
10/6 – Davis, CA – Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts
10/8 – Seattle, WA – Moore Theatre
10/9 – Bellingham, WA – Mount Baker Theatre
10/10 – Portland, OR – Revolution Hall
10/11 – Boise, ID – Egyptian Theatre
10/13 – Jackson, WY – Center for the Arts
10/14 – Aspen, CO – Harris Concert Hall
10/15 – Denver, CO – Paramount Theatre
11/4 – Buffalo, NY – Asbury Hall
11/5 – Toronto, ON – Koerner Hall
11/7 – Princeton, NJ – McCarter Theatre Center
11/8 – Boston, MA – Boch Center Shubert Theatre
11/9 – York, PA – Venue TBA
11/11 – New York, NY – Beacon Theatre
11/12 – Rocky Mount, VA – Harvester Performance Center
11/14 – Charleston, SC – Charleston Music Hall
11/15 – Atlanta, GA – The Tabernacle
11/16 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium
*co-headline with Iron & Wine
#imwithherband