Acclaimed singer, songwriter and musician Courtney Marie Andrews will release her highly anticipated new album, Old Flowers, June 5 on Fat Possum Records (pre-order). In advance of the release, the new album track, “If I Told,” is premiering today. Listen/share HERE.
Created in the aftermath of a long-term relationship, Old Flowers features Andrews’ most vulnerable writing to date on ten new songs that chronicle her journey through heartbreak, loneliness and finding herself again after it all.
Andrews reflects, “Old Flowers is about heartbreak. There are a million records and songs about that, but I did not lie when writing these songs. This album is about loving and caring for the person you know you can’t be with. It’s about being afraid to be vulnerable after you’ve been hurt. It’s about a woman who is alone, but okay with that, if it means truth. This was my truth this year—my nine-year relationship ended and I’m a woman alone in the world, but happy to know herself.”
Produced by Andrew Sarlo (Bon Iver, Big Thief), the album was recorded at Sound Space Studio and features only three musicians: Andrews (vocals, acoustic guitar, piano), Twain’s Matthew Davidson (bass, celeste, mellotron, pedal steel, piano, pump organ, wurlitzer, background vocals) and Big Thief’s James Krivchenia (drums, percussion).
Of their intention, Sarlo adds, “Before we got to the studio, we agreed to prioritize making this record as cathartic and minimal as possible—focusing on Courtney’s voice and her intention behind the songs. Because of this, the record is all about performance. I believe a great recording is the chemistry between everything during basics and the ability to feel something happening instead of obsessing over the perfect take. Courtney embraced this approach and we ended up with a raw, natural and human record.”
In celebration of the album, Andrews will perform special record release shows at Nashville’s Analog on June 5 and Brooklyn’s Union Pool on June 9. Additionally, this spring she will join both Nathaniel Rateliff and The Tallest Man on Earth on the road including stops at Milwaukee’s Riverside Theatre, Boston’s Orpheum Theatre, Chicago’s Old Town School of Folk Music (four nights), San Francisco’s Great American Music Hall (three nights), West Hollywood’s Troubadour (three nights), Washington DC’s 9:30 Club and New York’s Webster Hall (two nights). See below for complete details.
The release of Old Flowers continues a series of breakout years for Andrews following her critically acclaimed 2018 album, May Your Kindness Remain. The album was featured on several year-end lists including NPR Music, Variety, Paste, No Depression, The A.V. Club and Rolling Stone, who called it, “a vital roadmap of grace, forgiveness and compassion during a year when the demand for such virtues has never been higher.” Additionally, NPR Music proclaimed, “a collection of songs, borne from interactions with others, that strives for healing and empathy in the midst of division and discord” while Stereogum praised, “astonishingly beautiful.”
Since the release, Andrews has performed at NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Concert series and on CBS This Morning, earned an Emerging Artist of the Year nomination at the 2018 Americana Music Association Honors & Awards and has continued to tour toured extensively including shows with Brandi Carlile, Tyler Childers, The Head and the Heart, John Prine and Shakey Graves.
OLD FLOWERS TRACK LIST
- Burlap String
- Guilty
- If I Told
- Together Or Alone
- Carnival Dream
- Old Flowers
- Break The Spell
- It Must Be Someone Else’s Fault
- How You Get Hurt
- Ships In The Night
COURTNEY MARIE ANDREWS TOUR DATES
March 5—Milwaukee, WI—Riverside Theatre*
March 8—Toronto, ON—Roy Thomson Hall*
March 9—Toronto, ON—Roy Thomson Hall*
March 10—Boston, MA—Orpheum Theatre*
March 11—Chicago, IL—Old Town School of Folk Music†
March 12—Chicago, IL—Old Town School of Folk Music†
March 13—Chicago, IL—Old Town School of Folk Music†
March 14—Chicago, IL—Old Town School of Folk Music†
March 16—Fort Collins, CO—Washington’s†
March 19—San Francisco, CA—Great American Music Hall†
March 20—San Francisco, CA—Great American Music Hall†
March 21—San Francisco, CA—Great American Music Hall†
March 23—San Luis Obispo, CA—Fremont Theater†
March 25—West Hollywood, CA—Troubadour†
March 26—West Hollywood, CA—Troubadour†
March 27—West Hollywood, CA—Troubadour†
April 25—Indio, CA—Stagecoach Music Festival
May 7—New Haven, CT—College Street Music Hall†
May 8—Philadelphia, PA—Union Transfer†
May 9—Boston, MA—Royale†
May 10—Portsmouth, NH—Music Hall†
May 13—Washington, DC—9:30 Club†
May 14—New York, NY—Webster Hall†
May 15—New York, NY—Webster Hall†
June 5—Nashville, TN—Analog
June 9—Brooklyn, NY—Union Pool
June 12—Oslo, Norway—Oslo Americana
June 13-14—Stockholm, Sweden—Stockholm Americana
June 14—Beekse Bergen, NL—Best Kept Secret
June 16—Birmingham, U.K.—Hare & Hounds
June 17—Pocklington, U.K.—Pocklington Arts Centre
June 18—London, U.K.—Omeara
June 19-21—Tunbridge Wells, UK—Black Deer Festival
June 21—Nottingham, U.K.—Metronome
June 22—Oxford, U.K.—Wesley Memorial Church
July 10—Minneapolis, MN—Basilica Block Party
*with Nathaniel Rateliff
†with The Tallest Man on Earth