Judy Collins’ musical renaissance continues today with the release of her new album Spellbound. It has been met with tremendous support, including high-profile interviews with the New York Times for their My Ten feature which ran in the Arts & Leisure section last weekend, a Vulture Superlatives interview, and coverage from Pitchfork, Consequence of Sound, American Songwriter, and far beyond. Judy will also continue her international tour throughout all of 2022.
Ever prolific, Collins has released six albums in the past six years, for a total of 55 albums. She has also just shared a brand new episode of her podcast Since You’ve Asked, which she first debuted last summer. The episode is a lovely conversation between her and founder, chief executive officer and head of Elektra Records and Nonesuch Records, Jac Holzman. She credits Jac as the record executive that first “discovered” her. Listen here: https://since-youve-asked.simplecast.com/episodes/since-youve-asked-jac-holzman
Collins dedicated Spellbound to Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie who influenced her greatly, and it features 12 recently composed, modern folk songs and a bonus track of her evergreen “The Blizzard.” Watch the lyric video for focus track “Spellbound” here: https://youtu.be/JnTh7TkFK1U
Spellbound takes the listener into a deep-dive of Judy’s most transformative and remarkable moments. The lyrics showcase Judy’s painterly songwriting from “Grand Canyon” where she sings about running Fern Lake Lodge in Estes Park without any running water or electricity, to “So Alive” where she recalls her time in Greenwich Village in the early 60’s, “Arizona” where she shares her struggles with addiction and “Thomas Merton” which explores the life of the American Trappist monk who died under mysterious circumstances. While Collins has long been celebrated for her song interpretation and has shared a host of beloved original songs since her early albums, never before has she created an album entirely of her own work, until now.
In creating the album Collins worked with a trusted family of musicians including co-producer Alan Silverman and singer-songwriter-guitarist Ari Hest (Judy and Ari were nominated for a Best Folk Album GRAMMY in 2016 for their duet record, Silver Skies Blue). The album’s core studio musicians include multi-instrumentalist Thad DeBrock (Duncan Sheik, Nelly, Jonas Brothers), bassists Tony Levin (John Lennon, Sarah McLachlan, Pink Floyd) and Zev Katz (Marc Anthony, Elton John, Billy Joel), and drummer Doug Yowell (Suzanne Vega, Joe Jackson, Duncan Sheik). Spellbound’s instrumentation features acoustic guitar, electric guitar, piano, synthesizer, lyrical bass lines and brushed drums. Collins’ pristine vocals soar as though no time has passed since her mesmerizing 1967 debut, Wildflowers.
Order Spellbound:
Spellbound Tracklist
1. Spellbound
2. Grand Canyon
3. So Alive
4. Hell on Wheels
5. Shipwrecked Mariner
6. When I Was A Girl In Colorado
7. Thomas Merton
8. Wild with Mist
9. Gilded Rooms
10. Prairie Dreams
11. City of Awakening
12. Arizona
Judy Collins 2022 Tour Dates:
February 25, 2022 – Washington Center for the Performing Arts in Olympia, WA
February 26, 2022 – Admiral Theatre in Bremerton, WA
February 28, 2022 – Alberta Rose Theatre in Portland, OR
March 1, 2022 – Alberta Rose Theatre in Portland, OR
March 2, 2022 – Tower Theatre in Bend, OR
March 7, 2022 – Lensic Performing Arts Center in Santa Fe, NM
March 8, 2022 – Fox Tucson Theatre in Tucson, AZ
March 10, 2022 – Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix, AZ
March 11, 2022 – McCallum Theatre for the Performing Arts in Palm Desert, CA
March 18, 2022 – Scottish Rite Auditorium in Collingswood, NJ
March 24, 2022 – Fox Theatre in Hutchinson, KS
March 26, 2022 – The Stanley – Estes Park, CO
March 29, 2022 – Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville, TN
March 31, 2022 – Grand Theatre in Frankfort, KY
April 23, 2022 – 1932 Criterion Theatre in Bar Harbor, ME
April 29, 2022 – Sugarloaf PAC in Chester, NY
May 18, 2022 – St. Cecilia Music Center in Grand Rapids, MI
August 28, 2022 – Cottingham Folk Festival in Cottingham, UK
September 16, 2022 – Florida Theatre in Jacksonville, FL
October 14, 2022 – Soka Performing Arts Center in Aliso Viejo, CA
November 5, 2022 – De Roma in Borgerhout, Belgium
November 6, 2022 – TivoliVredenburg in Utrecht, Netherlands
November 8, 2022 – Theater am Tanzbrunnen in Cologne, Germany
November 9, 2022 – Passionskirche Kreuzberg in Berlin, Germany
November 11, 2022 – RNCM Concert Hall in Manchester, UK
November 12, 2022 – City Varieties in Leeds, UK
November 15, 2022 – St. David’s Hall in Cardiff, UK
November 16, 2022 – Apex in Bury Saint Edmunds, UK
November 18, 2022 – The Queen’s Hall in Edinburgh, UK
November 19, 2022 – Birmingham Town Hall in Birmingham, UK
November 21, 2022 – Barbican Centre in London, UK