Photo Credit: Jay Sansone
Bonny Light Horseman have unveiled the initial product after signing with the label Jagjaguwar, debuting a new single, “When I Was Younger,” alongside an official lyrical video, which captures the band performing the emotive number in a live setting, Levis Corner House, in Ballydehob, Co. Cork, Ireland. The group also shared a series of headlining U.S. tour dates.
Produced by band member Josh Kaufman, “When I Was Younger” captures the ensemble, which includes Anaïs Mitchell and Eric D. Johnson, as well as a full band, running through the new piece of music in a century-old Irish pub. The visual equalizer, shared alongside the single, was filmed on location and shot by Jason Lee, Donal Scannell and Colm Rooney.
“When I Was Younger” captures the reckoning of maturity as rendered by Mitchell and Johnson’s fawning voices. The lyrical presentation captures the built emotions of motherhood and says some of the things a well-mannered society wouldn’t dare utter. “There’s a whole genre of trad songs with this ‘domestic frustration’ sentiment, like ‘Single Girl Married Girl,’ ‘Wish I Was A Single Girl Again,’ etc. This song is inspired by those, but we wanted to write it as a duet, to tell two sides of a story,” says the band.
They continued, adding context to their drop, “We recorded it live, so you can hear coughing, cars, and the whole audience did that wordless wail with us in the middle. It felt like a primal collective shake-off. Next morning we were collecting our things from the pub and the owner Joe was out front in flip-flops sweeping up the cigs from the street singing, ‘When I was younger, I used to dress fancy…’”
In addition to new music from the Jagjaguwar label, Bonny Light Horseman has also shared a series of headlining U.S. tour dates, including two nights at New York’s Music Hall of Williamsburg, as well as summer festival performances at Bonnaroo Music & Arts, Red Wing Roots and more.
A full tour itinerary is listed below. Tickets go on sale February 23 at 10 a.m. local time.
Bonny Light Horseman Tour Dates:
June 11 – Virginia Arts Festival – Norfolk, VA
June 12 – Stuart’s Opera House – Nelsonville, Ohio*
June 13 – Thalia Hall – Chicago*
June 14 – Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival – Nashville, Tenn.
June 15 – Orange Peel – Asheville, N.C.*
June 16 – Howard Theatre – Washington, D.C. *
June 18 – Music Hall of Williamsburg – Brooklyn, N.Y. *
June 19 – Music Hall of Williamsburg – Brooklyn, N.Y. ^
June 20 – Union Transfer – Philadelphia *
June 21 – Red Wing Roots Festival – Mount Solon, Va.
June 22 – Green River Music Festival – Northampton, Mass.
June 23 – The Sinclair – Cambridge, Mass. ^
August 10- Rocky Mountain Folks Festival – Lyons, Colo.
* w/ Alpha Consumer
^ w/ Bridget St John