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The Grammy nominated singer-songwriter Beth Hart will be releasing her brand new studio album War In My Mind on 27th September via Provogue and, following the stunning sold out performance at the Royal Albert Hall, London in May 2018, she will be bringing her band back for a January-February 2020 UK & Ireland tour. The tour will begin in Dublin and travel through Belfast, Brighton, London, Birmingham, Cardiff, Glasgow, Gateshead, Manchester, Sheffield, Plymouth and finish in Southampton.
Ahead of this she has revealed the official video for Bad Woman Blues.The sleeve shot of Beth pounding a piano below her own personal storm cloud is a fitting representation of new material that hits like a force of nature. It opens with the anti-love song Bad Woman Blues. “It’s about a woman who doesn’t have any interest whatsoever in being good, because she knows she’s not. But instead of hating herself for it, she’s very clear with the man. Like, ‘Baby, I’m an asshole and a frickin’ witch, but you are gonna have fun with me’.”
Beth Hart is as real as it gets. In a music industry full of glossy production and airbrushed photoshoots, this is one artist who throws down her cards, shares her darkest secrets and invites you to join her for the ride. “More than any record I’ve ever made, I’m more open to being myself on these songs,” Beth explains. “I’ve come a long way with healing, and I’m comfortable with my darknesses, weirdnesses and things that I’m ashamed of – as well as all the things that make me feel good.”
The success of 2016’s Fire On The Floor album has garnered yet more critical acclaim, growing sales and sold-out shows at iconic venues from the Ryman Auditorium to the Royal Albert Hall (scene of last year’s triumphant live DVD). But as the singer reminds us, her life has always moved in cycles – “things get good then go to crap, get good then go to crap” – and it’s in these extremes that many of her best songs are born. “On this album, I’m even closer to vulnerability and openness about my life, about love, addiction, my bipolar, my dad, my sister…”
War In My Mind also wraps up a frustrating strand of unfinished business for Beth. Back in 2003, the heavyweight producer Rob Cavallo (Green Day, My Chemical Romance, Dave Matthews Band, Goo Goo Dolls) was in the frame to mix the singer’s Leave The Light On album. “But the producer I was with at the time,” recounts Beth, “went ahead without my approval, turned the mix in to Rob – and he passed.” Fast-forward 15 years, and at a chance dinner party attended by Cavallo, fate intervened. The host encouraged Beth to play one of her new songs. “After I’d played them,” she remembers, “Rob came up and said, ‘You’ve grown a lot as a songwriter – and I want to record these songs with you’. And he turned out to be one of the coolest people that I’ve ever worked with.”
Having followed the fascinating career of Beth Hart for a quarter-century, we’ve learned not to rule anything out – so long as it’s real. And now, with War In My Mind, this songwriter has made a record that bares her soul, wears her heart on her sleeve, and makes no apology for it. “Y’know,” she concludes, “when we did the photoshoot for this new album, it was the first time that I said, ‘No makeup and no airbrushing’. It was the first time that hearing my voice back didn’t make me sick. It was just neat to be 47 and not trying to be young, and competitive, and all of these things that I’ve always felt like I’m supposed to be. On this record, something told me, just let it be what it is, man. I think I’m starting to make a little headway, getting closer to the truth. And I might not know what the truth is… but I’m OK with that.”
Full European Tour Dates
2019
24 Nov – Aarhus Musikhuest, Arhus, DENMARK
26 Nov – Amager Bio, Copenhagen, DENMARK
29 Nov – AFAS Live – Solo , Amsterdam Zuidoost, NETHERLANDS
30 Nov – AFAS Live, Amsterdam Zuidoost, NETHERLANDS
02 Dec – Theatre Du Lemon, Geneve, SWITZERLAND
04 Dec – Volkshaus, Zurich, SWITZERLAND
06 Dec – Forum Karlin, Prague, SZECH REPUBLICH
08 Dec – National Palace of Arts, Kiev, UKRAINE
10 Dec – Arena Aemeec Sofia, Sofia, BULGARIA
2020
31 Jan – Vicar Street, Dublin, IRELAND
02 Feb – Ulster Hall, Belfast, N. Ireland, UK
05 Feb – The Dome, Brighton, UK
08 Feb – Eventim Apollo, London, UK
09 Feb – Symphony Hall, Birmingham, UK
12 Feb – St David’s Hall, Cardiff, UK
14 Feb – Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow, UK
15 Feb – The Sage, Gateshead, UK
17 Feb – Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, UK
20 Feb – City Hall, Sheffield, UK
22 Feb – Pavillions, Plymouth, UK
24 Feb – O2 Guildhall, Southampton, UK
