Amanda Shires Plots New Album ‘To the Sunset’

Roots-music singer and violinist Amanda Shires has revealed plans for her fifth studio album, To the Sunset, marking August 3rd as the “bold” new project’s release date.

Featuring what’s described as an “edgier sound and attitude,” To the Sunset will find the celebrated songwriter exploring a new artistic direction – but still anchoring her work in vivid, scholarly lyricism and her unmistakably evocative vocals. A witty and poetic songsmith with a Master’s in creative writing, Shires is leaning toward challenging and socially conscious material for the project, focusing on themes like self-esteem, mental illness and addiction from a female perspective.

To the Sunset is Shires’s second album to be produced by Grammy winner Dave Cobb (Jason Isbell, Chris Stapleton, Sturgill Simpson), and will feature Isbell (Shires’ husband and collaborator) as a special guest. The project was recorded in Nashville’s RCA Studio A.

Shires’ previous release was 2016’s My Piece of Land, a deeply personal album written during the third-trimester of her first pregnancy. Shires was named the Americana Music Association’s Emerging Artist of the Year in 2016, and is currently featured in the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s new American Currents: The Music of 2017 exhibit alongside her songwriting hero John Prine.

Here’s a list of Amanda Shires’ upcoming 2018 tour dates:

April 26 – Birmingham, AL @ Lyric Theatre %
April 27 – Knoxville, TN @ Tennessee Theatre %
May 4 – Nashville, TN @ Sevier Park Fest
May 27 – Winston Salem, NC @ Gears & Guitars Festival
June 22 – Oxford, MS @ The Lyric Oxford
June 24 – Jackson, MS @ Duling Hall
June 29 – Dallas, TX @ Winspear Opera House ^
June 30 – Austin, TX @ Bass Concert Hall ^
July 12 – Rocky Mount, VA @ Harvester Performance Center
July 13 – Charlotte, NC @ Live on the Green in First Ward Park
July 14 – Somerset, KY @ Master Musicians Festival
July 24 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Rex Theater
July 25 – Albany, NY @ Lewis A. Swyer Theatre at The Egg
July 27 – Newport, RI @ Newport Folk Festival
July 29 – Brooklyn, NY @ Rough Trade
July 31 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
August 1 – Annapolis, MD @ Ram’s Head
August 2 – Alexandria, VA @ The Birchmere
August 7 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
August 10 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
August 28 – Phoenix, AZ @ Symphony Hall #
September 3 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre #
% – Supporting Tommy Emmanuel
^ – Supporting John Prine
# – Supporting Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit