Dawn Landes: Returning to York on July 2 after playing there in 2015 and 2018
AMERICAN country roots singer-songwriter Dawn Landes will present The Liberated Woman’s Songbook at Rise@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb Road, Acomb, York, on July 2.
She is to play ten British dates, including Glastonbury Festival on June 29 and Hebden Bridge Trades Club on July 3, on her return to British shores after last autumn’s stirring performance at the Barbican, London, where she captivated her audience with a powerful, history-rich set celebrating women’s voices.
Folk icon Peggy Seeger, who appeared with Landes at the Barbican, said of The Liberated Woman’s Songbook shows: “Dawn Landes has conceived and carried out a stunning programme of selections from The Liberated Woman’s Songbook and is touring with it, using only female singers plus a band, all sourced from wherever her next programme will take place.
“I was part of it in September 2024 at London’s Barbican and would gladly do so again wherever it travels. A must-see, must-hear, must-applaud, vigorously wonderful evening for men and women of any age. An about-time happening.”
The Liberated Woman’s Songbook reimagines music from the women’s liberation movement. Inspired by a 1971 songbook of the same name, Landes and producer Josh Kaufman (Bonny Light Horseman, Bob Weir, Cassandra Jenkins) breathe new life into 11 powerful songs spanning 1830 to 1970, amplifying the voices of women who fought for equality throughout history.
The album cover artwork for 2024’s The Liberated Woman’s Songbook. Design by Nathan Golub; photo by Shervin Lainez
The project began when Landes stumbled upon The Liberated Woman’s Songbook at a thrift store during the pandemic. Following the 2022 overturn of the Roe v. Wade case in the United States, the songs took on an even greater urgency.
“We’re suddenly back in 1971 all over again,” Landes reflects. “I know we’re in for a long fight, and it helps to find solidarity where you can.” Kaufman adds: “Many of these songs were never meant to travel beyond the picket line. I hope our work helps to amplify their message of freedom and equity anew.”
Recorded in Upstate New York and Chapel Hill, North Carolina, The Liberated Woman’s Songbook features contributions from Emily Frantz (Watchhouse), Kanene Pipkin (The Lone Bellow), Rissi Palmer, Charly Lowry, Annie Nero and Lizzy Ross (Violet Bell).
The album was first brought to life on stage by Landes and Kaufman at the Newport Folk Festival in July 2023, when the set was recognised by Rolling Stone magazine as “one of the best things we saw at Newport”, reinforcing the record’s relevance and power.
“There was always going to be plenty of room to roam within these centuries-old compositions,” Landes told Uncut magazine. “When we do the full show, it’s just so powerful, because there’s that great feeling of solidarity between women.”
Dawn Landes, The Liberated Woman’s Songbook, Rise@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb, York, July 2, doors 7.30pm for 8pm start; box office: https://www.seetickets.com/event/dawn-landes/rise-bluebird/3372912?aff=id1bandsintown. Also Hebden Bridge Trades Club, July 3, 7.30pm; thetradesclub.com.
Dawn Landes: the back story
Dawn Landes: Wistful country singer, songwriter and guitarist
BORN in Louisville, Kentucky, December 5 1980. Spent many years living and performing in Brooklyn, New York, where she studied at university, then in Nashville. Now based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Recorded seven albums and five EPs since 2005, with her songs featuring in The Good Wife, House and Gossip Girl. Frequent collaborator with contemporary artists such as Sufjan Stevens, Nora Jones and composer Nico Muhly. Once part of the group The Bandana Splits.
Married to Idaho singer-songwriter Josh Ritter from 2009 to 2011. Ritter addressed their marital breakdown on 2013 album The Beast In Its Tracks, but rather than taking the chance to get things off her chest in response, Dawn chose to write a record that points more towards hope than heartache, 2014’s Bluebird.
Her transformative skill with covers caught fire with 2007 bluegrass rendition of Peter Bjorn And John’s whistling hit Young Folks.
February 2015’s Covers EP was led off by Bruce Springsteen’s Atlantic City, performed as a duet with My Morning Jacket’s Jim James, complemented by Tom Petty’s Southern Accents, Dolly Parton’s Longer Than Always, Roxy Music’s More Than This and Henry Mancini’s Moon River. Has French EP to her name too, Mal Habillee.
Has appeared with Boston Pops, NYC Ballet and on TED main stage. Her musical ROW, about fellow Kentucky native Tori Murden McClure’s quest to become first woman to row across the Atlantic Ocean, premiered in 2021 at Williamstown Theatre Festival and is available on Audible.
Latest album The Liberated Woman’s Songbook was released on March 29 2024 during Women’s History Month, showcasing folk songs in her guide to women’s activism from 1800s to high times of 1970s’ Women’s Lib.
Last played York in November 2018 gig at The Basement, City Screen, with husband Creighton Irons on keyboards, in low-key show that contemplated the “big themes of midlife” in mid-tempo songs of heartbreak, youth fading into the distance, and love lost and found. Previously opened five-date UK and Irish tour at Fibbers, Toft Green, in January 2015. Played Fibbers twice in 2006, supporting The Earlies in May and Fionn Regan in September.