Billy Bragg
January 16, 2013 (Calgary, AB) — Billy Bragg releases his first new studio album in five years, Tooth & Nail, on Cooking Vinyl records on March 18, 2013. Tooth & Nail will be available on CD, LP and a limited special edition CD+DVD book pack. Beginning this March, Bragg will tour with a band across North America in support of the new release, including a stretch of Canadian dates that run from Vancouver Island across the prairies, stopping in Calgary on Monday, April 8 at MacEwan Hall. Drawing on personal rather than political themes, Tooth & Nail was recorded over a whirlwind five-day session with Grammy Award winning producer Joe Henry (whose impeccable production credits include Solomon Burke, Aimee Mann, Elvis Costello and Hugh Laurie) in his South Pasadena basement studio. With Joe taking Billy out of his comfort zone (all vocals were recorded live without retakes or overdubs) the album features an accomplished crew of musicians, including Greg Leisz (Bon Iver), Patrick Warren (Lana Del Rey), Jay Bellerose (Regina Spektor) and David Piltch (Ramblin’ Jack Eliot). The spontaneous results are, according to Billy, a return to the rootsy sound of 1998’s Mermaid Avenue sessions he recorded with Wilco – drawing on soul, country and folk music influences to explore the ups and downs of relationships that have stood the test of time. “In 2011, I took a long, hard look at who I am and what I do. This album is the result,” said Bragg. Permanently active beyond music and consistently playing to audiences around the world, this period also saw Billy establish the Jail Guitar Doors initiative and lend support to numerous causes including the anti-fascist campaign Hope Not Hate and the Occupy Movement. In 2010, he began to curate the Left Field at Glastonbury Festival, with the aim of highlighting new political artists. He recently delivered the 2012 John Peel Lecture.