Too tough for folk and too blues-influenced for country, Lynne Hanson’s brand of porch music with a little red dirt can turn on a dime from a sunshine, blue sky ballad to a full-on thunder- storm of gritty Americana swamp from one song to the next. Her hard-living music has gar- nered her the nickname “Canada’s Queen of Americana.” And while her deep, bluesy croon has drawn comparisons to Lucinda Williams and Gillian Welch, it’s the poetry of her lyrics that really sets her apart.
Hanson is known for her high energy, roots guitar driven live performances, whether playing solo or with her band the Good Intentions. She has an uncanny way of connecting with her au- dience with an authenticity that is as entertaining as it is disarming bringing her sense of hu- mour and spontaneity as a storyteller to the fore.
The prolific songwriter has released eight studio albums along with two books of poetry over her 16-year solo career, toured extensively across North America, Europe and the UK appear- ing at leading international festivals including Take Root (Netherlands), Glasgow Americana (Scotland), Maverick Festival (UK), Kerrville Folk Festival (US) and Winnipeg Folk Festival (Canada). She has also toured as support for Grammy-nominated artists like Gretchen Peters, Steve Forbert and Albert Lee.
The new album ‘Ice Cream In November’ will be launched with a spring tour with the release of three singles, the first ‘Shadowland’ (released 29/10/21), followed by ‘Hip Like Cohen’ (25/02/22) and then ‘Hundred Mile Wind’ (25/03/22).
Evolution isn’t always easy. And change, especially big change, can be scary. Yet this is ex- actly what Ottawa-based singer-songwriter Lynne Hanson has embraced with her latest effort, ‘Ice Cream In November’. Co-produced by Hanson and multi-instrumentalist Blair Michael Hogan, mixed and mastered by Grammy-nominated sound engineer Phil Shaw Bova, the al- bum was recorded by Hanson and Hogan in their home studios over two months in late sum- mer 2021.
Whilst not abandoning her Americana roots, ‘Ice Cream In November’ Hanson continues the sonic evolution that permeated her 2020 release ‘Just Words’. “I don’t want to keep making the same record over and over again. Getting outside of my artistic comfort zone and trying new things is what keeps things fresh for me at this point in my career,” says Hanson. The result is a more contemporary sound that incorporates synthesizers, ethereal guitar pads and even the odd electronic drum track.
Nine of the 12 songs on the album are co-writes with Hogan who had only just started touring with Hanson in February 2020. The writing collaboration started when Hanson offered to add a vocal melody and lyrics to an instrumental piece Hogan had posted on social media. This song would eventually become the title track to the new album. “It was an entirely new process for me to have to not only co-write remotely, but to develop lyrics and a vocal melody to a song structure that already existed. And, in some cases, chord progressions that may not have been what I would have chosen. It was challenging and liberating at the same time, and it really got me out of the writing funk I was in.”
Ultimately, Hanson has created an album of sounds and songs that tied together by well-crafted lyrics and her trademark whiskey-soaked alto, rather than a specific label that you can slot her in. One thing’s for sure, there’s nothing vanilla about ‘Ice Cream In November’.
‘Ice Cream In November’ will be released on 22nd April 2022. Available in physical format and on all digital platforms.
SUPPORTING TOUR DATES
https://www.lynnehanson.com/shows
Friday 1st April – BEWDLEY – Town Hall
Saturday 2nd April – KIRTON IN LINDSAY – Jubilee Hall
Sunday 3rd April – SALTAIRE – The Live Room
Tuesday 5th April – WEST CUMBRIA – Gospforth
Wednesday 6th April – BIRMINGHAM – The Kitchen Garden Cafe Thursday 7th April – NOTTINGHAM – The Running Horse
Friday 8th April – SCARBOROUGH – Woodend Gallery
Saturday 9th April – YORK – Newbald Village Hall
Sunday 10th April – ECCLESHALL – The Royal Oak
Tuesday 12th April – MANCHESTER – Gullivers
Thursday 14th April – LONDON – Green Note
Saturday 16th April – COLCHESTER – Little Rabbit Barn