Boston songwriter Mark Erelli is at the pinnacle of his career. Following nine albums, years as a top sideman, multiple collaborations, and a recent tribute album, he’s ready to impart his culminating work. “For A Song” is the title track to his new album due out April 8th.
For A Song is a bouquet of songs that reflect where Erelli has arrived, personally and professionally. From introspective ballads to celebrations of love’s allure, these twelve songs stand-alone as eloquent statements and together as a meditation on life in all its dimensions.
“I worked harder on these songs than I had on any previous batch of material,” Erelli says of the record. “I kept going back over them, revising and rewriting. I took whole verses out of my songs — verses that I loved — and lo and behold, the songs improved. The message was distilled and amplified.” This explains the stark beauty of For A Song. Not a note is wasted; sonic pictures speak compellingly with minimal gestures.
The title track takes us to an intimate place, a clutter of “yellowed books with dog-eared pages, wildflowers pressed between… little souvenirs to remind you of me.” Yet here too his search persists: “I catch a glimpse of something shining somewhere in the great unknown.”
Listen here:
Erelli will be touring through the spring behind For A Song:
Mar 19 — Williamstown, MA — Williams Inn
Mar 30 — Minneapolis, MN — Cedar Cultural Center *
Mar 31 — Stoughton, WI — Stoughton Opera House *
Apr 01 — Evanston, IL — SPACE *
Apr 02 — Indianapolis, IN — The Hi-Fi *
Apr 03 — Cincinnati, OH –20th Century Theatre *
Apr 05 — Charlottesville, VA — The Southern *
Apr 06 — Annapolis, MD — Ram’s Head *
Apr 07 — Vienna, VA — The Barns At Wolf Trap *
Apr 08 — Norfolk VA — Private event *
Apr 09 — Plymouth, MA — Spire Center for the Performing Arts
Apr 15 — Colorado Springs, CO — Stargazers Theater
Apr 20 — New York NY — Rockwood Music Hall Stage 3
Apr 21 — Philadelphia, PA — Burlap & Bean
Apr 22 — Lakewood NJ — The Strand
Apr 23 — Washington, DC — TBA
Apr 29 — Boston, MA — Club Passim
Apr 30 — Northampton MA — Parlor Room @ Signature Sounds
* w/ Aoife O’Donovan
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