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Kaki King Announces Album and Tour

02/19/2010
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Rounder Records is excited to announce the release of Kaki King's bold and thrilling new record on April 13, 2010. Entitled Junior, it is the highly acclaimed singer/songwriter and guitarist extraordinaire's fifth record, and first for Rounder. Junior delivers twists-and-turns: lyrically from exuberance and anger to heartbreaking melancholy; and sonically from experimental pieces to accessible pop. While there is plenty of the dazzling musicianship King has been renowned for, Junior showcases her further maturation as a well-rounded artist who defies categorization and expectations.

"I never made records for other people," she says. "My evolution from record to record has been personal not commercial."

As with her previous album, 2008's Dreaming of Revenge, Junior was produced by Malcolm Burn (Patti Smith, Emmylou Harris). In contrast to that record, which was marked by deep textures and layers as well as unusual instrumentation, Junior was specifically made with only three musicians in mind -- in this case, King, multi-instrumentalist Dan Brantigan and drummer Jordan Perlson. The result was something more direct. "Prior to this I would have written a lot in the studio and played all the instruments myself," King says. "This time, I really leaned on Dan and Jordan to help shape the songs and help me get the record written."

Junior is Kaki King's first album for this new decade, following a previous 10 year-period that has brought nothing but critical acclaim and fan admiration for the Atlanta, Georgia native. It was a decade that saw the release of her 2003 Velour Recordings debut album Everybody Loves You, followed by Legs To Make Us Longer (2004), ...Until We Felt Red (2006) and Dreaming of Revenge (2008). Named a "Guitar God" by Rolling Stone (making her the first female musician to earn that recognition), King has toured worldwide and made the rounds on the late-night talk shows including The Late Show with David Letterman and Late Night with Conan O'Brien.

King was nominated for a Golden Globe for her score for the 2007 Sean Penn-directed film Into the Wild. She continues to work in film today, and is currently writing scores for various projects. Also in 2007, King performed with Dave Grohl on a song called "Ballad of The Beaconsfield Miners" on the Best Rock Album Grammy-winning Foo Fighters record, Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace. During a sold-out Foo's show at London's O2 Arena, Grohl invited King on stage to perform the song and introduced her by saying: "There are some guitar players that are good. There are some guitar players that are really f'n good. And then there is Kaki King." In 2008, King recorded with The Mountain Goats for the Black Pear Tree EP. The guitarist has also recently collaborated with uber-producer Timbaland to produce a song featuring Miley Cyrus.

The first leg of the North American tour has been confirmed. The dates are below. More will be announced soon.

April:
15 Williamsbury Music Hall New York, NY
16 Bowery Ballroom New York, NY
17 Middle East Boston, MA
19 Iron Horse Northampton, MA
20 Port City Music Hall Portland, ME
21 Higher Ground Burlington, VT
28 Theater of the Living Arts Philadelphia, PA 29 The 9:30 Club Washington, D.C.
30 Cat's Cradle Carrboro, NC

May:
1 The Variety Atlanta, GA
2 3rd & Lindsley Nashville, TN
4 Beachland Cleveland, OH
5 The Ark Ann Arbor, MI
6 Park West Chicago, IL
7 High Noon Madison, WI
8 The Varsity Minneapolis, MN
9 The Waiting Room Omaha, NE
11 The Fox Boulder, CO
12 Belly Up Aspen, CO
14 Neumos Seattle, WA
15 Wonder Ballroom Portland, OR
16 W.O.W. Hall Eugene, OR
19 Knitting Factory Reno, NV
20 Mystic Theater Petaluma, CA
21 The Fillmore San Francisco, CA
22 El Rey Theater Los Angeles, CA
24 Belly Up San Diego, CA
25 Glasshouse Ponoma, CA

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