Harpist/songwriter Mikaela Davis gets a lift from Madison Cunningham, Tim Heidecker, Neal Francis, Wednesday’s Karly Hartzman, the Felice Brothers’ James Felice, Mapache’s Clay Finch and Hannah Read on her new album, Graceland Way, which is out April 24 from Kill Rock Stars.
Lead single “(Looking Through) Rose Colored Glasses” is accompanied by a video starring both Cunningham and Heidecker — the latter as a rodeo clown. “I love Madison. She’s one of my favorite songwriters,” says Davis. “I feel like I found my Emmylou [Harris].” As for the song itself, she offers, “when this record all started to come together lyrically, we kept returning to the delicate balance of the sun and the moon, mountains and valleys, the rose and the thorn. The struggle is so central to the human experience, a duality to balance itself.”
Francis plays organ on “Nothin’s on the Radio,” which is a tribute to the sounds that enchanted Davis in her formative years. “I was fortunate to grow up in the last years of the golden age of FM radio, and being able to tune into this magical world far beyond my own was a transformative experience,” she recalls. “Hearing artists like Sheryl Crow and Vanessa Carlton coming through the car stereo is what made me want to write songs and play music in the first place.”
Elsewhere, Cass McCombs contributes a previously unreleased song, “Mizmoon,” which was inspired by Symbionese Liberation Army member Patricia “Mizmoon” Soltysik, while Hartzman and Davis share the mic on “Junk Love.”
Davis will support Graceland Way on tour throughout the spring and summer, beginning April 9-11 at Phuzzfest in Winston-Salem, N.C. See the dates below:
April 9-10: Winston-Salem, N.C. (Phuzz Fest)May 7: San Jose Cel Cabo, Mexico (Viva El Gonzo festival)May 13: Rochester, N.Y. (Lilac Festival)June 2: San Diego (Casbah)June 3: Los Angeles (Sid the Cat Auditorium)June 4: San Luis Obispo, Ca. (Slo Brew)June 5: San Francisco (Bottom of the Hill)June 6: Sonoma, Ca. (Sonoma Wild)June 8: Portland, Or. (Mississippi Studios)June 9: Seattle (Sunset Tavern)June 11: Boise, Id. (Neurolux)June 13: Denver (Ophelia’s)June 15: Omaha, Ne. (Reverb Lounge)June 16: Minneapolis (7th Street Entry)June 17: Spring Green, Wi. (Shitty Barn)June 18: Evanston, Il. (Space)June 20: Nelsonville, Oh. (Nelsonville Music Festival)July 14: Boston (Deep Cuts)July 15: Northampton, Ma. (Iron Horse Music Hall)July 16: Fairfield, Ct. (Stageone)July 17: Philadelphia (Johnny Brenda’s)July 18: Brooklyn, N.Y. (TV Eye)July 20: Washington, D.C. (Songbyrd)July 21: Durham, N.C. (Pinhook)July 22: Charlotte, N.C. (Snug Harbor)July 23: Charleston, S.C. (Pour House)July 24: Atlanta (The Earl)July 25: Asheville, N.C. (Ayurprana Listening Room)Sept. 6: Portland, Me, (Ghostland Festival)
