Gillian Welch Released A New Album, Adds Beacon Theatre Show

Gillian Welch – Harrow and the Harvest
Gillian Welch - Harrow and the Harvest

Much to the delight of her overly patient fans Gillian Welch released her first new studio album in 8 years a little less than two weeks ago. The long awaited new album, entitled The Harrow and the Harvest, made a bit of a splash on the Billboard Charts debuting at No. 20 on the Hot 200 (which I’m guessing was her highest ever bow). Here’s what NPR had to say about the new record:

The good news is that The Harrow and the Harvest offers enough familiarity to appease longtime fans and enough variety to grab the attention of a new generation. Some of the territory is familiar: fear of the unknown, desperation, exhaustion. What’s different about this collection is that it almost feels more personal than Welch and Rawlings’ earlier work. The duo isn’t re-telling a legend about a young heroine’s struggle against “Caleb Meyer” from the safe distance of singer-songwriters. This time around, they’re right up in the face of the stories — they are the stories, and they’re sharing them here. [NPR Music]

I was a little surprised that Gillian’s initial tour announcement didn’t include an NYC date, but that has since been rectified and “The Harrow and The Harvest” tour will be stopping at the Beacon Theatre on Oct 22, 2011. Tickets go on Internet Presale on Wednesday, July 13 and regular on sale on Friday, July 15. All tour dates will include her regular collaborator David Rawlings.

More Gillian Welch tour dates and two “making of album cover” videos after the jump.

Gillian Welch 2011 Tour Dates
07/10 Eugene, OR McDonald Theatre
07/12 Portland, OR Roseland Theatre
07/13 Seattle, WA Moore Theatre
07/15 Vancouver, BC Vancouver Folk Festival
07/16 Olympia, WA Capitol Theatre
07/17 Missoula, MT Wilma Theater
07/18 Bozeman, MT Emerson Center
07/20 St. Paul, MN Fitzgerald Theater
07/21 Madison, WI Capitol Theatre
07/22 Chicago, IL VIC Theatre
07/23 Royal Oak, MI Royal Oak Music Theatre
07/25 Toronto, ON Phoenix Concert Hall
07/30 Newport, RI Newport Folk Festival
08/02 Bethesda, MD Music Center at Strathmore
08/03 Raleigh, NC North Carolina Museum of Art
08/04 Winston-Salem, NC Ziggy’s
08/05 Asheville, NC The Orange Peel
08/06 Atlanta, GA Variety Playhouse
08/11 New Orleans, LA Tipitinas Uptown
08/12 Birmingham, AL Workplay Soundstage
08/13 Huntsville, AL Von Braun Center Concert Hall
08/14 Athens, GA Georgia Theatre
08/17 Roanoke, VA Jefferson Center – Shaftman Performance Hall
08/18 Charlottesville, VA Paramount Theatre
08/19 Richmond, VA Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden
08/20 Charlotte, NC Knight Theatre at Levine Center for the Arts
08/21 Greenville, SC Peace Center Concert Hall
08/23 Bristol, TN Paramount Center for the Arts
08/24 Knoxville, TN Tennessee Theatre
08/26 Boone, NC Farthing Auditorium
08/27 Wilmington, NC Winoca Festival – Battleship Park
08/28 Charleston, SC Charleston Music Hall
08/30 Louisville, KY Brown Theatre
08/31 Cincinnati, OH Moonlite Gardens Amphitheatre
09/01 Bloomington, IN The Bluebird
09/03 St. Louis, MO The Pageant
09/04 Lawrence, KS Liberty Hall
09/06 Boulder, CO Chautauqua
09/07 Arvada, CO Arvada Center
09/09 Salt Lake City, UT Kingsbury Hall
09/17 Austin, TX Austin City Limits Music Festival
09/28 Pioneertown, CA Pappy & Harriets
09/29 Los Angeles, CA Music Box @ Fonda
10/01 San Francisco, CA Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival (FREE)
10/12 Wichita, KS Orpheum Theatre
10/13 Lincoln, NE Rococo Theatre
10/14 Des Moines, IA The Hoyt Sherman Place
10/17 Grand Rapids, MI Calvin College
10/18 Kent, OH The Kent Stage
10/19 Pittsburgh, PA Byham Theater
10/20 Philadelphia, PA Union Transfer
10/22 New York, NY Beacon Theater (Presale 07/13/11, On Sale 07/15/11)
10/23 Ithaca, NY State Theatre
10/25 Montreal, QC Le National
10/26 Burlington, VT Flynn Center
10/27 Boston, MA Wilbur Theatre
11/26 Portsmouth, NH Music Hall
11/27 Portland, ME State Theatre
11/28 Northampton, MA Calvin Theater
12/01 Nashville, TN Ryman Auditorium