For Immediate Release:
New York, NY – December 19, 2013
NewSong Music is proud to announce the December 20th release of a digital EP from David Berkeley’s concert at Lincoln Center’s David Rubenstein Atrium. The fine folks at Paste have an exclusive premier of the record in its entirety, which can be heard right here: http://bit.ly/1fpGyDh
Lincoln Center Live, performed at the close of 2012 to a full house, features songs drawn from Berkeley’s five critically acclaimed studio albums. Known for his emotional, intimate and inspiring performances, Berkeley was also at his comic best that night, and several moments of his unique repartee are showcased on Lincoln Center Live.
This is only the second official live release from the veteran songwriter, and for those familiar with the magic of Berkeley’s performances it comes none too soon. NewSong’s executive director Gar Ragland produced and mixed this collection, highlighting Berkeley’s vocals and finger picking guitar style and the ethereal guitar work of Berkeley’s longtime sideman Bill Titus.
As with all of his recordings, Berkeley’s elegiac, insightful lyrics take center stage. His gift as a songwriter and storyteller is that he manages to both reveal the sorrow at the heart of the human condition and the blazing joy and beauty in the same. It’s a duality that audiences experience at all of Berkeley’s shows as he tells uproarious stories between heartbreaking songs. His deft way with words prompted the San Francisco Chronicle to dub him a “musical poet.”
Lincoln Center Live is available through the NewSong Recordings site, allowing listeners to pay what they wish for a download. A portion of the proceeds will go to benefit the Robin Hood Foundation and its efforts to combat the effects of poverty in New York City. Included in the download of the EP is a beautiful, seven page digital pdf booklet, complete with song lyrics, photographs of that night’s performance and liner notes by music writer and critic Lee Zimmerman.
“Nearly one year ago to the day, David performed in the series we curate at Lincoln Center,” said Ragland. “This was not too long after the back-to-back tragedies of Newtown and Sandy. David’s performance that night struck me as a salve of sorts, offering equal doses of comfort, gravity and levity. Our aim with this release is to share that experience with a larger audience, and to help support and promote the inspiring work this holiday season of the Robin Hood Foundation, which provides support to those most in need in the New York City area.”
About David Berkeley:
Recently featured on Public Radio International’s This American Life, The Huffington Post, Mountain Stage, Acoustic Cafe, and Art of the Song, David Berkeley has opened/toured with Adele, Mumford & Sons, Ben Folds, Don McLean, Ray LaMontagne, Nickel Creek, Michelle Shocked, Ollabelle, Dido, Rufus Wainwright and many more. Berkeley is the recipient of ASCAP’s Johnny Mercer Songwriter Award.
In addition to Berkeley’s studio releases, he penned a memoir titled 140 Goats and a Guitar, which accompanied his 2011 album Some Kind of Cure. Both written during the year Berkeley lived in a remote village of only 35 people on the island of Corsica, Goats tells thirteen stories, which led to the writing of the album’s thirteen songs. Within months of arriving in new home Santa Fe – his sixth in as many years – and still overwhelmed by the palette of reds and browns and the endless open sky, Berkeley wrote and recorded The Fire in My Head, his most haunting and personal songs to date. He is currently finishing his second book, and as with Goats, Berkeley is writing a song to accompany each story.
About NewSong Music:
NewSong is an independent music and artist development company founded in 2001 and now based in Asheville, NC. NewSong’s mission is to build and support a community of performers and songwriters across all genres and skill levels, introducing their music to a broader international audience.
newsongrecordings.com
newsong-music.com
davidberkeley.com
robinhoodfoundation.org
For further information, interviews, photos etc., contact Ever Kipp ever@tinyhuman.com
