Hello Friends!
I hope some of you are hanging on to summer with late holidays by the sea. Here in London it’s rainbow weather, alternating rain and sun, sometimes at the same time. The kids are starting school (including mine!), the conkers are readying themselves, it’s all feeling very September.
I’m gearing up to take The Songs Of Joni Mitchell back on the road next month, and earlier this week we announced a companion four-track EP for the tour! It’s a stripped back and intimate affair, not unlike the live shows. The single - Raised on Robbery - is out now! Some of you may remember the backstory…
At the first ever Joni celebration, before I knew there would be any others, Kate Stables of This Is The Kit recruited Jesca Hoop and I to sing Raised on Robbery with her. The song is a bit of an anomaly in Joni’s catalogue, a real rock’n’roll number with gorgeous (and challenging!) close harmonies reminiscent of The Andrew Sisters. It’s funny to think of it now, but backstage at the Roundhouse in London, just a few hours before the audience arrived, was not only the first time the three of us sang together, but the first time I’d met Kate or Jesca in person. The mirror selfie in the dressing room, which became the EP cover art (thank you JF!), was taken in that first and only rehearsal.
Kate handed each of us a rose on stage when we finished the song, perhaps to celebrate getting to the end without too many mistakes. Cerys Matthews, who was hosting the night, played the live recording on her BBC 6 Music show three days later. I’m sure that hearing it on the radio unknowingly sewed the seeds not only for recording the track, but for the whole EP.
I was rather chuffed yesterday, opening
’ Substack over breakfast, to find Raised on Robbery at the very top of his 60 New Songs recommendations. “It charmed me for its reverent irreverence, if that makes sense.” Yes, that makes sense!You can listen to our rendition of Raised on Robbery right here:
The EP comes out next Friday the 12th September on Small Matter Records. You can pre-save it right here:
Also big news: Poet Laureate Simon Armitage and the band LYR will be joining Lisa Hannigan and Loah as special guests for our London show at Shepherd’s Bush Empire on November 13th! You can get your tickets for this show and the rest of the tour right here:
You can also follow along on The Songs Of Joni Mitchell instagram page. Sort of worth it for Simon Armitage’s brilliant quote about Joni… That would be right here:
And now to start practicing…
Lail x
