ben harper
Ben Harper Wants to ‘Talk About’ Slavery on Fiery New Single
Ben Harper is back with a new single, “We Need To Talk About It,” ahead of the July 22 release of Bloodline Maintenance, his first album as part of a new deal with Chrysalis Records. “We Need To Talk About It” pulls no punches about the horrors and generational impact of slavery, with lyrics such as “I say ‘Black Lives Matter,’ because history says we don’t” and “Whoever said time heals all wounds wasn’t a slave, I’m guessing.” The song was produced by Harper and Sheldon Gomberg, who previously worked together on the former’s Grammy-winning 2013 album with blues great Charlie Musselwhite, Get Up. [embedded content][embedded content] Bloodline Maintenance is essentially the follow-up to 2016’s Call It What It Is. Since then, Harper has released another collaboration with Musselwhite (2018’s...
Fall Out Boy, James Taylor, Carole King and Ben Harper Highlight Biden Pre-Inauguration Concert
Joe Biden’s inauguration — which, despite everything, is happening — will be celebrated with some virtual music on Sunday, Jan. 17 at 8pm ET. The lineup includes Carole King, will.i.am, James Taylor, Fall Out Boy, Michael Bivins, Ben Harper and AJR with Keegan-Michael Key and Debra Messing as hosts. The invitations — which circulated today — say there will also be appearances from Connie Britton, Kal Penn, Sophia Bush and Jamie Camil. Fall Out Boy is somewhat of an obvious choice for this, considering Pete Wentz’s personal connection to Biden: “My parents met working for Joe Biden in the Senate in the 70s. To me he is a beacon of empathy, compassion and kindness. The times we live in call for a leader with these specific traits. Proud to call Joe Biden my president,” he said in an In...
Ben Harper and Rhiannon Giddens Team for Nick Drake Cover
As of this morning, blues stars Ben Harper and Rhiannon Giddens are officially collaborators. Harper and Giddens’ Tuesday release, a cover of Nick Drake’s 1974 “Black Eyed Dog,” sees Harper on lap steel and Giddens on banjo as they harmonize on the punchy American roots cut. Harper says he and his latest collaborator share many of the same influences, which is also quite evident in the soothing cover. “Rhiannon and I are both Black purveyors of American roots music, and while this is not an anomaly, it is an exception within a subculture,” Harper said in a statement. “We have unquestionably tapped into the same creative well of influence, carrying on the tradition through our own individual instincts and perspectives.” While the pair knew of each other before recording the track, Gidd...
Ben Harper Shares New Single ‘Don’t Let Me Disappear’
Veteran singer/songwriter Ben Harper has shared “Don’t Let Me Disappear” along with a video for the song. He released “Uneven Days” last summer, which was his first solo song without Charlie Musselwhite, his mother Ellen Harper, or the Innocent Criminals since 2011. Harper released a video for the song as well, which features two modern dancers intertwining fluid and fragmented movements while he plays acoustic guitar. “‘Don’t Let Me Disappear’ is about the fine line between loneliness, isolation and invisibility, to where you can’t seem to find a way not to be hiding in plain sight,” Harper said of the tune in a statement. Harper recently appeared on Jack Johnson’s Kokua Festival in April, along with Eddie Vedder, Willie Nelson, G. Love and more. Check out Harper’s video for “Don’t L...
