Whether alone with just the guitar and his voice or surrounded by a full band, Cris Jacobs enchants listeners with his inspired, poignant songwriting, virtuous guitar playing and soulfully transcendent voice. Jacobs has harnessed over a decade of trans-genre exploration on his second solo album, Dust to Gold, due for release on October 21, 2016 via American Showplace Music.
The new album is a soul-stirring expression of the current chapter of his creative evolution, featuring twelve well-crafted songs that masterfully weave through the sweet and rugged landscape of soul, blues, country, gospel, and rock and roll.
The lead single from the album is “Turn Into Gold”, a moving slide-guitar meditation about channeling the “muse,” or “tapping the source,” as Jacobs calls it. It’s about the desire to be, “enraptured in the mystery, the unknown, the questions, the answers all at once,” Jacobs describes. “If I’m playing or singing and I’m really connected to that source and I’m really locked in and there’s a room full of people experiencing that, the hope is then for them to get locked into their own thing, and it’s this beautiful, ecstatic magic that happens. To me, this is that elusive goal that I chase every time I sit down to write a song or every time I get on stage to perform.”
Listen to “Turn Into Gold,” streaming below.
Jacobs’ full band includes a richly funky rhythm section with Todd Herrington on bass, Dusty Ray Simmons on drums, and John Ginty on Hammond organ and keyboards, who has been a master side man for years, working with Jewel, Citizen Cope, Robert Randolph and the Family Band, and most currently, with The Dixie Chicks.
Whether its his work with The Bridge from 2001-2011, his side project Neville Jacobs with keyboardist Ivan Neville and more, anyone who listens to Cris Jacobs is bound to be impressed. Be sure to catch Jacobs on the road, touring extensively throughout the fall in support of the new release!
Cris Jacobs Tour Dates:
Sept 16 – Charlottesville, VA – Sprint Pavilion %
Sept 17 – Cascade, WV – Deep Roots Mountain Revival
Sept 23 – Clarksburg, MD – Hometown Get Down
Oct 19 – New York, NY – American Beauty
Oct 20 – Port Chester, NY – Garcia’s
Oct 21 – Hartford, CT – Arch Street Tavern
Oct 22 – Fall River, MA – Narrows
Nov 03 – Sellersville, PA – Sellersville Theatre *
Nov 04 – Washington, DC – Gypsy Sally’s *
Nov 05 – Owings Mills, MD – Gordon Center *
Nov 10 – Morgantown, WV – Schmitt’s Saloon
Nov 11 – Frostburg, MD – Dante’s
Nov 12 – Roanoke, VA – Martins
Nov 16 – Macon, GA – Cox Capitol Theatre #
Nov 17 – Atlanta, GA – Eddie’s Attic #
Nov 18 – Nashville, TN – The Basement #
Nov 19 – Whitesburg, KY – Appalshop Theatre
Nov 23 – Baltimore, MD – Rams Head Live
Nov 30 – Pittsburgh, PA – Club Café
Dec 01 – Harrisburg, PA – TBD
Dec 02 – Philadelphia, PA – Ardmore Music Hall
Dec 03 – Richmond, VA – The Camel
% w/ Sturgill Simpson
* w/ Amy Helm
# w/ Marc Ford