Punch Brothers have detailed plans for a new album paying tribute to the late Tony Rice, Hell on Church Street. The new studio offering, out on January 14th, 2022 via Nonesuch Records, is a reimagining of Rice’s landmark 1983 solo album, Church Street Blues. The Chris Thile-led newgrass ensemble will head out on a lengthy North American tour beginning on January 11th in Bellingham, WA.
Along with the announcement, Punch Brothers shared a studio performance video for “Church Street Blues”. The group gives the track a rich, full sound, bolstered by the full lineup of Thile (mandolin), Gabe Witcher (fiddle), Noam Pikenly (banjo), Chris Eldridge (guitar), and Paul Kowert (bass) in contrast to Rice’s original recording with a solitary guitar and his voice.
“No record (or musician) has had a greater impact on us, and we felt compelled to cover it in its entirety, with the objective of interacting with it in the same spirit of respect-fueled adventure that Tony brought to each of its pre-existing songs,” Punch Brothers said in a statement. The “pre-existing” songs featured on Hell on Church Street/Church Street Blues include Bob Dylan‘s “One More Night”, Bill Monroe‘s “The Gold Rush”, Gordon Lightfoot‘s “The Wreck Of The Edmond Fitzgerald”, and more.
Punch Brothers will tour from January through March of 2022, beginning with West Coast shows in Washington, Oregon, and California. The tour moves Eastward with stops in Arizona, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Minnesota before traveling through the Midwest with shows in Ohio, Illinois, and Kentucky in addition to a lone stop in Ontario.
A Southeastern run of dates in Georgia, Tennessee, and Virginia precedes a jaunt up the East Coast through New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine, and finally Connecticut. Pre-sale tickets for the Punch Brothers coming 2022 tour are available now through the band’s website. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday at 10 a.m. local venue time.
Hell on Church Street, the forthcoming album from Punch Brothers, is available here for pre-order. Scroll down to see an in-studio performance video of “Church Street Blues” as well as the full tracklist and album artwork.
Punch Brothers — “Church Street Blues” (Norman Blake)
[Video: Punch Brothers]
