Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul have released a new song, “A World Of Our Own,” from their forthcoming album Summer Of Sorcery due May 3 on Wicked Cool/UMe. The soulful, euphoric track, which premiered via Billboard yesterday who described it as having “a shimmering Phil Spector quality,” conjures up visions of young love, summer nights and a simpler era when Girl Groups dominated the airwaves. “Growing up, The Shirelles, The Chiffons, The Ronettes, The Crystals and The Shangri-Las were really important to me,” says Little Steven aka Steven Van Zandt. “This song is my take on the type of song I might have written for a Girl Group like one of those fantastic acts back in the day.”
Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul have just touched down in Australia for a run of shows that will kick off this Saturday, April 13 in Perth. The 15-piece band will perform a pair of hugely anticipated performances at the 30th anniversary Byron Bay Bluesfest in Byron Bay (April 18 and 20). They will wrap the tour in Auckland, New Zealand on April 27. The band will then head home to the U.S. to celebrate Summer Of Sorcery with special record release shows at The Saban in Los Angeles on May 4 and at the Paramount Theatre in Asbury Park, N.J. on May 8. A wide-ranging world tour will follow, beginning May 16 at Liverpool, UK’s 02 Academy and then making headline stops across the United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy and Spain.
The first leg of the North American tour will begin July 2 at the London Music Hall in Ontario, Canada and take Van Zandt and band all across Canada and the Eastern U.S., culminating at Outlaw Jam in Annapolis, Md. Each show on the American tour will benefit Van Zandt’s TeachRock education initiative and offer an introduction to the TeachRock.org curriculum. Before the show, the TeachRock staff will host free professional development workshops designed to engage educators with techniques and content through which they can comfortably use music to inspire students, even if they’ve never touched an instrument. The free, multimedia K-12 interdisciplinary curriculum meets prevailing standards in English Language Arts, Social Studies/History, the Fine and Performing Arts, and also includes STEAM and advisory material suitable for K-12 teachers of all disciplines, interdisciplinary best practices, and group activities.
Summer Of Sorcery – which arrives just two years after Little Steven’s acclaimed 2017’s solo return, Soulfire, and its 2018 live follow-up, Soulfire Live! – was written, arranged, and produced by Van Zandt at his own Renegade Studios in New York City; the album was co-produced and recorded by GRAMMY Award-winner Geoff Sanoff and co-produced by Disciples of Soul musical director and guitarist Marc Ribler. Summer Of Sorcery was mixed and mastered respectively by Van Zandt’s career-long collaborators and friends Bob Clearmountain (Rolling Stones, David Bowie, The Who, Bryan Adams), and Bob Ludwig (Led Zeppelin, Nirvana, The Band, Sly and the Family Stone). The album – which features an exclusive introduction written by Van Zandt – is adorned with Frank Frazetta-inspired cover art by Van Zandt’s longtime art director, Louis Arzonico.
“My first five albums in the ’80s were both very personal, and very political,” explains Van Zandt. “I wanted the new material to be more fictionalized. The way records were when I grew up. Before it was an artform. The concept was capturing and communicating that first rush of summer. The electricity of that feeling of unlimited possibilities. Of falling in love with the world for the first time. Obviously, there are occasional personal references, and a bit of what’s going on socially scattered throughout, but I achieved what I set out to do. I created a collection of fictional movies scenes that feel like summer. I’m quite proud of it.”
Little Steven is joined on this thrilling musical journey with his all-star band the Disciples of Soul, a 14-strong ensemble made up of some of the best studio and live musicians in the business. Leading the charge alongside Van Zandt is musical director and guitarist Marc Ribler (Darlene Love, Roger McGuinn, Carole King) who conducts the band consisting of Lowell “Banana” Levinger of The Youngbloods on piano and Wurlitzer, bassist Jack Daley (Lenny Kravitz, Boz Scaggs, Darryl Hall), drummer Rich Mercurio (Ben E King, Sara Bareilles, Idina Menzel), percussionist Anthony Almonte (King Creole and The Coconuts), Andy Burton on B3 organ, piano, synthesizers (Cyndi Lauper, John Mayer, Ian Hunter), the dynamite horn section of horn director Eddie Manion on baritone saxophone (Diana Ross, Bruce Springsteen, Southside Johnny), Stan Harrison on tenor saxophone and flute (David Bowie, Mick Jagger, Duran Duran), Ron Tooley on trumpet (James Brown, John Lennon, Maceo Parker), Ravi Best on trumpet (Aretha Franklin, Stevie, Wonder, Kool and The Gang) and Clark Gayton on trombone (Sting, Bruce Springsteen, Joss Stone, Rhianna). The band is rounded out with the soulful, synchronized dancing backup singers Jessie Wagner (Kid Rock, Lenny Kravitz, Chic), Sara Devine (Alicia Keys, Mary J Blige) and Tania Jones (Disciples of Soul).
SUMMER OF SORCERY TRACK LISTING
1. Communion
2. Party Mambo!
3. Love Again
4. Vortex
5. A World Of Our Own
6. Gravity
7. Soul Power Twist
8. Superfly Terraplane
9. Education
10. Suddenly You
11. I Visit The Blues
12. Summer Of Sorcery
LITTLE STEVEN AND THE DISCIPLES OF SOUL ON TOUR 2019
APRIL
13 – Perth, Australia – Metro City
16 – Adelaide, Australia – Thebarton Theatre
18 – Byron Bay, Australia – Byron Bay Bluesfest *
20 – Byron Bay, Australia – Byron Bay Bluesfest *
23 – Melbourne, Australia – Forum Melbourne
25 – Newtown, Australia – Enmore Theatre
27 – Auckland, New Zealand – Auckland Town Hall
SUMMER OF SORCERY TOUR
MAY
4 – Los Angeles, CA – The Saban
8 – Asbury Park, NJ – Paramount Theatre
16 – Liverpool, UK – O2 Academy
18 – Leeds, UK – O2 Academy
20 – Glasgow, UK – O2 Academy
22 – Bristol, UK – O2 Academy
24 – London, UK – O2 Forum Kentish Town
26 – Derbyshire, UK – Bearded Theory Festival *
28 – Berlin, Germany – Huxley’s
30 – Jelling, Denmark – Jelling Muiskfestival *
JUNE
1 – Stockholm, Sweden – Cirkus
3 – Oslo, Norway – Rockefeller
5 – Hamburg, Germany – Fabrik
7 – Brussels, Belgium – Ancienne Belgique (AB)
9 – Emmen, The Netherlands – Hello Festival *
11 – Zurich, Switzerland – Kaufleuten
13 – Milan, Italy – Alcatraz
15 – Bilbao, Spain – Music Legends Festival *
17 – Barcelona, Spain – Sala Apolo
20 – Kragujevac, Serbia – Arsenal Festival *
23 – Paris, France – La Cigale
JULY
2 – Lodnon, Canada – London Music Hall
4 – Ottawa, Canada – Bluesfest
6 – Quebec City, Canada – FEQ
10 – Toronto, Canada – Phoenix Theatre
12 – Buffalo, New York – Town Ballroom
14 – Clifton Park, NY – Upstate Concert Hall
16 – New Haven, CT – College Street Music Hall
18 – Huntington, NY – The Paramount
20 – Glenside, PA – Keswick Theatre
24 – Richmond, VA – The National
26 – Easton, PA – State Theatre Center For The Arts
28 – Annapolis, MD – Outlaw Jam*
SEPTEMBER
22 – Louisville, KY – Bourbon & Beyond*
