Today, Ben Harper released his emotional new single, “Before The Rain Dried.” The track is a hauntingly beautiful reflection on loss dedicated to his longtime guitarist Michael Ward. “Before The Rain Dried” is the first single from Harper’s yet to be announced forthcoming new album. To watch the music video directed by Ben Pier.
“Songs come to me either in fragments or fully formed — this one arrived complete, production and all. The key is having the time to sit down and follow through, which luckily I did,” Harper shared. “Director Ben Pier, a visionary photographer and filmmaker, had a similar experience. I sent him the track, and he called back almost instantly with a clear concept for the video. Playing piano while getting drenched in the rain was tough, but strangely exhilarating.”
Harper most recently shared the stage with some of the biggest names in music and pop culture at People Have The Power: A Celebration Of Patti Smith, the star-studded tribute show at Carnegie Hall. The fundraising event featured Bruce Springsteen, Flea, Maggie Rogers, Scarlett Johansson, Sean Penn, and many more. The evening marked Harper’s fifth performance at New York’s Carnegie Hall.
This summer, Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals will embark on a 15-date summer tour. The tour will kick off on May 30th at the Lincoln Theatre in Washington DC with stops at The Rooftop at Pier 17 in New York City, Higher Ground Ballroom in Burlington, VT, Auditorium Theatre in Chicago, The Pabst Theater in Milwaukee, WI, and the Fox Theater in Oakland, CA, among other cities. The tour will conclude on August 24th at The Orpheum in Los Angeles.
The tour will see Harper perform fan-favorites from his extensive catalog as well as tracks from his critically acclaimed 2023 album, Wide Open Light (Chrysalis Records), which featured a number of special guests, including Jack Johnson on “Yard Sale,” Shelby Lynne on “8 minutes,” and Piers Faccinion on the title track. For more information and tickets, please visit https://www.benharper.com/tour.
Harper is also continuing to expand his creative pursuits on-screen following his 2023 run in AppleTV+ series “Extrapolations,” with an appearance in the new Jeff Buckley documentary, IT’S NEVER OVER, JEFF BUCKLEY, which premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Directed by Amy Berg, the film is a compassionate portrait of the late Jeff Buckley, whose music continues to inspire artists worldwide. With beautiful scores and rare live performances, it captures the love, loss, and enduring impact that shaped Buckley, and thus the international music culture of the late 20th century.
As a 3x-GRAMMY-winner, Harper has amassed international critical applause and a worldwide fan following for his own genre-traversing body of work while also producing acclaimed albums by Mavis Staples, Rickie Lee Jones, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Natalie Maines, Ziggy Marley, and others. An inveterate collaborator, Harper has also recorded with a diverse span of artists ranging from John Lee Hooker, Charlie Musselwhite, to Ringo Starr, Keith Richards and, most recently, Harry Styles, to contribute his signature guitar work to the superstar’s chart-topping album, HARRY’S HOUSE. Harper joined Styles for an astounding 12 nights of performances at The Kia Forum in Los Angeles in 2022.
2025 Tour Dates
Tue-Aug-19-25 – Seattle, WA – Woodland Park Zoo Amphitheater
Wed-Aug-20-25 – Portland, OR – Pioneer Courthouse Square
Thu-Aug-21-25 – Jacksonville, OR – Britt Pavilion
Sat-Aug-23-25 – Oakland, CA – Fox Theater
Sun-Aug-24-25 – Los Angeles, CA – The Orpheum
