Lola Kirke Is Country Curious On New Elle King-produced EP, Out February 16th Via One Riot Records
Country Curious includes collaborations with Rosanne Cash and First Aid Kit
Watch the slightly NSFW video for first single “All My Exes Live In L.A.” (featuring backing vocals from First Aid Kit) here
Kirke begins a North American headline tour August 25 – including a September 5th show at Bowery Ballroom in NYC – and will play Hopscotch and Bourbon & Beyond festivals in September
“Lola is a stunning combination of wildness, beauty, and humor, with a voice that digs inside my head and heart”
-Rosanne Cash
August 16, 2023 – Lola Kirke will release a new EP, Country Curious, produced by Elle King and featuring guest appearances from First Aid Kit and Rosanne Cash, on February 16, 2024 via One Riot Records. Country Curious showcases a young woman finding her musical footing in a thrilling way. In addition to collaborations with King, Cash and First Aid Kit on Country Curious, Kirke got to write songs with some of Nashville’s finest songwriters, including Aaron Ratiere (Miranda Lambert, Midland), Jon Decious (Ashley McBryde), Mary Cutter (Bailey Zimmerman, Nate Smith) and Jason Nix (Lainey Wilson). Kirke has lived in Nashville since 2020 and has made it her goal to immerse herself in the city’s world-renowned songwriting community and continue to refine her craft.
“It’s an incredible art,” Kirke says of country music, and more specifically the practice of writing a top-tier country song. “I’ve always been able to hear what I was going through reflected in country music. It has such an incredible way of talking about really complicated things that happen in daily life in a really simple way.”
Kirke’s commitment to country was clear to King, with whom Kirke has been close friends since their pre-teen years in New York. Not only was Kirke thrilled to work with a friend on Country Curious, but it also marked the first time she’d partnered with a female producer (and the first time King has taken on the role of producer). “I’ve always felt like she was a big sister creatively,” Kirke says of King. “She has always been able to blend her rebellious idiosyncrasies with her amazing pop sensibility. I knew she’d be the right fit.” Their lifelong friendship made the collaboration even more natural. “She was the first girl I knew singing country in New York City!” Kirke beams when talking about King.
“What I’ve long loved about country is the room it gives for women to be extremely dynamic and have that heart and that toughness and the ability to be domestic and wild,” Kirke continues. “There’s also a space for men to cry. I’ve never heard so many references to men crying as I have in country music. Those contradictions are so interesting to me.”
First single “All My Exes Live in LA,” which features backing vocals from the acclaimed Swedish duo First Aid Kit, has all the trappings of a country radio smash: fun, flirty and brazenly bold. Kirke describes the song as “this big drama with almost a ‘Thelma and Louise’ quality to it.” Its title takes inspiration from George Strait’s “All My Exes Live in Texas,” and Kirke proudly says the song is about “freedom and liberation…but it’s also quite tongue-in-cheek.”
Having played sold out shows with artists including King, First Aid Kit, Margo Price and Jenny Lewis, Kirke is now ready to head out on her own headline tour. “I have never felt more in-the-zone as a live performer,” she says proudly. “The only way to perform is to be incredibly bad for a long time and then start getting good. I’ve been able to find a more authentic version of myself onstage.”
Kirke begins her North American headline tour on August 25th in Minneapolis, MN. The tour includes shows in Chicago, IL, Detroit, MI, Toronto, ON, Montreal, QC, San Francisco, CA, Austin, TX and a September 5th show at Bowery Ballroom in New York City. Kirke will also hit Hopscotch and Bourbon & Beyond festivals in September.
Lola Kirke – Fall 2023 North American Tour Dates
Aug 25 - Minneapolis, MN - 7th St Entry
Aug 26 - Chicago, IL - Hideout
Aug 27 - Madison, WI - The Bur Oak
Aug 29 - Rockford, IL - Anderson Japanese Gardens
Aug 30 - Milwaukee, WI - The Back Room @ Colectivo
Aug 31 - Grand Rapids, MI - The Midtown GR
Sept 1 - Detroit, MI - Third Man Records Cass Corridor
Sept 2 - Toronto, ON - Monarch Tavern
Sept 3 - Montreal, QC - Café Campus
Sept 5 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
Sept 7 - Vienna, VA - Jammin Java
Sept 8 - Charlotte, NC - Snug Harbor
Sept 9 - Raleigh, NC - Hopscotch Music Festival
Sept 15 - Louisville, KY - Bourbon & Beyond
Nov 1 - San Francisco, CA - Amado's
Nov 3 - Olympia, WA - Capitol Theater
Nov 4 - Seattle, WA - Freakout Festival
Nov 5 - Portland, OR - Mississippi Studios
Nov 7 - Denver, CO - Hi-Dive
Nov 8 - Santa Fe, NM - Meow Wolf
Nov 10 - Dallas, TX - Sundown at Granada
Nov 11 - Austin, TX - Mohawk Austin
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Download new press photo here (photo credit Mama Hot Dog)
For more information on Lola Kirke, please contact Rob Krauser at REK Room Media, rob@rekroommedia.com or 917.703.8361
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