Bonny Light Horseman shares new single “Old Dutch.” The song is lifted from their forthcoming album Keep Me on Your Mind/See You Free. Shot at Levis Corner House pub in Ballydehob, Ireland, in front of a crowd of enthusiastic patrons–as seen in the song’s accompanying video, which features rousing footage of the process. “This song began as a backstage voice memo when we were performing at the Old Dutch Church in Kingston, NY, so iPhone named it for us. It came together fast with the three of us just finger-painting until there it was. It took a few fits and starts before we realized that it should be a duet and–importantly–a conversation,” explains the acclaimed trio of Anaïs Mitchell, Eric D. Johnson, and Josh Kaufman. “We recorded it live at Levis’ and when the whole crowd started singing ‘yeah I got a feelin,’ we all experienced a moment of collective lift-off. Josh looked over at Joe’s (bar owner) partner Caroline behind the bar, eyes wide open, arms outstretched, singing along and deeply feeling it. We’d never had that kind of moment tracking a song for a record before, seeing and feeling the connection (beyond the musicians in the room) in real-time as it’s all going to tape. It feels like this recording has some of that ‘real-life’ energy to it.”

This June, Bonny Light Horseman will also perform at summer festivals Bonnaroo Music & Arts, Winnipeg Folk, Red Wing Roots, and more. Written over five months in 2023, this third album began when the band’s core trio convened in the century-old Levis alongside beloved collaborators JT Bates (drums), Cameron Ralston (bass), and recording engineer Bella Blasko. Mitchell suggested the pub as their first recording location, based on her one conversation with owner Joe O’Leary. Stepping inside the pub’s aged confines, the trio felt an immediate connection to its palpable sense of community, and of family, forged over many decades.

The group tracked about half of the songs in the main room of Levis’s. They spent two days working alone; on the evening of the third, O’Leary invited some enthusiastic residents to join in. The band then returned to their spiritual home, upstate New York’s Dreamland Recording Studios (where they completed their first two albums), to finish the work they had started. Frequent collaborator Mike Lewis joined on bass and tenor saxophone. Annie Nero stopped by to play upright bass and sing some harmonies for an afternoon.

Bonny Light Horseman 2024 Tour Dates:

06/11 – Norfolk, VA – Virginia Arts Festival
06/12 – Nelsonville, OH – Stuart’s Opera House *
06/13 – Chicago, IL – Thalia Hall *
06/14 – Nashville, TN – Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival
06/15 – Asheville, NC – Orange Peel *
06/16 – Washington, DC – Howard Theatre *
06/18 – Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg *
06/19 – Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg ^
06/20 – Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer *
06/21 – Mount Solon, VA – Red Wing Roots Festival
06/22 – Northampton, MA – Green River Music Festival
06/23 – Cambridge, MA – The Sinclair ^ (SOLD OUT)
07/13 – Winnipeg, MB – Winnipeg Folk Festival
08/09 – Aspen, CO – Paepcke Auditorium
08/10 – Lyons, CO – Rocky Mountain Folks Festival
10/4 – Santa Fe, NM – Tumbleroot Brewery & Distillery#
10/5 – Phoenix, AZ – Crescent Ballroom#
10/6 – Los Angeles, CA – The Ford#
10/9 – Berkeley, CA – The UC Theatre Taube Family Music Hall#
10/11 – Portland, OR – Revolution Hall#
10/12 – Seattle, WA – The Crocodile#
10/13 – Bellingham, WA – Wild Buffalo House of Music#
10/14 – Vancouver, BC – Hollywood Theatre#
11/12 – Gothenburg, SE – Pustervik
11/13 – Stockholm, SE – Nalen
11/14 – Copenhagen, DK – VEGA
11/15 – Hamburg, DE – Nochtspeicher
11/16 – Amsterdam, NL – Tolhuistuin
11/18 – Paris, FR – Maroquinerie
11/20 – London, UK – Roundhouse
11/21 – Birmingham, UK – XOYO
11/22 – Glasgow, UK – QMU
11/23 – Manchester, UK – New Century
11/24 – Dublin, IE – Vicar St

* w/ Alpha Consumer
^ w/ Bridget St John
# w/Charlotte Cornfield

Pre-order Keep Me on Your Mind/See You Free HERE