Kevin Morby and Hamilton Leithauser “Virginia Beach”

Ahead of their mixer tour, Kevin Morby and Hamilton Leithauser have shared their collaborative track, “Virginia Beach."
Kevin Morby and Hamilton Leithauser photo by Shervin Lainez

Ahead of their mixer tour, Kevin Morby and Hamilton Leithauser have shared their collaborative track, “Virginia Beach.” The track opens with a finger-picked guitar, each musician singing their own stanza before their voices join together. Jabbing piano chords, unconstrained licks of electric guitar and dynamic percussion layer in. After Leithauser originally wrote the track in New York, he sent it over to Morby, who recorded his own vocals in Kansas City.

“I wanted to do a modern take on a dark country song which would transform into more of a dark dance groove,” explains Hamilton. “I also wrote an entire vocal track over it but just didn’t think my voice was taking it anywhere new, so I sent the track to Kevin Morby. His voice sounds nothing like my own, and his songs usually have a very different structure than mine. I thought maybe he could take it in a new direction. He told me he wanted to write a traveling song, maybe mentioning some places people don’t sing about that much, and he sent me some lyrics. I loved it and wrote my ‘Virginia Beach’ lines right then and there, and sent them back to him.”

Morby further explains: “Maybe it was being in one place for almost two years, or maybe it was the mysterious and kinetic energy of the composition, but I found myself compelled to write of all the bizarre yet beautiful corners of America one often overlooks that a touring musician inevitably finds themselves in while out on the road. The Paris Idahos and the Texarkanas. It was my attempt at evoking Cash and Dylans ‘Wanted Man’ or Barbara Keith’s ‘Detroit or Buffalo,’ or any of those other lost country and rock n roll songs that shout out cities off the beaten path. Cities that down-and-out characters race towards in an attempt to outrun themselves. Though

Kevin Morby and Hamilton Leithauser
Fall Tour Dates

Thu. Oct. 14 – Richmond, VA @ The National *
Fri. Oct. 15 – Saxapahaw, NC @ Haw River Ballroom *
Sat. Oct. 16 – Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel *
Mon. Oct. 18 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse *
Tue. Oct. 19 – Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl *
Thu. Oct. 21 – Houston, TX @The Heights Theater *
Fri. Oct. 22 – Dallas, TX @ Kessler Theater *
Sat. Oct. 23 – Austin, TX @ Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater *
Mon. Oct. 25 – Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom *
Tue. Oct. 26 – San Diego, CA @ Observatory North Park *
Wed. Oct. 27 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Theatre at Ace Hotel *
Thu. Oct. 28 – San Francisco, CA @ August Hall *
Fri. Oct. 29 – Sonoma, CA @ Gundlach Bundschu Winery *
Mon. Nov. 1 -Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom *
Tue. Nov. 2 – Tacoma, WA @ Spanish Ballroom *
Wed. Nov. 3 – Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre *
Fri. Nov. 5 – Boise, ID @ Knitting Factory *
Sat. Nov. 6 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Metro Music Hall *
Mon. Nov. 8 – Englewood, CO @ Gothic Theatre *
Wed. Nov. 10 – Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line *
Thu. Nov. 11 – Chicago, IL @ Vic Theatre *
Fri. Nov. 12 – Indianapolis, IN @ The Vogue *
Sat. Nov. 13 – Louisville, KY @ Headliners Music Hall *
Mon. Nov. 15 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Smalls Theatre *
Wed. Nov. 17 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel *
Thu. Nov. 18 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall *
Fri. Nov. 19 – Boston, MA @ Royale *
Sat. Nov. 20 – Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground *
Mon. Nov. 22 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer *
Tue. Nov. 23 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club *
Fri. May 20, 2022 – Madrid, ES @ Tomavistas
Sat. May 21, 2022 – Biarritz, FR @ L’Atabal
Sun. May 22, 2022 – Montpellier, FR @ Le Rockstore
Mon. May 23, 2022 – Bordeaux, FR @ Rock School Barbey
Tue. May 24, 2022 – Paris, FR @ Le Bataclan
Wed. May 25, 2022 – Köln, DE @ Kulturkirche
Thu. May 26, 2022 – Antwerpen, BE @ De Roma
Sun. May 29, 2022 – Utrecht, NL @ TivoliVredenburg (Ronda)
Mon. May 30, 2022 – Hamburg, DE @ Uebel & Gefährlich
Tue. May 31, 2022 – Berlin, DE @ Metropol
Wed. June 1, 2022 – Schorndorf, DE @ Manufaktur
Sat. June 4, 2022 – Clermont-Ferrand, FR @ La Cooperative de Mai
Sun. June 5, 2022 – Lille, FR @ Aéronef

*= w/ Hamilton Leithauser

Purchase A Night At The Little Los Angeles HERE

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