The Black Lillies Head into 2017 with New Member, Plans to Record New Album

Credit: bMethe art and design

​KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- The Black Lillies began 2017 with a new band member (Haley Cole from Birch, Texas); the European release of their current album,  Hard to Please  on January 20; and a winter European tour prior to returning to American stages — commencing in Texas — for the remainder of the year. Additionally, the new lineup will go into the studio in 2017 to record a new album.
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The Black Lillies’ story is one of hard work and highway miles … a story that traces their evolution from a group of friends making music in songwriter and frontman  Cruz Contreras’ living room into what is now one of Americana’s biggest success stories: an internationally-renowned band of roots-rockers, armed with songs that blur the boundaries among folk, soul, red dirt country, blues and jazz.

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The Black Lillies’ story is still unfolding, with the band’s sharp, Southern-influenced songs — including Americana radio hits like “Hard to Please,” the kickoff single and title track from the band’s most recent album — leading the charge. Featuring multi-instrumentalist Contreras, bassist and vocalist Sam Quinn, drummer Bowman Townsend, guitarist/vocalist  Dustin Schaefer, pedal steel player  Jonathan Keeney   and multi-instrumentalist/vocalist newcomer Cole, the Black Lillies enter this chapter as one of the most visible, viable groups in contemporary roots music.

Hard to Please,  produced by Grammy winner Ryan Hewitt and recorded at Nashville’s legendary House of Blues Studio D, earned praise from Rolling Stone Country, NPR, American Songwriter and beyond, debuting at #12 on  Billboard  Heatseekers and #30 on  Billboard’s Top 200 Country Albums. Runaway Blues, from 2013, and 2011’s 100 Miles of Wreckage  both fared similarly well, with outlets like  Entertainment Weekly   praising the band’s “strong roots-folk songwriting, sweet harmonies, and charismatic indie spirit.”

The Black Lillies promoted each release in the blue-collar tradition: by hitting the highway, racking up 230 gigs in 2014 alone and averaging 175 during the remaining years. That road-warrior work ethic has become as integral to the band’s success as Contreras’ songwriting, taking the band from coast to coast, border to border, and even country to country. 

Proudly independent since their formation, the Black Lillies were one of the first independent bands to play the  Grand Ole Opry  and have since returned dozens of times — sharing that stage with big-budget bands and major-label mainstreamers. They’ve chased down success on their terms, ignoring the trends of Nashville and focusing on a sound that, as Vanity Fair  notes, “continues to cross generations and musical genres – country, folk, blues and … a touch of the Dead, for good measure.” With new members, new songs and the same dedication to touring, the Lillies continue to sink their roots deep into the Americana landscape.

2017 Tour Dates
Jan. 27   UPPSALA SWEDEN  Katalin
Jan. 28   AVESTA SWEDEN  Rootsy Meeting Showcase
Jan. 29   STOCKHOLM SWEDEN  Akkurat
Jan. 30   NYNÄSHAMN SWEDEN Akkurat
Feb. 1   SUNDSVALL SWEDEN E Street
Feb. 2   OSLO, NORWAY  Gamla
Feb. 3    FALKENBERG SWEDEN  Grand Hotel
Feb. 4   ÖREBRO SWEDEN  Scandic Grand Hotel
Feb. 5   HULTSFRED, SWEDEN  Hotell Hulingen,
Feb. 6   GOTHENBURG, SWEDEN  BarKom
Feb. 8   TRANÅS, SWEDEN  Plan B
Feb. 9   HALMSTAD, SWEDEN  Immanuelskyrkan
Feb. 10    MALMÖ, SWEDEN  Immanuelskyrkan
Feb. 11   NORDERSTEDT DENMARK
Feb. 12   HAARLEM, NETHERLANDS  Roots Of Heaven Festival, Patronaat
Feb. 15   LEICESTER, UK  The Musician
Feb. 16   SHEFFIELD, U.K. The Greystones
Feb. 17    NEWCASTLE, U.K. The Cluny
Feb. 18    LONDON, U.K.  Nells Jazz & Blues
Feb. 19   GLASGOW, SCOTLAND  TBC
Feb. 22    EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND  TBC
March 1   VALENCIA, SPAIN  El Loco
March 2   BARCELONA, SPAIN  Rocksound
March 3   ZARAGOZA SPAIN  La Ley Seca
March 4   MADRID, SPAIN Funhouse
March 9   BEAUMONT, TX  Courville’s
March 10    HOUSTON, TX Goode’s Armadillo Palace
March 11   FREDRICKSBURG TX  Luckenbach Dancehall
March 12   THE WOODLANDS, TX  Dosey Doe’s Ranch House
March 16   FORT WORTH, TX  Live Oak Music Hall
March 17   SAN ANTONIO, TX  Sam’s Burger Joint
March 18   EDEN, TX  Green Apple Arts Center
March 24   BLACKSBURG, VA  Lyric Theatre
March 25   HOPEWELL, VA  Beacon Theatre
April 22   CEDARBURG, WI  Cedarburg Cutural Center
April 29   TULSA, OK  Guthrie Green
 
http://theblacklillies.com