Willie Nile to Play Highline Ballroom November 20th

Courtesy: Conqueroo

NEW YORK, N.Y. — In his three and a half decades as a recording artist, Willie Nile has earned a reputation as a fiercely committed rock ‘n’ roller, as well as a singular songwriter possessing a rare insight into human nature and an uncommon eye for emotional detail. It’s Nile’s introspective side that fuels If I Was A River, a deeply compelling ten-song collection that diverges from his usual sound, while affirming the remarkable melodic and lyrical skills that have long endeared the artist to his passionately loyal fan base.

In contrast to the rousing, guitar-based rock ‘n’ roll that’s been the focus of the dozen albums that he’s released since 1980, If I Was A River, which will be available on CD at live shows and at willienile.com, and as a digital download after November 11, features ten stirring original compositions on which Nile accompanies himself on piano, with sparse arrangements that keep the focus firmly on the songs and Nile’s deeply felt performances. 

That stripped-down, piano-based approach is one that Nile has explored on various tracks over the years, but never for the length of an entire album. However, in the wake of the warm public reception that greeted his 2013 release American Ride —which won some of the most enthusiastic reviews of his career and was voted Best Rock Album of the Year at the Independent Music Awards — Nile was ready to explore some new creative options. "American Ride was a thoroughly satisfying experience for me,” Nile says. “A lot of the dreams that I’d always had about making records were realized with that album, and it was well received and I’m deeply grateful for that. So it felt like a circle had been completed in some way, like I’d gotten to where I was going after a long journey. So I thought it was time to make a left turn and try something different.”

“I’ve wanted to do an album of piano songs for some time,” he continues. “I’ve got drawers full of songs of all kinds, but these piano songs are close to my heart, and it felt like it was the right time to let them out. I love the simplicity of just sitting at a piano and singing a song, and I first started out in music playing the piano. Sometimes less is more, and this just seemed like one of those times.”

After narrowing an initial set of 25 compositions down to a more manageable number, Nile and Grammy-winning producer Stewart Lerman (Boardwalk Empire, Antony and the Johnsons, Loudon Wainwright III, Dar Williams), who’s worked on seven of Nile’s prior releases, set about recording the material in an appropriately spare environment that would help to capture the songs’ intimacy and immediacy. 

Throughout the If I Was A River sessions, Nile played the same Steinway Grand piano that he’d played 34 years earlier on the evening of the death of John Lennon, while both Lennon and Nile were recording at Manhattan’s Record Plant. When Nile was working on If I Was a River, the legendary piano was residing at Hobo Sound in Weehawken, N.J., where Nile recorded the new album’s emotion-charged performances with a minimum of embellishment or trickery.  

It’s hard to think of many other artists who are doing some of their best work in the fourth decade of their careers, but Willie Nile continues to seek out new creative challenges and conquer new musical territory. Come out and see (and hear) for yourself when he plays Highline Ballroom November 20th. Details below.

When: Fri., Nov. 20th 
Where: Highline Ballroom 431 W. 16th St.
Showtime: $8
Tickets: $25-$30
http://highlineballroom.com/show/2015/11/20/willie-nile-5/

---