Dan Wilson Returns With New Album, Video And Tour

“Full of super-catchy, emotionally raw tunes.”—Rolling Stone

Dan Wilson is set to release his new album Love Without Fear on April 15, and the U.K.’s Clash Music is currently premiering the brand new video to the track “A Song Can Be About Anything”—featuring artwork by Wilson—at http://bit.ly/1m8cS0E.

Wilson will support the release with a series of June dates across the U.S., kicking off June 4-6 with three hometown shows in three different formats at Minneapolis’ Cedar Cultural Center. The first is billed as “Words & Music by Dan Wilson,” an evening of songs and stories made up of material from Wilson’s solo catalog and tunes he’s written with collaborators such as Adele, the Dixie Chicks and Carole King, among others. Friends and special guests will join him on stage for night two, and of the third night Wilson says, “Let’s call night three ‘chef’s surprise.’ I’m going to have fun with the format this night, maybe include elements of nights one and two and mix in some songs, mine and covers, that I haven’t performed before.”

“Words & Music by Dan Wilson” will be performed in multiple cities on the tour, which also includes a special co-headlining date with Joe Henry at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco. See below for tour details.

Of Love Without Fear Wilson says, “This album is about being left alone and desperately wishing for connection and togetherness. The sound lives at the intersection of Americana and Beatles-influenced rock and roll, a little bit of twang and a lot of cinematic emotion.” The LP is Wilson’s first studio release since 2007’s Free Life, which was praised by NPR for combining “graceful melodies with a pure pop sound.”

Recorded in Minneapolis and Los Angeles over the past 3 years, the album was produced by Wilson and includes appearances by Blake Mills and Sean Watkins on guitar as well as guest vocalists Sara Bareilles, Natalie Maines (Dixie Chicks), Missy Higgins, Lissie and Sara Watkins.

In addition to his own critically acclaimed recordings, Wilson has established himself as a highly sought-after collaborator winning Grammy Awards for his work on Adele’s multi-platinum 21 and the Dixie Chicks’ Taking the Long Way as well as co-writing songs for a diverse group of artists including Birdy, John Legend, Pink, Jim James, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Weezer, Josh Groban, Nas, Florence Welch, Carole King and many others. This year, Wilson was nominated for an Album of the Year Grammy Award for his work on Taylor Swift’s Red.

Wilson began his career as a performing artist in the psychedelic folk-rock group Trip Shakespeare and rose to prominence as founder of the Minneapolis-based trio Semisonic in the late-nineties, best known for their Grammy-nominated hit single “Closing Time.” After releasing Free Life in 2007, Wilson followed the album with 2010’s Live at the Pantages, a career-spanning live album recorded at his hometown of Minneapolis’ legendary Pantages Theater.

April 15 /// Electric Fetus /// Minneapolis, MN*
June 4 /// Cedar Cultural Center /// Minneapolis, MN†
June 5 /// Cedar Cultural Center /// Minneapolis, MN‡
June 6 /// Cedar Cultural Center /// Minneapolis, MN
June 7 /// Schubas /// Chicago, IL†
June 9 /// Joe’s Pub /// New York, NY†
June 10 /// Joe’s Pub /// New York, NY†
June 11 /// World Cafe Live /// Philadelphia, PA†
June 13 /// Jammin’ Java /// Vienna, VA†
June 14 /// Rams Head /// Annapolis, MD†
June 19 /// Largo /// LosAngeles, CA†
June 20 /// Great American Music Hall /// San Francisco, CA§