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Live Footage: Yola Performs "Diamond Studded Shoes" on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"
With the release of her critically applauded, Dan Auerbach-produced full-length debut, 2019's Walk Through Fire, the Bristol, UK-born, Nashville-based singer/songwriter, guitarist and JOVM mainstay Yola had a breakthrough year that year with a series of career-defining highlights including:
making her New York debut at Rockwood Music Hall
playing a buzz-worthy, breakout performance at that year's SXSW
opening for a list of acclaimed artists including Kacey Musgraves, Lake Street Dive and Andrew Bird on a select series of US tour dates that featured stops at Newport Folk Festival, Hollywood Bowl, Austin City Limits Festival, and Lincoln Center Out of Doors
playing a YouTube session at YouTube Space New York
making her nationally televised debut on CBS This Morning: Saturday Sessions
receiving a Grammy nomination for Best Artist, along with fellow JOVM mainstays The Black Pumas
making her late night national television debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live!
releasing a soulful cover of Elton John's "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,"that not only quickly became a staple of her live sets — but caught the attention of Sir Elton John, who praised her and her cover
Last year, the Bristol-born, Nashville-based JOVM mainstay had hopes to build upon 2019's momentum with a handful of opportunities that came her way last year that many artists across the world would kill for: Early last year, it was announced that she was casted as blues and rock 'n' roll pioneer Sister Rosetta Tharpe in Baz Luhrmann's musical drama Elvis alongside Austin Butler in the title role, Tom Hanks as Colonel Tom Parker and Maggie Gyllenhaal as Presley's mother. Unfortunately, much like with everyone else,the COVID-19 pandemic threw a series of monkey wrenches into her hopes and plans: Tom Hanks wound up contracting COVID-19 while filming in Australia and because of pandemic-related lockdowns and restrictions, filming was delayed. During breaks in the Elvis filming schedule, she was supposed to play a series of dates opening for country superstar Chris Stapleton and Grammy Award-winning acts The Black Keys and Brandi Carlile — with one of those shows being at Madison Square Garden, which also got postponed until later on this year. (More on that below.)
However, Yola managed two finish her first Stateside headlining tour, a tour that included a stop at Music Hall of Williamsburg, a few weeks before the world went into lockdown. In lieu of actual touring, the Bristol-born, Nashville-based JOVM mainstay wound up making a virtual tour of the domestic, late night television show circuit that saw her playing bonus track "I Don't Want to Lie" on The Late Late Show with James Corden — and gospel-tleaning cover of Nina Simone's classic and beloved "To Be Young, Gifted and Black" filmed at The Ryman Auditorium for Late Night with Seth Meyers.
But besides that, much like the rest of us Yola had a lot of time on her hands. The Bristol-born, Nashville-based JOVM mainstay used the unexpected gift of time and space to ground herself physically and mentally as she began to write the material that would become her highly-anticipated sophomore album Stand For Myself. Some of the album's material was written several years previously and inspired by deeply personal moments, like her mother's funeral. Other songs were written during pandemic isolation, and as a result they reflect on her personal and collective moments of longing and awakening — inspired and informed by Black Lives Matter, #MeToo and other movements.
Tracks were also cowritten with Ruby Amanfu, John Bettis, Pat McLaughlin, Natalie Hemby, Joy Oladokun, Paul Overstreet, Liz Rose, Aaron Lee Tasjan, Hannah Vasanth and Bobby Wood. But importantly, the album's material will make a connection with anyone who has experienced feeling as though they were an "other" while urging the listener to challenge the biases and assumptions that fuel bigotry, inequality and tokenism — all of which have impacted her personal life and career. "It's a collection of stories of allyship, black feminine strength through vulnerability, and loving connection from the sexual to the social. All celebrating a change in thinking and paradigm shift at their core." Yola says in press note, adding, "It is an album not blindly positive and it does not simply plead for everyone to come together. It instead explores ways that we need to stand for ourselves throughout our lives, what limits our connection as humans and declares that real change will come when we challenge our thinking and acknowledge our true complexity." Ultimately, the JOVM mainstay's hope is that the album will encourage both empathy and self actualization, all while returning to where she started, to the real Yola. "I kind of got talked out of being me, and now I'm here. This is who I've always been in music and in life. There was a little hiatus where I got brainwashed out of my own majesty, but a bitch is back."
Continuing her ongoing collaboration with acclaimed producer, singer/songwriter, musician and label head Dan Auerbach, the album which was recorded late last year at Easy Eye Sound is inspired by the seminal albums she initially discovered through her mother's record collection, as well as the eclectic mixtapes she created while listening to British radio that featured neo soul, R&B, Brit Pop and others. Featuring a backing band that includes Nick Movshon (bass), best known for his work with Amy Winehouse and Bruno Mars alongside Aaron Frazier (drums), a rising solo artist in his own right, the album is sonically is a noticeable shift from her debut, with the album's aesthetic meshing symphonic soul and classic pop while occasionally hinting at the country soul of her critically applauded debut.
In the buildup to the album's release last month, I've written about three of Stand For Myself's singles:
"Diamond Studded Shoes," a woozy yet seamless synthesis of densely layered Phil Spector-like Wall of Sound pop, country, 70s singer/songwriter pop and late 60s/early 70s Motown soul centered around the JOVM mainstay's powerhouse vocals and some of the most incisive sociopolitical commentary of her growing catalog. "This song explores the false divides created to distract us from those few who are in charge of the majority of the world's wealth and use the 'divide and conquer' tactic to keep it," Yola explained in press notes. "This song calls on us to unite and turn our focus to those with a stranglehold on humanity."
"Stand For Myself," a bold and proudly feminist anthem written from the perspective of a survivor, who wants to do more than just survive; she wants to thrive and be wholly herself — at all costs. While featuring a rousing, shout-along worthy hook. a clean pop-leaning take on the famous Nashville sound and a the JOVM mainstay's powerhouse vocals, the song, much like its immediate predecessor is undermined by incisive social commentary: Essentially, the track reflects on Yola's belief in the possibility of paradigm shift beyond the mental programming that creates both tokenism and bigotry. "The song's protagonist 'token,' has been shrinking themselves to fit into the narrative of another's making, but it becomes clear that shrinking is pointless," Yola explains. "This song is about a celebration of being awake from the nightmare supremacist paradigm. Truly alive, awake and eyes finally wide open and trained on your path to self actualisation. You are thinking freely and working on undoing the mental programming that has made you live in fear. It is about standing for ourselves throughout our lives and real change coming when we challenge our thinking. This is who I've always been in music and in life."
"Starlight," a sultry and lush, Quiet Storm-inspired song featuring twinkling keys, a sinuous bass line, a soaring hook, strummed guitar, shuffling rhythms paired with Yola's vocals expressing vulnerability and longing for human connection and touch. "'Starlight' is a song about looking for positive physical, sexual and human connections at every level of your journey towards love," Yola explains. She adds: "The world seems to attach a negative trope of cold heartlessness to the concept of any sexual connection that isn't marriage, this song looks through a lens of warmth specifically when it comes to sex positivity. Understanding the necessity of every stage of connection and that it is possible for every stage of your journey in love, sex and connection to be nurturing. Temporary or transitory doesn't have to be meaningless or miserable. In the right situations every connection can teach us something valuable about who we are, what we want and what is healthy."
Last night Yola performed a slightly stripped down and jammy version of her chart-topping single "Diamond Studded Shoes" on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
Yola is currently on tour to support the new album. You can check out the remaining tour dates for 2021 and newly announced tour dates for 2022 below. The tour includes an October 8, 2021 stop at Madison Square Garden with Chris Stapleton.
Aug 21 – Globe Life Park – Arlington, TX – w/ Chris Stapleton
Aug 22 – Outlaw Music Festival – Austin360 Amphitheater
Sep 3 – Summerfest
Sep 5 – Jazz Aspen Snowmass
Sep 11 – Moon River Festival
Sep 12 – Sing Out Loud Festival
Sep 16 – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre – Maryland Height, MO – w/ Chris Stapleton
Sep 17 – Oak Mountain Amphitheatre – Birmingham, AL – w/ Chris Stapleton
Sep 18 – The Wharf Amphitheatre – Orange Beach, AL – w/ Chris Stapleton
Sep 25 – Ruoff Music Center. Noblesville, IN – w/ Chris Stapleton
Sep 26 – Ohana Music Festival
Oct 7 – Harvester Performance Center – Rocky Mount, VA
Oct 8 – Madison Square Garden – NYC, NY – w/ Chris Stapleton
Oct 14 – Mizzou Arena – Columbia, MO – w/ Chris Stapleton
Oct 15 – Pinnacle Bank Arena – Lincoln, NE – w/ Chris Stapleton
Oct 16 – Denny Sanford Premier Center – Sioux Falls, SD – w/ Chris Stapleton
Oct 21 – Riverbend Music Center – Cincinnati, OH – w/ Chris Stapleton
Oct 22 & 23 – Bridgestone Arena – Nashville, TN – w/ Chris Stapleton
Oct 28 – United Supermarket Arena – Lubbock, TX – w/ Chris Stapleton
Oct 29 – Isleta Amphitheater – Albuquerque, NM – w/ Chris Stapleton
Oct 30 – AK-Chin Pavilion – Phoenix, AZ – w/ Chris Stapleton
Nov 4 – Frank Erwin Center – Austin, TX – w/ Chris Stapleton
Nov 5 – BOK Center – Tulsa, OK – w/ Chris Stapleton
Nov 6 – Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion – The Woodlands, TX – w/ Chris Stapleton
Nov 28 – Bristol, Eng – Rough Trade
Dec 3 – FedEx Forum – Memphis, TN – w/ Chris Stapleton
Dec 4 – Mississippi Coast Coliseum – Biloxi, MS – w/ Chris Stapleton
Dec 5 – Thompson-Boling Arena – Knoxville, TN – w/ Chris Stapleton
Feb 1-5 – Girls Just Wanna Weekend
Feb 8 – Big Night Live – Boston, MA*
Feb 11 – Lincoln Theatre – Washington D.C*
Feb 13 – Jefferson Theatre – Charlottesville, VA*
Feb 15 – Philadelphia, PA – venue TBA on sale TBA
Feb 17 – Thalia Hall – Chicago, IL*
Feb 19 – Hoyt Sherman Place – Des Moines, IA*
Feb 23 – First Avenue – Minneapolis, MN*
Mar 3 – Ryman Auditorium – Nashville, TN – w/ Allison Russell
Mar 4 – Ryman Auditorium – Nashville, TN – w/ Devon Gilfillian
Mar 11 – Saint Andrew's Hall – Detroit, MI
Mar 13 – The National – Richmond, VA*
Mar 15 – The Orange Peel – Asheville, NC*
Mar 16 – The Ritz – Raleigh, NC*
Mar 18 – Charleston Music Hall – Charleston, SC*
Mar 19 – The Eastern – Atlanta, GA*
Mar 20 – Saturn – Birmingham, AL*
Mar 22 – Little Rock, AR – venue TBA on sale TBA
Mar 23 – The Joy Theater – New Orleans, LA*
Mar 25 – Studio at the Factory – Dallas, TX*+
Mar 26 – The Heights Theater – Houston, TX*+
Mar 27 – Stubb's Waller Creek Amphitheater – Austin, TX*+
Mar 29 – Uptown Theater – Kansas City, MO*
Mar 30 – The Jones Assembly – Oklahoma City, OK*
April 1 – Belly Up Aspen – Aspen, CO*
April 2 – Ogden Theatre – Denver, CO*
April 3 – Boulder Theater – Boulder, CO*
Apr 5 – The Depot – Salt Lake City, UT*
Apr 6 – Knitting Factory – Boise, ID*
Apr 7 – The ELM – Bozeman, MT*
Apr 9 – The Wilma – Missoula, MT*
Apr 10 – The Showbox – Seattle, WA*
Apr 11 – Roseland Theater – Portland, OR*
Apr 14 – The Fillmore – San Francisco, CA*
Apr 15 – Ace of Spades – Sacramento, CA*
April 20 – Huntington Center. Toledo, OH – w/ Chris Stapleton
April 21 – Schottenstein Center. Columbus, OH – w/ Chris Stapleton
April 23 – A Concert for Kentucky – Kroger Field. Lexington, KY – w/ Chris Stapleton
Apr 27 – House of Blues – Las Vegas, NV
May 1 – Stagecoach Festival
*Jac Ross opening
+Jac Ross and Nick Connors
Tagged with: Bristol UK country country soul Dan Auerbach Easy Eye Sound Jimmy Kimmel Live! Live Footage Nashville TN singer/songwriter soul music video women who kick ass Yola Diamond Studded Shoes Yola Stand For Myself Yola Stand For Myself LP Yola Starlight Yola Walk Through Fire