The Jazz vocalist Norah Jones is back on the road with a new tour, a new album and a new look. This shining star has new shows and tickets at venues like Stubb's Bar-B-Q in Austin, the Majestic Theatre in Dallas, the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville and the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre in Atlanta.
Norah Jones has been wowing audiences on the first leg of her 2010 tour in support of her new album "The Fall." A departure for the artist, the album features a heady mix of rock, blues and alt-country, in addition to her more usual jazz vocal stylings. She has a new five piece band anchored by the great guitarist Smokey Hormel who has played with Beck. The torch singer Sasha Dobson opens shows and joins her for beautiful duets, sharing a single microphone on a cover of the Kinks' "Strangers" and "Don't Know Why," Ms. Jones's own hit from her 2002 debut album, the multi-million selling "Come Away With Me."
Norah Jones has taken a stunning turn in her musical journey. Surely she could have rested on her laurels and none of her fans would mind. But Norah is an artist and artists challenge themselves, they experiment and they grow. Her new direction will be clear when you get your Norah Jones ticket and see. Gone are the flowing locks of old. She has shorn her hair and strapped on a cherry red guitar. She would now look right at home on stage alongside garage rockers the Vivian Girls or Mika Miko, except for her red evening dress and those fancy pumps. Jones often opens her show with "Young Blood" from the new album, a great tune with a real indie rock jolt. She continues her show with "Man of the Hour" (a song about her dog), the gritty "Even Through" (which would not be out of place in a Kings of Leon set), and the old-school country swagger of "Tell Your Mama." Then she places her guitar on a stand and steps toward where fans are used to seeing her: behind the piano. The lights dim in an eerie glow and she breaks into "Chasing Pirates."
Norah Jones has sold over 37 million albums worldwide and has a devoted fan base that includes a variety of her artistic contemporaries. She has shared the stage or recorded duets with Willie Nelson, Outkast, Ryan Adams, Charlie Hunter, Liberation Prophecy, Dolly Parton, The Little Willies and Wax Poetic. In concert, you can expect to hear soulful covers of Tom Waits' "The Long Way Home" and Rodney Crowell's "Blue Rider." She is also doing renditions of her own hits "Don't Know Why," "Come Away With Me," and "Sunrise Sunrise."
Norah Jones has an undeniable musical pedigree, being the daughter of the legendary Indian sitarist Ravi Shankar and dancer Sue Jones. She is the half-sister of Anoushka Shankar, who followed in her father's footsteps and is a renowned sitarist. Her debut album in 2002, "Come Away With Me" won eight Grammy Awards. Her second album, 2004's "Feels Like Home" won one Grammy Award and has sold over 10 million copies. Her third album, 2007's "Not Too Late" debuted at number one on the Billboard charts and was her third consecutive number one album. Her fourth album, "The Fall" was released in November 2009 and debuted at number three on the Billboard charts. Three singles have been culled from the album so far: "Chasing Pirates," "Young Blood," and "Stuck." Ms. Jones performed "It's Gonna Be" in April 2010 on the Ellen Degeneres Show to promote the album. She also appeared on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, Chelsea Lately, Later with Jools Holland, Late Shoiw with David Letterman and The Colbert Report. She is also coming to a town near you to perform her sultry torch songs in concert: catch Nora Jones live.