BRITTANY HOWARD ANNOUNCES NEW ALBUM & RELEASES TITLE TRACK “WHAT NOW”
ANNOUNCES 2024 HEADLINE TOUR
“Howard is a transfixing vocalist; she knows how to compress and extend a note in a way that feels as if she’s squeezing all the juice from a piece of very ripe fruit.” – The New Yorker
Oct. 13, 2023 – Brittany Howard, the five-time Grammy Award®-winning powerhouse shares the first single and video off her forthcoming solo album, WHAT NOW. The title track is a thriller of a song and offers a taste of what to expect on the full-length. “What Now” was written and produced by Brittany with co-production from Shawn Everett (Kacey Musgraves, SZA), with whom she has a longstanding creative relationship since Alabama Shakes. Recording took place at the legendary Sound Emporium and historic RCA Studio B in Nashville, Brittany’s hometown. The accompanying cinematic and action-packed video was directed by Danilo Parra (known for his work with A$AP Rocky) and produced by Adam Braun (070 Shake, P!NK). Watch and listen to “What Now.”
“What Now” takes on a potent urgency fueled by its syncopated grooves, blistering guitar riffs, and fiercely honest lyrics (“I’ve been making plans that don’t include you anymore/My heart wants to stay but I don’t know what for”). “‘What Now’ is maybe the truest and bluest of all the songs,” says Howard. “It’s never my design to hurt anyone’s feelings, but I needed to say what was on my mind without editing myself. I like how it’s a song that makes you want to dance, but at the same time the lyrics are brutal.”
Brittany will release a limited-edition 7-inch to accompany the single. “What Now” (A Side) and a “Meditation” (B Side) with crystal singing bowls performed by Brittany’s friends Ramona Reid of The Frequency Center & Ann Sensing. Shipping in December, pre-order here now.
The scorching “What Now” is the title track of WHAT NOW, Brittany’s hotly anticipated second solo album (and first under Island Records). Endlessly unpredictable, the album finds the artist bringing her singular musicality to a shapeshifting sound encompassing everything from psychedelia and dance music to dream-pop and avant-jazz — leaning into an exploration of retro future afroism. WHAT NOW is the long-awaited follow-up to Jaime, Brittany’s massively acclaimed solo debut of 2019 (featuring “Stay High” and “History Repeats”). The album landed on best-of-the-year lists likes of Pitchfork, The New York Times, and Rolling Stone, was named NPR’s album of the year, and earned her 7 Grammy® nominations in 4 different genres, winning the award for Best Rock Song with “Stay High.”
To celebrate this new era, Brittany Howard is also announcing headlining 2024 tour dates across the US and Canada, kicking off in Chicago on February 6, 2024 with dates in markets like New York City and Washington D.C. Becca Mancari will open for Brittany on this run. Tickets will be available on Friday, October 20, 2023 at 10am local. See more at www.brittanyhoward.com. The February tour follows previously announced November 2023 dates that kick off November 6th.
ABOUT BRITTANY HOWARD:
Known for her unique timbre and powerful, soulful, emotionally charged vocals, Brittany Howard has been at the heart of the music scene for over a decade. She is a globally renowned singer, songwriter, and guitarist extraordinaire whose critical acclaim began with the release of Boys & Girls, the RIAA platinum Top 10 debut album by Alabama Shakes (2012). It included the career-defining RIAA gold single “Hold On,” a #1 Triple-AAA anthem that Rolling Stone named #1 Song of the Year. It was nominated for a Grammy® as Best Rock Performance and earned the band a Best New Artist nomination.
The second Alabama Shakes album (and final, before their hiatus), Sound & Color (2015) was another breakthrough, hitting #1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, a rarity for an indie release. The Shakes performed “Don’t Wanna Fight” and “Gimme All Your Love” on NBC’s Saturday Night Live in advance of the release of the album; “Don’t Wanna Fight” took the awards for Best Rock Song (Brittany’s first songwriting Grammy®) and Best Rock Performance while Sound & Color won the Grammy® for Best Alternative Album.
In September 2019, Howard released her solo debut, Jaime, whose celebratory single, “Stay High,” hit #1 on the Triple-AAA chart while "History Repeats" subsequently received Grammy Award® nominations for Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance. This brought Howard’s cumulative career total to 16 Grammy® nominations, and five wins. The album tracks "13th Century Metal" and "Stay High" were included on Pitchfork's list of the Best Songs of 2019. At the annual GLAAD Media Awards, Howard was nominated for Outstanding Music Artist. And at the Americana Music Honors & Awards, Howard was nominated for Artist of the Year, Jaime for Album of the Year, and "Stay High" for Song of the Year.
The Jaime (Reimagined) remix album (2021), contained "Stay High" (Childish Gambino remix, produced by Donald Glover and James Francies), “Stay High again.." (produced by Emmanuel Franklyn Adelabu, Joy Anonymous, and Fred again..), plus versions of Jaime tracks from Bon Iver, Common, Michael Kiwanuka, EARTHGANG, Little Dragon, and more.