Award-winning, Toronto-based, Americana/folk singer-songwriter Julian Taylor has released a brand-new single, ‘Weighing Down‘, a track that seeks to lighten one’s load with uplifting encouragement. It’s one of those chilling, powerful tracks that gets the hairs on your arms to stand up.
“What it also does is address the idea that, ‘All of us are our own worst enemies. All of us are so hard on ourselves,’” Taylor explains. “That kind of pressure, and the way it affects our health, both mentally and physically – that’s the weighing down of the world we put on our own shoulders because of things we think we’ve done wrong. What I’m saying here is, ‘I’ve got to relieve myself from all of this hurt – and so do you.’”
‘Weighing Down’ is the first single from Taylor’s forthcoming album, Pathways, which will be released September 27, 2024 on the Howling Turtle, Inc. label. The album follows on the heels of his most recent solo LPs, 2020’s highly acclaimed, award-winning album, The Ridge (which garnered Taylor’s anointing as Solo Artist of the Year at the Canadian Folk Music Awards) and 2022’s equally lauded album, Beyond the Reservoir (nominated for two Juno Awards and three Canadian Folk Music Awards), as well as his 2023 career retrospective release, Anthology Vol. 1.
Besides the first single (‘Weighing Down’), Taylor plans a series of additional singles from Pathways leading up to the album release later this year, including: ‘Running Away’ on May 29th; ‘Sixth Line Road’ on July 10th; and ‘Pathways’ (featuring Allison Russell) on August 21st. More details about the album will be announced soon.
Even when he’s recording and touring, Taylor remains busy with his long-running, weekly, three-hour radio show, “Julian Taylor’s Jukebox,” which is distributed by Native Voice One (NV1), the Native public radio distribution service which links over 200 stations across North America to Native radio programming, from reservation and village-based stations to top-market urban radio stations. The radio show is a genre-defying musical journey, focusing on BIPOC and independent artists like Taylor himself. The concept for “Julian Taylor’s Jukebox” came from the Rowe AMI vintage jukebox in Taylor’s home, inviting listeners to hear what he would play for them if they were hanging out with him in his living room.
Julian Taylor UK/EU Tour Dates:
June 14 – Bertinoro, Italy | Rocca Vescovile
June 15 – Pigra, Italy | La Societa Operaia
June 17 – Bolzano, Italy | Pippo Stage
June 18 – Traona, Italy | Giardino del Municipio
June 22 – Lelystad, Netherlands | Corneel
June 23 – Bever, Belgium | Rosario
June 24 – Eindhoven, Netherlands | Muziekgebouw
June 30 – Castelvetro, Italy | Lambruscheria ca Berti
August 23-25 – The Long Road Festival
August 22 – 31 – UK Tour (dates to be announced soon)
August 30 – Sept 1 – British Country Music Festival
Taylor plans to tour in support of his new music, with confirmed tour dates in Canada and Europe, and plans to also hit the UK later this year including festival appearances at The Long Road and the British Country Music Festival – more dates to follow. With a live show that always wows audiences, Taylor caught the attention of Jeremy Vine of BBC Radio 2 last year at his show in London, who proclaimed that Taylor is “an incredible, profound, thoughtful, musical genius” on the social media platform X. Fans should follow Taylor on social media and his website for announcements of additional tour dates.