[Cover photo courtesy of Jen Squires]
Canadian singer-songwriter Ken Yates has revealed his fourth single, “Honest Light,” featuring Caroline Marie Brooks, along with its video set in his quiet hometown. Cerulean, Yates’ forthcoming full-length album, is due out June 3rd, 2022.
In addition to the new music, Yates will be touring this summer across Ontario, Canada, as well as two dates in Michigan, and concluding with a date in Londonderry, NH. Yates will also have an official showcase at the Folk Alliance International Conference in Kansas City, Missouri on Thursday, May 19 at 7:45 PM CT.
Yates comments on “Honest Light”:
There’s a certain kind of light during “golden hour” when the sun comes through your window and suddenly everything looks different. You notice the dust on your table, the dirt on your floor, the crumbs on your counter. I tried to capture that moment in song form. For a long time I only had the line, “Life is like a cheap wine, it don’t get any better with time” and I kind of built the song slowly around that one line.
The accompanying video for “Honest Light,” marks the third recent collaboration between Yates and director Adam Cook, with Cook being behind Yates’ previous two videos as well. Shot across Yates’ hometown in Collingwood, Ontario, Canada, the video brings viewers into Yates’ quiet world.
Describing the thought behind the video, Yates says:
Our idea was to capture a dark versus light theme between the verses and the chorus. We filmed in multiple locations around the Collingwood area, including an abandoned drive-in right at dawn. Co-producer and editor, Nick Marinelli distorted a few of the frames, which really helped to capture the dizzy, anxiousness of this song. I wanted it to feel like I was moving in and out of this warped reality in the verses, then grounding myself in the darkness of the choruses.
Ken Yates Summer 2022 Tour Dates
June 8 – The Ark – Ann Arbor, MI
June 11 – Pumpstock – East Lansing, MI
June 18 – Bayfield Town Hall – Bayfield, ON w/ Jadea Kelly
June 19 – Bowie’s – Smiths Falls, ON
June 20 – The Red House – Kingston, ON
June 22 – The Cameron House – Toronto, ON
June 23 – Aeolian Hall – London, ON w/ Abigail Lapell
June 25 – Mills Hardware – Hamilton, ON w/ Abigail Lapell and Jenny Berkel
July 15-17 – Home County Festival – London, ON
July 27 – Concerts On The Common – Londonderry, NH w/ Brian Dunne
August 9 – Royal Botanical Gardens – Burlington, ON supporting Kathleen Edwards
