[Cover photo credit to Laura Proctor]
On his new album Donlands, Toronto singer/songwriter Jerry Leger has teamed up with Canadian producer/engineer Mark Howard (Lucinda Williams, Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, Neil Young), whose atmospheric sound adds a new dimension to Leger’s typical approach.
The new album is named after the street in Toronto’s east end where it was recorded, in what once was the Donlands Theatre.
The first single from Donlands, “Three Hours Ahead Of Midnight,” is out now along with its live video. The album itself arrives on Oct. 27, 2023 via Latent Recordings/Warner Music Canada.
Leger says that working on the album came down to the atmosphere that Howard created, one not unlike a film noir soundtrack.
Leger shares:
Not a lot of people make records like Mark Howard anymore. After I got to tell him how much Tom Waits’s Real Gone meant to me, I fell right into the experience. Like all my albums, we recorded Donlands mostly live in the studio with my band The Situation [Dan Mock, Kyle Sullivan, Alan Zemaitis] in a circle—no headphones, just listening and existing, breathing as a whole. To me, it’s a record that lives in its own world. Since I was a little kid, I’ve loved how recordings like The Flamingos’ ‘I Only Have Eyes For You’ and ‘Pledging My Love’ by Johnny Ace sound so haunting. I knew Mark could get us that, with the right choice of material.
For Jerry Leger, “the search for the elusive creative spark remains never-ending,” but there are always new routes to explore.
JERRY LEGER ON TOUR
Aug 26 (SAT) :: Kingston ON :: Limestone City Blues Fest
Sept 17 (SUN) :: Lascelles QC :: Magazin General La Peche (Solo)
Sept 23 (SAT) :: Ramara ON :: Fern Resort (with The Sadies)
Oct 21 (SAT) :: Utrecht NL :: Ramblin’ Roots Fest
Oct 24 (TUES) :: Leiden NL :: Q Bus
Oct 28 (SAT) :: Breda NL :: Rootzz Fest
Oct 29 (SUN) :: Venlo NL :: Grenswerk (with The Sadies)
Nov 3 (FRI) :: Groningen NL :: Take Root Fest
Nov 18 (SAT) :: Toronto ON :: Massey Hall (“Chest Fever presents The Last Waltz”)
Nov 29 (WED) :: Toronto ON :: TD Music Hall at Massey Hall
