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Sep 17, 2019 By Christopher Roberts Photography by Piper Ferguson Iron & Wine

Calexico (Joey Burns and John Convertino) and Iron & Wine (aka Sam Beam) released a new collaborative album, Years to Burn, back in June via Sub Pop. Now they have announced some new 2020 tour dates. Check out all their tour dates below, followed by the video for “Midnight Sun” and the full album.

Previously they shared Years to Burn‘s first single, “Father Mountain.” That was followed by another song from the album, “Midnight Sun,” shared via an animated video for the track featuring illustrations by Beam.

Calexico and Iron & Wine previously collaborated on In the Reins, an EP released in 2005. Beam was a fresher face back then and was intimidated by working with the more established Calexico. “In my mind, I was a guy who knew three chords and recorded in a closet,” Beam reflected in a previous press release announcing Years to Burn. “They were playing big stages and were superb musicians.”

Beam added: “They were the perfect band at the perfect time for me. I loved all their different sounds. They’re musical anthropologists, not regurgitating but absorbing what they discover.”

Beam said that it was important to him to collaborate with Calexico again some 14 years later: “Coming back to the project has to do with acknowledging how much impact the first record had for me in my life.”

Whereas Beam wrote all the lyrics on In the Reins, all three members were involved in the lyric writing this time. Years to Burn was produced with Matt Ross-Spang and recorded over the course of five days at Sound Emporium, in Nashville. The album also features Calexico trumpet player Jacob Valenzuela and Paul Niehaus on pedal steel, along with previous Beam collaborators Rob Burger on piano and Sebastian Steinberg on bass.

Of Years to Burn‘s album title, Beam offered this insight: “Life is hard. Awesome. And scary as shit. But it can lift you up if you let it. These are the things Joey and I write about now. And the title can encapsulate a lot of things. ‘Years to Burn’ could mean you’re cocky, you’ve got it made. Or, our life is ours to burn, to be inspired. Or you’re burned by life, brutalized. It’s an ambiguous title, because life is complicated. Let’s not talk like teenagers about love, desire, pain, ‘cause we’re not teenagers. And that’s not a bad thing.”

In terms of the long gap between collaborative releases, Burns explained: “This project had to find the right time. We’re all different people than we were in 2004, and music helps to bridge some of the gaps. For all the things going on in our world and in each of our lives, this connection, this friendship, this love that we have-this album is a vehicle for that bond. It’s a chance to see where we’re at, take stock and be there for our friends.”

Iron & Wine also recently released a deluxe reissue of his 2004-released second album, Our Endless Numbered Days, which features the classic “Naked as We Came.” The reissue included eight previously unheard demos.

Iron & Wine’s last album was 2017’s Beast Epic.

Read our 2017 interview with Iron & Wine on Beast Epic.

Calexico’s last album was 2018’s The Thread That Keeps Us.

Calexico and Iron & Wine Tour Dates:

9/18/19 Wed GRAND RAPIDS, MI @ Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park “Meijer Gardens” \
9/19/19 Thu PITTSBURGH, PA @ Roxian Theatre \
9/20/19 Fri PHILADELPHIA, PA @ Union Transfer \
9/21/19 Sat BOSTON, MA @ Rockland Trust Bank Pavillion +
9/22/19 Sun NORTH ADAMS, MA @ FreshGrass Festival
9/24/19 Tue RICHMOND, VA @ The National \
9/26/19 Thu BIRMINGHAM, AL @ Iron City \
9/27/19 Fri NEW ORLEANS, LA @ House Of Blues \
9/28/19 Sat AUSTIN, TX @ Stubb’s Waller Creek \
9/29/19 Sun DALLAS, TX @ Majestic Theater \
9/30/19 Mon OKLAHOMA CITY, OK @ Tower Theatre \
10/2/19 Wed LAS VEGAS, NV @ House Of Blues \
10/3/19 Thu LOS ANGELES, CA @ Orpheum Theatre \
10/4/19 Fri SAN DIEGO, CA @ Humphrey’s Concerts by The Bay
10/5/19 Sat SAN FRANCISCO, CA @ Hardly Strictly Bluegrass
10/6/19 Sun SARATOGA, CA @ Mountain Winery \
11/5/19 Tue UTRECHT, NL @ TrivoliVrendenburg - Ronda #
11/6/19 Wed LUXEMBOURG, LU @ Den Atelier #
11/7/19 Thu ANTWERP, BE @ De Roma #
11/9/19 Sat BERLIN, DE @ Tempodrom #
11/10/19 Sun LINZ, AT @ Posthof #
11/11/19 Mon MUNICH, DE @ Muffathalle #
11/12/19 Tue BUDAPEST, HU @ Müpa
11/14/19 Thu MANNHEIM, DE @ Musensaal Rosengarten #
11/15/19 Fri COLOGNE, DE @ Palladium #
11/16/19 Sat PARIS, FR @ La Cigale #
11/18/19 Mon EDINBURGH, UK @ Usher Hall *
11/19/19 Tue LIVERPOOL, UK @ Philharmonic Hall *
11/20/19 Wed MANCHESTER, UK @ Bridgewater Hall *
11/21/19 Thurs COVENTRY, UK @ Warwick Arts Centre *
11/23/19 Sat LONDON, UK @ Royal Festival Hall *
11/24/19 Sun BEXHILL-ON-SEA, UK @ De La Warr Pavillion *
01/29/20 Wed CHICAGO, IL @ Thalia Hall
01/30/20 Thurs CHICAGO, IL @ Thalia Hall
02/1/20 Sat CLEVELAND, OH @ Agora Theatre
02/2/20 Sun TORONTO, ON @ Danforth Music Hall
02/4/20 Tues PORTLAND, ME @ State Theatre
02/5/20 Wed PORT CHESTER, NY @ The Capitol Theatre
02/6/20 Thurs NEW YORK, NY @ Webster Hall
02/7/20 Fri WASHINGTON, DC @ The Anthem
02/8/20 Sat ASHEVILLE, NC @ The Orange Peel
02/10/20 Mon ATLANTA, GA @ Buckhead Theatre
02/11/20 Tues NASHVILLE, TN @ Ryman Auditorium
02/12/20 Wed INDIANAPOLIS, IN @ Egyptian Room-Old National Centre
02/13/20 Thurs DES MOINES, IA @ Hoyt Sherman Place
02/14/20 Fri ST PAUL, MN @ Palace Theatre
02/15/20 Sat MADISON, WI @ The Sylvee

\ with special guest Natalie Prass
+ with Andrew Bird
# with special guest Adia Victoria
* with special guest Lisa O’Neill

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