Kevin Morby and Hamilton Leithauser are kicking off their Fall Mixer North American tour later this week. Today, they present a collaborative track, “Virginia Beach,” which follows Morby’s A Night At The Little Los Angeles, a 4-track demo version of Sundowner out now via Dead Oceans, and Leithauser’s The Loves of Your Life, out now via Glassnote. “Virginia Beach” opens with deftly finger-picked guitar, each musician singing their own stanza before their voices join together. Jabbing piano chords, unconstrained licks of electric guitar and dynamic percussion layer in. After Leithauser originally wrote the track in New York, he sent it over to Morby, who recorded his own vocals in Kansas City.
“I wanted to do a modern take on a dark country song which would transform into more of a dark dance groove,” explains Hamilton. “I also wrote an entire vocal track over it but just didn’t think my voice was taking it anywhere new, so I sent the track to Kevin Morby. His voice sounds nothing like my own, and his songs usually have a very different structure than mine. I thought maybe he could take it in a new direction. He told me he wanted to write a traveling song, maybe mentioning some places people don’t sing about that much, and he sent me some lyrics. I loved it and wrote my ‘Virginia Beach’ lines right then and there, and sent them back to him.”
Morby further explains: “Maybe it was being in one place for almost two years, or maybe it was the mysterious and kinetic energy of the composition, but I found myself compelled to write of all the bizarre yet beautiful corners of America one often overlooks that a touring musician inevitably finds themselves in while out on the road. The Paris Idahos and the Texarkanas. It was my attempt at evoking Cash and Dylans ‘Wanted Man’ or Barbara Keith’s ‘Detroit or Buffalo,’ or any of those other lost country and rock n roll songs that shout out cities off the beaten path. Cities that down-and-out characters race towards in an attempt to outrun themselves. Though of course – as the saying goes, no matter where you go, there you are.”
Purchase A Night At The Little Los Angeles
Kevin Morby and Hamilton Leithauser Fall Mixer Tour Dates
Thu. Oct. 14 – Richmond, VA @ The National *
Fri. Oct. 15 – Saxapahaw, NC @ Haw River Ballroom *
Sat. Oct. 16 – Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel *
Mon. Oct. 18 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse *
Tue. Oct. 19 – Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl *
Thu. Oct. 21 – Houston, TX @The Heights Theater *
Fri. Oct. 22 – Dallas, TX @ Kessler Theater *
Sat. Oct. 23 – Austin, TX @ Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater *
Mon. Oct. 25 – Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom *
Tue. Oct. 26 – San Diego, CA @ Observatory North Park *
Wed. Oct. 27 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Theatre at Ace Hotel *
Thu. Oct. 28 – San Francisco, CA @ August Hall *
Fri. Oct. 29 – Sonoma, CA @ Gundlach Bundschu Winery *
Mon. Nov. 1 -Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom *
Tue. Nov. 2 – Tacoma, WA @ Spanish Ballroom *
Wed. Nov. 3 – Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre *
Fri. Nov. 5 – Boise, ID @ Knitting Factory *
Sat. Nov. 6 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Metro Music Hall *
Mon. Nov. 8 – Englewood, CO @ Gothic Theatre *
Wed. Nov. 10 – Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line *
Thu. Nov. 11 – Chicago, IL @ Vic Theatre *
Fri. Nov. 12 – Indianapolis, IN @ The Vogue *
Sat. Nov. 13 – Louisville, KY @ Headliners Music Hall *
Mon. Nov. 15 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Smalls Theatre *
Wed. Nov. 17 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel *
Thu. Nov. 18 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall *
Fri. Nov. 19 – Boston, MA @ Royale *
Sat. Nov. 20 – Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground *
Mon. Nov. 22 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer *
Tue. Nov. 23 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club *
*= w/ Hamilton Leithauser