Award-winning soul and blues singer-songwriter Jo Harman will release her much anticipated second studio album, People We Become, on February 3rd.
Recorded in Nashville with producer Fred Mollin (Billy Joel, Joe Cocker, Carly Simon, Jimmy Webb) the album features soul legend Michael McDonald (The Doobie Brothers) on the first single “When We Were Young.”
“Jo Harman is yet another example of the rich lineage of great female soul singers to come from Great Britain,” McDonald tells American Songwriter. “To be counted among these supremely talented women you have to really have it ‘goin’ on,’ which she surely does! It was my great privilege to work with her.”
Raised in Southwest England, Harman found success on her own terms with her debut, Dirt On My Tongue. The album was released independently in 2013 and supported by a touring schedule that found Harman sharing the stage with icons like Patti Smith, Joan Baez and Sinead O’Connor. Dirt On My Tongue was embraced with particular devotion by the blues community in the U.K., with Harman racking up more than a half-dozen nominations from the British Blues Awards.
People We Become marks the biggest leap of Harman’s career. While a winter storm raged outside, Harman and Mollin holed up inside Nashville’s famed Sound Emporium Studio for three weeks, focusing on a warm sound — full of upright piano, Rhodes, unaffected bursts of electric guitar, and the soulful sweep of Harman’s voice — that contrasted with the town’s snowy weather. The most striking instrument on the album is Harman’s voice, sharpened by her years on the road, and sounding better than ever.
A veteran of the UK festival circuit, Harman released the live album Live at the Royal Albert Hall in 2014. She’ll make her US debut at Joe’s Pub in New York City on March 28. Additional tour dates will be announced soon.