Out country artist Chely Wright announces new album, tour for the first time in nearly 6 years
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Following a groundbreaking Kickstarter campaign, country music artist, author, and LGBT advocate Chely Wright announced that she will be releasing an album for the first time in more than five years.
I Am the Rain, set to be released September 9, will be Chely Wright’s first album released since 2010, after taking a step out of the country music spotlight for the past five years. According to Rolling Stone, I Am the Rain is a follow-up to her last album, Lifted off the Ground, which was released in conjunction with her memoir, Like Me, and revealed Wright’s struggles before coming out as a lesbian in the country music industry.
Wright has a successful history in the country music industry, making a name for herself early in her career, including a Top New Female Vocalist honor in 1995 following her 1994 debut album and more than 15 singles on the country music charts. In 2010, Wright made history and solidified her icon status by becoming one of the first artists in the country music community to come out as lesbian. Since then, she has become an advocate for the LGBT community.
The new album was recorded last September with Grammy-winning producer Joe Henry at Sunset Sound Studio in Los Angeles. Guest appearances on the album include Emmylou Harris, Milk Carton Kids, and Rodney Crowell. Wright’s latest effort is the most-funded Kickstarter project in the country music community to date. A headlining tour is in the works and set to be revealed in the coming months.
Taste of Country shared a statement from Wright in a press release regarding I Am the Rain:
“I believe I’ve given birth to a beautiful new baby and I would like people who see my baby to think it’s beautiful too. That’s how much this new music means to me. I am so very lucky it all came true.”
The I Am the Rain track listing is as follows:
1. “Inside”
2. “Where Will You Be”
3. “At the Heart of Me”
4. “You Are the River”
5. “Holy War
6. “What About Your Heart”
7. “Pain”
8. “Tomorrow Is a Long Time”
9. “Blood and Bones and Skin”
10. “Mexico”
11. “Next to Me”
12. “Halona”
13. “See Me Home”
Wright has worked closely with GLAAD in the past, including appearing alongside 12-year old LGBT advocate Marcel Neergaard at the 2014 GLAAD Media Awards in New York.The two recieved a standing ovation after discussing the importance of anti-bullying legislation, specifically in the U.S. South.
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