Joe Henry
“I know that I have never allowed myself to write and release songs as personal as these now feel to me.” – Joe Henry is one of those artists you are rarely able to find nowadays. He is passionate about his work, unbelievably talented in multiple ways and a grand singer-songwriter, not to forget a Grammy award winning producer. The prolific singer has been reshaping the definition of American Folk music. Always the critic’s darling and adored by his fans for his wise and thoughtful lyrics and music, he constantly manages to find the right words and right tunes. Not only is Joe Henry a successful musician, but he also produced albums for artists ranging from Solomon Burke (Grammy Award), Hugh Laurie, Aimee Mann, Rodney Crowell to Elvis Costello. In 2024, Joe Henry is releasing a reissue trilogy of his most acclaimed studio albums: ‘Civilians’, ‘Blood from Stars’ and ‘Invisible Hour’. All three albums will be released on vinyl for the first time, with remastered audio and will include previously unreleased bonus material such as intimate live recordings, demo tracks and alternate versions from Joe Henry’s personal archives. The first of the three is ‘Civilians’, an album that invites listeners to dive into Henry’s poetic lyricism. During the process of creating the album, Joe Henry found himself going back to the roots of songwriting, starting most songs on acoustic guitar and adding significant production only later on during the process. On ‘Blood from Stars’, Joe Henry explores the realms of Orchestral blues and jazz. During the time, Henry was inspired by Country-Blues and revisiting poems by writers like e.e. cummings, which both significantly influenced the sound of the record. With his moving lyrics and soulful vocal delivery, Henry crafts a poignant narrative in what he considers to be one of his personal favorite records of his. Rounding out the trilogy is ‘Invisible Hour’, one of Henry’s more recent works. Recorded in 2013, it features several of his closest musical companions, including Lisa Hannigan and best-selling novelist Colum McCann. Henry describes the songs on the album as “songs pertaining in some ways to the subject of marriage - marriage as a verb, not a noun.” The album tells a captivating story about resilience and the redemptive power of love.
