Paula Cole news

photo courtesy: Sacks Co. PR

Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Paula Cole is set for the release of her tenth full-length album, Revolution, September 13 via 675 Records. Co-produced by Chris Bruce and Cole, the album delves into the themes of gender identity, race and age that are once again so relevant in the current social/political climate.

“At the heart of it, Revolution is about breaking silence,” Cole notes. “At its core lie signature, highly-personal songs. Revolution is mostly about inner revolution, breaking silence and finding a way through these times with love in our hearts.”

In support of the LGBTQ+ community, Cole premiered the track “Hope Is Everywhere” via After Ellen; the song is featured as a bonus track on the vinyl edition of Revolution.

Listen to the track HERE and share it via Soundcloud HERE. The track is available for purchase/download now via paulacole.com.

“‘Hope Is Everywhere’ was a totally unplanned stream-of-consciousness creation,” explains Cole. “It begins as a slow R&B groove that explodes into a dance groove that can only be described as what I’m calling ‘prog-disco.’ It is funky and makes you want to dance! Lyrically it is a message to those who are experiencing undue discrimination, intimidation and legal abuse in our current political climate. Specifically the LGBTQ community. I want people to know that I am right here loving and supporting them. And if we get depressed and don’t act or vote, the intimidators win. ‘Hope Is Everywhere’ is a call to arms and it is ebullient! I hope it will be played in clubs and homes and kitchens and halls, inspiring dance, togetherness, empowerment and joy!”

The forthcoming album features contributions from MeShell Ndegeocello, vocalist Nona Hendryx (Labelle) and others. The title track “Revolution (Is a State of Mind)” excerpts Martin Luther King’s speech “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence,” delivered at New York’s Riverside Church on April 4, 1967.

“I was born the morning after MLK was shot. His death was a part of my life,” Cole explains. “My mom tells me how she cried together with the African-American OB/GYN nurse before she went under for my C-section. Many of my heroes and champions have been African Americans, and we as a nation have not come to terms with our horrific past and present. I have biracial family members, and I must write and sing about this. I wish a lot more white people would.”

A New England native and daughter of an amateur musician and a visual artist, Cole studied jazz singing at the Berklee College of Music, where she currently teaches. She won the 1998 Best New Artist Grammy and her sophomore album This Fire went double-platinum on the strength of the hit singles “Where Have All the Cowboys Gone” and “I Don’t Want To Wait.” Her most recent album, 2017’s Ballads, featured a selection of jazz standards and debuted at #10 on the Billboard Jazz Albums Chart.

Track listing:

1. Revolution (Is a State of Mind) (with Nona Hendryx)
2. Shake the Sky
3. Blues in Gray
4. Silent
5. Go On
6. All or Nothing
7. 7 Deadly Sins (with Meshell Ndegeocello)
8. The Ecology (Mercy Mercy Me)
9. Undertow (One Life Lost)
10. Universal Empathy
11. Dhammapada
12. Hope Is Everywhere (LP bonus track)
13. St. Cecilia (LP bonus track)

Tour dates:

July 25
Rockport, ME
Shalin Liu Performance Center

July 26
Rockport, ME
Shalin Liu Performance Center

August 3
Riverhead, NY
Suffolk Theatre

August 16
Arundel, ME
Vinegar Hill

August 27
Harwich, MA
Cape Cod Jazz Festival

September 25
Phoenix, AZ
Musical Instrument Museum

September 27
Hillsboro, OR
Walters Cultural Arts Center

September 28
Seattle, WA
Triple Door

September 29
Oakland, CA
Yoshi’s

October 1
Denver, CO
Buffalo Rose

October 2
Atlanta, GA
City Winery

October 4
Nashville, TN
City Winery

October 5
Washington, DC
City Winery

October 6
Chicago, IL
City Winery

October 8
Minneapolis, MN
The Dakota

October 9
Boston, MA
City Winery

October 10
New York, NY
Le Poisson Rouge

October 11
Saratoga Springs, NY
Café Lena

November 3
Intervale, NH
Theater in the Wood