Grant-Lee Phillips ruminates on 'All That You Can Dream' in May; select tour dates in June

"I found respite in the process when I could do little else,” says Grant-Lee Phillips of All That You Can Dream out May 20 on Yep Roc Records. "It became a sort of meditation on this time in my life and the events that we've collectively experienced."

Like many musicians, Phillips sought out silver linings wherever he could find them once the pandemic hit. Once he realized touring was still on hold for the foreseeable future, he started to write and record a new solo album at home.

The songs on his 11th studio album attempt to make sense of an uncertain, anxiety-riddled time, while accepting once-unshakeable things are now fragile or fallible, and using historical references to illuminate modern truths. “We’ve experienced some staggering events over the last year or so,” offers Phillips. “When people speak of those things, it's not enough to simply highlight or underline the headlines of the day. The aim is to tap into the feelings that we share that are trapped beneath our skin—and figure out how we expel those feelings by talking about them."

Today, Phillips shares “A Sudden Place,” a string buoyed song “I wrote this about the burning of Notre Dame Cathedral,” he says, “which I allude to in the song. How quickly our lives can change. How suddenly the monuments and institutions that define our collective identity can be altered. These were my thoughts. We would come to face this reality in the coming days of the pandemic. I think the song has actually become more relative over time.”

In support of the album, Phillips will hit the road for a nine-date run beginning in June at City Winery in Boston. A full list of tour dates is below.

Admittedly an adjustment to write at home, a process he was used to doing in the solitude of the road, Phillips was still inspired by movement. He took daily countryside drives with his family, marveling at nature and the landscape, even as his songwriting focused on global events. "I found that the circumstances of being off the road and left to reflect on what this time feels like, produced a different kind of song," Phillips says. “In some ways, that freed me up to write and record the kind of song that was personal and executed as though it were for an audience of myself alone. That's freeing."

Produced, engineered, mixed, and recorded by Phillips at his Nashville home, he is joined on the album by drummer Jay Bellerose (Robert Plant, Alison Krauss) and bassist Jennifer Condos (Ray LaMontagne, Bruce Springsteen) with additional parts on selected songs by Jamie Edwards (keyboards), Eric Heywood (pedal steel) and Richard Dodd (cello). “I rang Jay and Jennifer out in LA to discuss sending tracks back and forth. They were going stir crazy themselves and welcomed the idea of a long-distance recording project. They tracked to my vocal, guitar and piano tracks – as though we were all in one room. This more gradual kind of production allowed me to ruminate on the songs and arrange parts for strings, keys, etc…”

The California-born singer, songwriter, guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, actor, film composer, and visual artist began his career as the frontman for Grant Lee Buffalo. In 2016, he reprised his role as the beloved town troubadour in the Netflix revival of Gilmore Girls.

The album is now available for pre-order.

Tour dates:

June 2 – City Winery Loft – Boston, MA

June 3 – City Winery – New York City, NY
June 4 – City Winery Loft – Philadelphia, PA
June 5 – City Winery Loft – Washington, DC
June 7 – Club Café – Pittsburgh, PA
June 8 – Music Box – Cleveland, OH
June 9 – The Ark – Ann Arbor, MI
June 10 – Old Town School of Folk – Chicago, IL
June 11 – Shank Hall – Milwaukee, WI

Track listing:

1. A Sudden Place
2. Cruel Trick
3. Peace Is a Delicate Thing
4. All That You Can Dream
5. Rats in a Barrel
6. Cannot Trust the Ground
7. Cut to the Ending
8. You Can’t Hide
9. My Eyes Have Seen
10. Remember This
11. All by Heart