Ben Harper sings about a 'Wide Open Light' on upcoming album

Ben Harper's new studio album WIDE OPEN LIGHT, the follow up to his GRAMMY-nominated BLOODLINE MAINTENANCE, will be released on June 2 via Chrysalis Records. The new single “Yard Sale” features long-time collaborator Jack Johnson.

WIDE OPEN LIGHT is described by Ben as a family of songs he's written where each track is a close relative to the next. It's deliberately minimalist and the songs themselves do as much of the heavy lifting as the production. “There was once a time when albums didn’t need an adjacent story or fable. When the songs were enough,” Ben says. “I’m excited to return to this.”

“Yard Sale,” Ben explains, “follows a man through the final blurred stages of a breakup. With each passing verse the couple grows further beyond reach or repair. By the song's end, he’s more confused than when the song began.”

Following the release of WIDE OPEN LIGHT, Harper will tour on select dates with The Chicks, before heading out on his own extensive US tour this fall. 

This month, Ben appears in the new AppleTV+ series "Extrapolations,” a fictional drama based in the near future when the effects of climate change have become embedded in our daily lives. The limited series features an all-star cast that also includes Daveed Diggs, David Schwimmer, Edward Norton, Forest Whitaker, Gemma Chan, Heather Graham, Meryl Streep, Tobey Maguire, Yara Shahidi and many more.

Harper has recently been featured on CBS Mornings, ABC News, Forbes, SPIN and Variety.

Track listing:

1. Heart And Crown

2. Giving Ghosts
3. Masterpiece
4. 8 Minutes
5. Yard Sale
6. Trying Not To Fall In Love With You
7. Wide Open Light
8. One More Change
9. Growing Growing Gone
10. Love After Love
11. Thank You Pat Brayer

North American Tour Dates:

Sat. Apr. 30 - Boulder, CO - Bluebird Music Festival

Sat. Jun. 10 - Torrey, UT - Fort Desolation Fest

Thu. Aug. 10 - Hershey, PA - Hersheypark Stadium *with The Chicks

Fri. Aug. 11 - Canandaigua, NY - CMAC Performing Arts Center *with The Chicks

Wed. Aug. 16 - Columbus, OH - Nationwide Arena *with The Chicks

Thu. Aug. 17 - Grand Rapids, MI - Van Andel Arena *with The Chicks

Sat. Aug. 19 - Des Moines, IA - Iowa State Fair Grandstand *with The Chicks

Fri. Aug. 25 - Toronto, Canada - Budweiser Stage *with City and Colour, Katie Tupper

Sat. Aug. 26 - Madison, WI - Kohl Center *with The Chicks

Sun. Aug. 27 - St. Louis, MO - Evolution Festival *with Brandi Carlile

Tue. Aug. 29 - Kansas City, MO - T-Mobile Center *with The Chicks

Wed. Aug. 30 - Omaha, NE - CHI Health Center Omaha *with The Chicks

Fri. Sep. 1 - Sioux Falls, SD - Denny Sanford PREMIER Center

Fri. Sep. 29 – Richmond, VA - The National

Sat. Sep 30 - Ocean City, MD - Oceans Calling Music Festival

Sun. Oct. 1 – Bridgeport, CT - Sound on Sound Music & Arts Festival

Tue. Oct. 03 - Portland, ME - State Theatre

Wed. Oct. 4 – Hampton Beach, NH - Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom

Fri. Oct. 6 - Burlington, VT - The Flynn

Sat. Oct. 7 - Buffalo, NY - UB Center for the Arts Mainstage Theatre

Sun. Oct. 8 - Albany, NY - The Egg Center for the Performing Arts

Tue. Oct. 10 - Royal Oak, MI - Royal Oak Music Theatre

Wed. Oct. 11 - Cincinnati, OH - The Andrew J Brady Music Center

Fri. Oct. 13 – South Bend, IN - Morris Performing Arts Center

Sat. Oct. 14 - Milwaukee, WI - The Riverside Theater

Sun. Oct. 15-23 - Prior Lake, MN - Mystic Lake Casino Hotel - Mystic Showroom