Hitting the ground running with a widespread tour, Barker will be heading to The Bullingdon, Oxford, November 7. Sweet kind of Blue was recorded in June 2016, at the legendary Sam Phillips Recording Service in Memphis that holds the legacy of recording artists like Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bob Dylan and Booker T. Q Magazine reviewed the album as: “Ambitious and beautifully wrought” The stunning set is her first full studio album since Emily Barker & the Red Clay Halo’s Dear River in 2013. The Times added: “Heartfelt songwriting… bridging the gap between folk, country and Fleetwood Mac.” The album includes new single, Sunrise, the second to be released from the forthcoming album. Barker wrote Sunrise on a road-trip while touring Sweden, influenced by natural surroundings of lakes, beaches and the long-lasting sunlight of peak Swedish summer. Speaking of Sunrise, Barker said: “It’s a song about escaping and it seemed very fitting to record it in the USA with the national theme of the road-trip being such a feature in literature, music and popular culture throughout American history”. It follows the contrasting mood of first single Sister Goodbye, a soulful tribute to one of Barker’s guitar-slinging heroes, Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Barker performed the song in her honour, hoping she might be listening, and describes Rosetta as “trailblazer, a barrier-breaker, an innovator and an inspiration”. In title track Sweet Kind of Blue, Barker brings the funk with a raw fervour, backed by a tight rhythm section that delivers a southern swing, as well as classic interjecting harmonies. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUHMaTTZ17E For further information, and to purchase tickets, click here.