American Patchwork Quartet Redefine Folk Traditions Through Lifting Up Underrepresented Voices; Self-Titled Debut Album Out February 9

Listen To Their Version Of "Beneath The Willow," Reimagined With Classical Indian Vocal Work For National Immigrants Day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xf2nk_7-se

“America has a patchwork culture made of the dreams and songs of all its people.” - Alan Lomax

American Patchwork Quartet (APQ) are on a mission to reclaim the immigrant soul of roots music. Bringing unique perspectives from throughout the country's cross-cultural landscape, APQ comes from two-time GRAMMY winner Clay Ross (Best Regional Roots Album; 2020 and 2022), GRAMMY-winning vocalist Falu (the first female singer-songwriter from India to win the award), go-to jazz bassist Yasushi Nakamura (Cecile McLorin Salvant, Joe Lovano, Kurt Elling) and drummer Clarence Penn (whose played on two GRAMMY-winning records, won a Juno Award and was mentored by Ellis Marsalis). Together they celebrate America's musical traditions, while taking a fresh look at what it means to be "traditionally American" in the first place. On the group's upcoming self-titled debut album (out February 9), they reinterpret folk songs synonymous with the American experience by incorporating their own American voices - which, in many cases, are voices that wouldn't have been incorporated when these centuries-old songs were first popularized.

Today, they have shared the first look at American Patchwork Quartet via their version of "Beneath The Willow" - featuring singing from Falu, an eleventh-generation classical Hindustani vocalist who immigrated to the US as a young person. Listening to Falu’s traditional Indian vocal work enrich a Southern folk classic - known for versions by The Carter Family, Woody Guthrie and Doc Watson - truly brings the project's mission to the forefront.  

Listen to "Beneath The Willow" here, which is being released in honor of National Immigrants Day this weekend (October 28): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Xf2NK_7-SE

Pre-order American Patchwork Quartet here (out February 9):https://americanpatchworkquartet.bandcamp.com/

"This project has been a fulfilling journey back to my Southern roots, and in ways I never could have imagined. We've arrived at these interpretations through an organic process of collaboration and they are unlike anything I could have designed on my own. Through the talents of my bandmates, these songs have taken on a profound new life. I hope our listeners experience the same sense of surprise, emotion, and wonder that has fueled our creative exploration. For me, this is the sound of four radically different Americans finding common ground, even in the most unexpected places." - Clay Ross

“Like millions of our neighbors, I also became a US citizen. This project is very special to me because it’s given me an opportunity to better understand our shared history and to explore my own evolving American identity.” - Falu 

"We may have different backgrounds and cultures but, at the end of the day, we are all the same. This album represents UNITY. I hope people can transcend our music for peace and love. That’s what the world needs now." - Yasushi Nakamura

"This project is unique to me because of the diversity in the group, along with the fact that we're doing songs that are immigrant songs that were unfamiliar to me. Being in this group allows me to add 'my story' to these songs. I hope we can show that the songs can be reframed from a place of diversity." - Clarence Penn

A collection of fourteen songs - carefully selected as both an homage to America’s past and a showcase of its dynamic present - this debut album dives deep into America’s patchwork soul to share the joys, sorrows, and unwavering hope of a nation crafted by shared dreams and diverse histories. The tracklist finds potent symbols of unity in diversity, exploring universal truths - longing, heartbreak, desire, fulfillment, tranquility and love - through a range of musical languages and cultural lenses; revealing that, from a collage of varied backgrounds, a coherent and beautiful whole can be fashioned.

AMERICAN PATCHWORK QUARTET - TRACKLIST:

Beneath The Willow

Lazy John

The Devil's Nine

Cuckoo Bird

Shenandoah

Pretty Saro

Soul of a Man

Gone For Soldier

Big Sciota

Wind And Rain

I'm So Glad

Wayfaring Stranger

John The Revelator

The Blackest Crow

AMERICAN PATCHWORK QUARTET - TOUR DATES:

October 27, 2023 - Roswell, GA - Roswell Cultural Arts Center

October 28, 2023 - Sheffield, AL - Ritz Theater

October 29, 2023 - Philadelphia, MS - Congress of Country Music @ Ellis Theater

January 10, 2024 - West Palm Beach, FL - Rinker Playhouse

February 9, 2024 - Princeton, NJ - McCarter Theatre Center

February 10, 2024 - New York, NY - Joe's Pub (Album Release Celebration)

February 16, 2024 - Goshen, IN - Goshen College Music Center

February 17, 2024 - Joplin, MO - Harry M. Cornell Arts & Entertainment Complex Beshore Performance Hall

February 21, 2024 - Santa Cruz, CA - Kuumbwa Jazz Center

February 22, 2024 - Rohnert Park, CA - Green Music Center at Sonoma State University

February 23, 2024 - Modesto, CA - Gallo Center for the Performing Arts

February 24, 2024 - Tempe, AZ - Tempe Center for the Arts

June 15, 2024 - Pine Plains, NY - The Stissing Center