Pianist Lara Downes Reimagines Traditional Appalachian Railroad Song “900 Miles” Inspired By Note She Found From Her Late Father

Features Works by Paul Simon, George Gershwin, Arturo O’Farrill, Woody Guthrie/Kian Ravaei, Joseph C. Phillips, Jr., William Benton Overstreet, and Jake Heggie

Listen to “900 Miles” here: https://lnk.to/ThisLand

Watch Downes’ commentary on the track here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cztjx9ayUKs

August 9, 2024 — Pianist Lara Downes has released “900 Miles,” from her upcoming album, This Land, out on August 23 on PENTATONE. “900 Miles” is a traditional railroad song that originated in the late 1800s and has traveled through American music via recordings by artists including Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan and Rosanne Cash. The song captures the deep nostalgia and yearning that many Americans feel for their origins, and Downes was inspired to record it as a way to explore her own complex American identity, especially after finding a poignant note from her late father that connected her to his mid-century experience of race and roots. The banjo on the track was played by bluegrass musician Dave McKeon of Moonshine Falls, and brings a classic Americana feel to the recording.

Listen to “900 Miles” here: https://lnk.to/ThisLand

Watch Downes’ commentary on the track here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cztjx9ayUKs

“I’ve spent a lifetime searching for my American identity. My roots are scattered - sprouted from seeds sown along trails of migrations and meanderings, cross-pollinated by the winds of change. My parents were both only children, and three of my grandparents were long dead before I was born. Without relatives to pass down family stories and memories, it’s hard to trace my ancestors’ journeys across oceans and generations, back to shtetls in Eastern Europe on one side, to Jamaica and way back to Africa on the other. But more than the who and where, I wish I knew why it all happened and what it all meant - how my family’s American experiences have shaped my own.” 

— Lara Downes

Known for her uniquely expansive musical explorations, Downes' latest work is a powerful, soulful and probing reflection, at a critical American moment, on the diversity of stories and journeys that have converged and collided throughout history. In the course of nine tracks that range from traditional folk tunes to newly commissioned works, as well as a personal audio essay, Downes’ This Land celebrates the beauty of the American experiment while offering an unflinching acknowledgment of its flaws and failings, ultimately embracing the power of hope and humanity as a pathway to common ground and a brighter future.

Downes to perform album launch show at Joe’s Pub on September 26: https://publictheater.org/productions/joes-pub/2024/l/lara-downes/

This Land also features "Rhapsody in Blue Reimagined." This radical new centenary arrangement of Gershwin’s 1924 classic by the young Puerto Rican composer Edmar Colón reflects on an American century of immigration and transformation, honoring Gershwin’s vision of the “musical kaleidoscope of America.” Paul Simon's 1964 song “America” serves as a timeless anthem of exploration and soul-searching during various periods of national crisis and unrest. Michael Begay’s “Adéihozhdílzin/Know Who You Are” is influenced by his Navajo heritage, embodying his connection with his ancestral lands. In 2019, the young Iranian-American composer Kian Ravaei wrote “Variations on This Land Is Your Land,” positioning Woody Guthrie’s iconic folk anthem as a reflection on the inequities and injustices of our own American era. Joseph C. Phillips, Jr.’s “Never Has Been Yet” quotes from Langston Hughes' poem "Let America Be America Again," with a powerful resolve to still realize the unfulfilled promise of our nation. 

Downes just performed the New York City premiere of Rhapsody with a full orchestra at a triumphant free outdoor concert titled Rhapsody For This Land: The American Odyssey In Music in Brooklyn Bridge Park, for an audience of ~6,000 people. The concert, curated by Downes, was co-presented by St. Ann's Warehouse and was broadcast live by WNYC to hundreds of thousands of listeners as part of the station’s 100th anniversary celebrations. The program focused on democracy and progress through music and featured guest appearances by Rosanne Cash, Christian McBride, Arturo O’Farrill, string trio Time for Three, and Headcount was on-site to register voters. Additional coverage of the concert included New York Magazine, NY Daily News, Brooklyn Magazine, AMNY, Pix 11, Brooklyn Vegan and interviews on WNYC’s All Of It and Brian Lehrer programs. 

Downes is also the creator and host of NPR video series Amplify with Lara Downes, featuring uniquely revealing artist-to-artist conversations with trailblazing Black musicians and cultural figures - including Jon Batiste, Rhiannon Giddens, Samara Joy, Allison Russell and Christian McBride. Season 4 made its debut in April and has so far featured artists including Brian Stokes Mitchell, Brittney Spencer and John Holiday.

Downes initially released Rhapsody In Blue Reimagined in February of this year, timed to the centennial of Gershwin’s classic. The project earned praise and in-depth coverage from NPR Morning Edition, the Wall Street Journal, Gramophone Magazine, Apple Music, Grammy.com, WQXR, WNYC Soundcheck, WNYC All Of It, Your Classical MPR, NY1, Amsterdam News, Downbeat (“This is not your daddy’s Rhapsody”), San Francisco Chronicle and SF Classical Voice. Downes’ essay about Rhapsody in Bluereached over 10 million readers in the February issue of Hemispheres Magazine, the in-flight publication for United Airlines, which has featured Rhapsody in Blue as its theme music since 1980.

An iconoclast and trailblazer, Lara Downes’ dynamic work as a sought-after soloist, beloved media presence, producer, curator, arts activist, and advocate positions her as a cultural visionary on the national arts scene, dedicated to uncovering untold stories and celebrating unsung heroes in a total embrace of American music. She has been called “a musical ray of hope” by NBC News, has performed a Tiny Desk Concert for NPR, has been a New York Times crossword puzzle clue, and has topped the Billboard Classical charts with several of her recent releases. 

Pre-order: https://lnk.to/ThisLand 

THIS LAND Track List: 

1. William Benton Overstreet: There’ll Be Some Changes Made
2. George Gershwin/Edmar Colón: Rhapsody in Blue Reimagined*
3. Paul Simon: America 
4. Michael Begay: Adéihozhdílzin / Know Who You Are*
5. Kian Ravaei: Variations on This Land is Your Land
6. Traditional: 900 Miles 
7. Joseph C. Phillips, Jr.: Never Has Been Yet*
8. Arturo O’Farrill: Kaleidoscope*
9. Jake Heggie: Facing Forward
10. Lara Downes: This Land (liner notes)

* world premiere recording

There’ll Be Some Changes Made and 900 Miles arr. Jeremy Siskind

America arr. Noah Luna

Upcoming performances: 

• 9/21/24 – SONA, Fayetteville, AR
• 9/26/24 – Joe's Pub, New York, NY
• 11/2/24 – 11/3/24 – New West Symphony, Los Angeles, CA
• 11/12/24 – Vail Series, Granville, OH
• 11/20/24 – KDFC Sky Concerts, San Francisco, CA
• 11/23/24 – Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Los Angeles, CA
• 2/8/25 – ROCO, Houston, TX
• 2/22/25 – Reston CenterStage, Reston, VA
• 4/6/25 – Sedona Symphony, Sedona, AZ
• 4/8/25 – Meany Center for the Performing Arts, Seattle, WA
• 4/19/25-4/20/25 – Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Los Angeles, CA
• 5/22/25-5/29/25 – Philadelphia Orchestra, Philadelphia, PA

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For more information, please contact Chris Taillie and Casey Hansen at Shore Fire Media

ctaillie@shorefire.com 

chansen@shorefire.com