Parquet Courts‘ A. Savage has a new single, “Thanksgiving Prayer,” which is his first solo release since 2017. It’s produced by PJ Harvey collaborator John Parish (who worked on Parquet Courts’ Sympathy for Life), and has him backed by Euan Hinshelwood (Younghusband, Cate Le Bon), violinsit Magdalena McLean (Naima Bock), Jack Cooper (Modern Nature, Ultimate Painting), and Dylan Hadley (White Fence).
“Well, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, and every year on that day I write down some words having to do with gratitude,” Savage says of the song. “Some years are better than others, but the last one I celebrated these words just sort of came out of me. It was a pretty special holiday actually, because in fact we were recording this song, but I made everybody take a day off. [Producer] John Parish and his wife Michelle were kind enough to allow me to take over their kitchen to cook the meal for everyone. Dylan and I were the only Americans, so there was a bit of explaining to do. So it was the band, the studio staff and the Parish family, and it was an absolutely lovely day. I was in awe of the kindness and mercy, and that’s what the song is about; being in awe of humans. When I got back to my room I was on such a high so I started writing and this song is what was on the page the next morning, when we recorded it.”
The video for “Thanksgiving Prayer” was directed by Tiff Pritchett and is an homage to the era of silent film. Says Savage, “The video is directed by a brilliant young director Tiff Pritchett, and she had this idea to sort of do a silent film tribute. The scene from Renoir’s film Rules of the Game where Danse Macabre is played was referenced, as was Klaus Nomi.” Watch the video below.
Sounds like there’s also an album on the way, but while we wait for details on that, A. Savage has announced a fall solo tour that wraps up in NYC on November 11 at Bowery Ballroom. Tickets for all dates of the tour go on sale Friday, July 14 at 10 AM local time. Check out his tour schedule below.
A. SAVAGE – 2023 TOUR DATES
Sat. Sep. 30 – Newport, Essex, UK @ Murmuration Festival
Fri. Oct. 20 – Portland, ME @ SPACE
Sat. Oct. 21 – Boston, MA @ Crystal Ballroom
Sun. Oct. 22 – Portsmouth, NH @ Press Room
Tue. Oct. 24 – Toronto, ON @ Velvet Underground
Wed. Oct. 25 – Kalamazoo, MI @ Eccentric Cafe
Fri. Oct. 27 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
Sat. Oct. 28 – St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club
Sun. Oct. 29 – Milwaukee, WI @ Colectivo
Mon. Oct. 30 – St. Louis, MO @ Off Broadway
Wed. Nov. 1 – Columbus, OH @ Ace of Cups
Thu. Nov. 2 – Louisville, KY @ Whirling Tiger
Fri. Nov. 3 – Nashville, TN @ Third Man
Sat. Nov. 4 – Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
Sun. Nov. 5 – Asheville, NC @ Grey Eagle
Tue. Nov. 7 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
Thu. Nov. 9 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat
Fri. Nov. 10 – Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian
Sat. Nov. 11 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom