Listen: Ben Harper Shares Powerful Solo Single “Before the Rain Dried”
Photo Credit: Adam Keely
Ben Harper has released “Before the Rain Dried,” a new single that he teased back in February. The genre-avoidant Americana singer-songwriter’s first release since his Birdthrower collaboration last fall is a moving and mournful reflection on loss and its aftermath drawn from his personal experience. The single is the first from an unannounced upcoming studio album, his 18th to date, and is accompanied by a vivid complementary music video directed by Ben Pier.
Harper’s new single is a hauntingly intimate act of catharsis channeled into a sparse, chilling and progressively intensifying piano outpouring. Through tender yet powerful vocals, Harper reflects on the passing of his longtime friend and guitarist Michael Ward, known affectionately to fans as The Warden in his nearly two-decade tenure with the band. In the description for the soul-stirring music video, the multi-instrumentalist wrote, “This song is written in loving memory of Michael (The Warden) Ward, father, friend, cyclist, and one of the most inspiring musicians I’ve ever had the privilege of making music with.”
“Songs come to me either in fragments or fully formed — this one arrived complete, production and all. The key is having the time to sit down and follow through, which luckily I did,” Harper expressed in a release. “Director Ben Pier, a visionary photographer and filmmaker, had a similar experience. I sent him the track, and he called back almost instantly with a clear concept for the video. Playing piano while getting drenched in the rain was tough, but strangely exhilarating.”
Harper & The Innocent Criminals will take the bandleader’s new material to the stage this summer with a 15-stop tour, beginning with a kickoff performance at Washington, D.C.’s Lincoln Theatre. From this outset, the folk forerunner will move north to New York for a May 31 booking at the fan-favorite venue The Rooftop at Pier 17, then keep on to stops at Boston’s Roadrunner and Burlington, Vt.’s Higher Ground Ballroom on June 1 and 2. After commencing his lone Canadian date at Toronto’s Massey Hall on June 4, Harper will motor into a Midwest leg at Detroit’s Royal Oak Music Theatre on June 6, followed by engagements at Chicago’s Auditorium Theatre, Carmel, Ind.’s Palladium at Allied Solutions Center, Milwaukee’s Pabst Theater and St. Paul, Minn.’s Palace Theatre from June 7-11.
Harper will take a brief break from the road before returning on Aug. 19 for a set at Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo Amphitheater. He’ll follow this into a final West Coast leg, featuring engagements at Portland, Ore.’s Pioneer Courthouse Square, Jackson, Ore.’s Britt Pavilion and Oakland, Calif.’s Fox Theater. At long last, the artist will return home to Southern California for a performance at Los Angeles’ historic Orpheum on Aug. 24.
“Before the Rain Dried” is available on all streaming platforms now. Watch the music video below, and find tickets and more information on Harper’s 2025 live itinerary at benharper.com/tour.
