Song Premiere: Anthony D’Amato “The Oyster and The Pearl”
photo by Vivian Wang
Anthony D’Amato will kick off a packed fall tour schedule later this month, and the New Jersey-based singer-songwriter is also prepping a new album, set for release in 2019. Today, we premiere a new song from that upcoming effort, the playful single “The Oyster and The Pearl.”
The track, recorded in the mountains of Utah and featuring production from musician Joshua James, marks D’Amato’s first new music since his homemade charity EP Won’t You Be My Neighbor, which raised money for refugee aid, and follows up his 2016 studio album Cold Snap. D’Amato first came on the scene with his 2014 debut The Shipwreck From the Shore.
“I’d been a fan of Joshua James for years, so I was thrilled to record out in Utah with him,” D’Amato tells Relix of his production parter. “We met on a European tour the year before, and I really fell in love with his attitude and approach to making music. He pushed me to let go and embrace the raw and the spontaneous, and it was exciting for me to see the ways my songs and performances evolved in our time together.”
Speaking on “The Oyster and The Pearl,” which addresses the virtues of perseverence with plaintively poetic lyrics and melody, D’Amato explains, “The song started out as a kind of tongue-in-cheek anthem for those endless days on the road, but when I started playing it live, the choruses evolved into this call-and-response moment with the audience that felt very communal in ways that I hadn’t anticipated. It’s easy to get cynical and discouraged with the world right now, and I think that makes it all the more important to be there for each other and share in whatever moments we can together.”
Below, watch the lyric video for “The Oyster and The Pearl,” featuring art from Brooklyn painter/illustrator Quiet Creature, and see D’Amato’s upcoming tour schedule.
Anthony D’Amato Tour Dates
Oct 5 – Glasgow, UK @ Glasgow Americana Festival
Oct 6 – Hull, UK @ Private Show
Oct 7 – Sheffield, UK @ Private Show
Oct 9 – Dublin, IRL @ Whelan’s Upstairs
Oct 11 – Liverpool, UK @ Naked Lunch
Oct 12 – Oxford, UK @ The Isis Farmhouse
Oct 13 – Billericay, UK @ The Rectory
Oct 14 – Hilversum, NL @ De Vorstin
Oct 16 – Krefeld, DE @ Kulturrampe
Oct 18 – Recklinghausen, DE @ Private Show
Oct 19 – Drachten, NL @ Iduna *
Oct 20 – Groningen, NL @ De Oosterpoort #
Oct 21 – Arnhem, NL @ Luxor Live *
Oct 23 – Esbjerg, DK @ Tobakken *
Oct 24 – Falkenberg, SWE @ Tryckhallen *
Oct 25 – Malmö, SWE @ Folk å Rock *
Oct 26 – Odense, DK @ Posten Live *
Oct 27 – Altlandsberg, DE @ The Buchholz Saloon *
Oct 28 (Early) – Millingen aan de Rijn, NL @ Real Roots Live
Oct 28 (Late) – Cologne, DE @ Die Kantine *
Oct 30 – Bristol, UK @ Louisiana *
Oct 31 – Manchester, UK @ Night and Day *
Nov 1 – London, UK @ Borderline *
Nov 2 – Vlaardingen, NL @ Kroepoekfabriek *
Nov 4 – Munich, DE @ The Vintage Pub
Nov 5 – Bern, CH @ Hush Hush
# w/ Luke Winslow King
