Listen to Hurray for the Riff Raff’s new song “Rican Beach,” see them at World Cafe Live this spring
Hurray for the Riff Raff laid out their plans for a jam-packed 2017 today, including a follow-up to the band’s 2014 acclaimed release Small Town Heroes and an expansive international tour. Fronted by singer and songwriter Alynda Segarra, the band’s newest effort, The Navigator, is expected to drop March 10th on ATO Records. A tour with Philly son (currently residing in Nashville) Ron Gallo follows, with a gig at World Cafe Live scheduled for April 21st.
The Navigator is new territory for Segarra, taking from personal experiences to explore “an interwoven, cinematic story of a wandering soul at a crossroads of identity and ancestral weight.” Poised as a concept record, Segarra departs from her relaxed indie-country blend, trading it in for a more Latin-inspired sound, citing singer-songwriter Rodriguez, and even Puerto Rican activist groups the Young Lords and the Ghetto Brothers as the fire behind the record. This is apparent in her new single “Rican Beach,” where deep and soulful jams cradle Segarra’s lyrics pertaining to the “gentrification of the South Bronx and the co-opting of Puerto Rican culture in NYC and beyond.”
Segarra wants this world to be a place for everyone in it. With that in mind, The Navigator will find the artist searching for a new identity, while this country moves in parallel.
Listen to the single above, and pre-order the new record on her website. Also, more information about the 4/21 World Cafe gig with Gallo can be found over at the XPN Concert Calender; you can also find additional US dates below.
US Tour Dates (w/ Rob Gallo)
April 15 – Middlebury, VT –Middlebury College
April 16 – Northampton, MA – Academy of Music
April 18 – Cambridge, MA – Sinclair
April 19 – Cambridge, MA – Sinclair
April 20 – New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom
April 21 – Philadelphia, PA – World Café (downstairs)
April 23 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
April 24 – Cincinnati, OH – Woodward Theater
April 25 – Cleveland, OH – Beachland Ballroom
April 27 – Detroit, MI – Magic Bag
April 28 – Chicago, IL – Thalia Hall
April 29 – Madison, WI – High Noon Saloon
April 30 – Minneapolis, MN – Fine Line Music Café
May 2 – St. Louis, MO – Old Rock House
May 3 – Nashville, TN – Mercy Lounge
May 4 – Birmingham, AL – The Saturn
May 5 – New Orleans, LA – Civic Theatre