JOHN R. MILLER RELEASES NEW SINGLE DITCHER
LISTEN HERE
WATCH A FULL-BAND LIVE PERFORMANCE OF DITCHER FROM THE SOUND EMPORIUM IN NASHVILLE HERE
NEW ALBUM HEAT COMES DOWN OUT OCTOBER 6
VIA ROUNDER RECORDS
PLAYING NELSONVILLE MUSIC FESTIVAL THIS WEEKEND, CATBIRD FESTIVAL IN AUGUST, HEALING APPALACHIA IN SEPTEMBER – FALL HEADLINE TOUR BEGINS SEPTEMBER 27
TORONTO, ON – July 21, 2023 – John R. Miller leans into the avoidant side of his personality on his latest single, Ditcher, a slow-rolling standout from his upcoming album Heat Comes Down (out October 6 via Rounder Records). Ditcher is a kind of ode to the part in all of us that would rather stay at home or just not deal with much of anything. In addition to the album version, available today, Miller and his band recorded a languid, dream-like version at the Sound Emporium in Nashville, TN – watch that here. The song itself came to Miller during a particularly sleep-deprived part of the Heat Comes Down recording sessions. Pre-order/pre-save Heat comes Down here and listen to Ditcher here.
“Ditcher wrote itself after I’d been awake for about 36 hours,” Miller explains to BrooklynVegan. “I had been in a fever, recording and working on songs for several days in the basement of the house I used to live in in Madison, TN, and I started playing a melody that knocked me in the head. The words came out in about ten minutes, and I made a fully-formed demo of it right away, which has maybe only happened to me a handful of times. I don’t know where it came from, but I liked it enough that it became one of my favorites on the record, as well as the source of the album’s title.”
Miller belongs to the rare breed of songwriters whose expansive introspection uncovers many truths about the state of the human condition. On Heat Comes Down, the West Virginia-raised, Nashville-based artist intimately narrates his sleepless nights and nostalgic daydreams, existential dread, and nuanced observations of the troubled world around him. But while a number of its songs convey a certain unease, Miller endlessly imparts the kind of lovely reassurance that can only come from shared catharsis.
The follow-up to his 2021 Rounder Records debut, Depreciated—an album No Depressions says “casually saunters towards a full existential breakdown that’ll leave you gasping for air”— Heat Comes Down finds Miller teaming up with producers Andrija Tokic and John James Tourville (both known for their work with artists like Sunny War and The Deslondes). Over a three-day session at The Bomb Shelter (Tokic’s Nashville studio), Miller joined forces with several members of his longtime live band (drummer John Clay Burchett, guitarist J. Tom Hnatow, fiddle player Chloe Edmonstone) as well as bassist, Craig Burletic, and Jeff Taylor (a multi-instrumentalist whose credits include Willie Nelson and Elvis Costello).
Miller has extensive headline tour dates into the fall, and will hit a number of summer festivals, including Nelsonville and Catbird. He’ll also take part in the Healing Appalachia benefit show in Lewisburg, WV in September. The show raises funds for Hope in the Hills, which helps support recovery efforts around central Appalachia.
John R. Miller 2023 Tour Dates:
July 21 - Cleveland, OH - Beachland Tavern
July 22 - Nelsonville, OH - Nelsonville Music Festival
July 26 - Thomas, WV - Purple Fiddle
July 27 - Winchester, VA - Bright Box Theater
July 28 - Charlottesville, VA - The Southern
July 29 - Galax, VA - The Blue Ridge Music Center
August 19 - Aug 20 - Bethel, NY - Catbird Music Festival
September 21 – 23 – Lewisburg, WV – Healing Appalachia
September 22 - 23 - Whispering Beard Folk Festival - North Bend, OH
September 27 – St Louis, MO – Off Broadway
September 29 – Denver, CO – Cervantes’ Other Side
September 30 – Boulder, CO – eTown Hall
October 4 – Bozeman, MT – Rialto Bozeman
October 5 – Columbia Falls, MT – The Coop
October 6 – Spokane, WA – Lucky You Lounge
October 7 – Walla Walla, WA – Billsville West
October 8 – Bellingham, WA – The Shakedown
October 10 – Seattle, WA – Tractor Tavern
October 12 – Portland, OR – Show Bar
October 13 – Talent, OR – The Talent Club
October 14 – Albany, CA – Ivy Room
October 15 – Mariposa, CA – The Grove House
October 16 – Pioneertown, CA – Pappy + Harriet’s
October 18 – Costa Mesa, CA – The Wayfarer
October 20 – Los Angeles, CA – Gold-Diggers
October 21 – Phoenix, AZ – Last Exit Live
October 24 – San Antonio, TX – The Lonesome Rose
October 25 – Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall (Upstairs)
October 26 – Austin, TX – The White Horse
October 27 – Fort Worth, TX – Tulips
October 29 – Little Rock, AR – White Water Tavern
October 30 – Oxford, MS – Proud Larry’s
November 2 – Chattanooga, TN – Songbird South
November 3 – Macon, GA – Grant’s Lounge
November 4 – Atlanta, GA – Vinyl
November 5 – Charlotte, NC – Visulite Theatre
November 7 – Charleston, SC – The Charleston Pour House
November 8 – Durham, NC – Motorco Music Hall
November 9 – Richmond, VA – The Camel
November 10 – Thomas, WV – Purple Fiddle
November 11 – Morgantown, WV – 123 Pleasant Street
November 12 – Pittsburgh, PA – Club Café
November 14 – Washington, DC – Pearl Street Warehouse
November 15 – Columbus, OH – Rumba Café
November 16 – Newport, KY – The Southgate House Revival
November 18 – Lexington, KY – The Burl
November 19 – Nashville, TN – 3rd & Lindsley