Norah Jones will return to the beautiful Santa Barbara Bowl on Tuesday, Aug. 7 with a special guest. Tickets will go on sale at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 31.
Jones’ new collaboration with Danger Mouse, called Little Broken Hearts, has expanded her sound in thrilling and characteristically subtle ways.
Twelve darkly luminous songs. Twelve little broken hearts. Each an exploration of wounded emotions from various perspectives that invariably leads to a place of beauty and uplift.
Jones said that as she worked to fit the songs together into a workable sequence, she was pleasantly surprised to discover that it coalesced into a unified statement — even “Happy Pills,” with its talk of “tryin’ to make it so I never see your face again,” revolves around the overall theme.
“I didn’t expect all the lyrics to tie in so well, especially since we wrote in such a spontaneous way,” she said. “It turns out to be kind of a story. It has these different dimensions. Things sneak up on you. And even though the record has all these cool sounds and interesting grooves that are Brian’s signature, mostly I’m proud of our writing together. The songs themselves.”
Ten years after she first performed at SXSW, Jones made a triumphant return to the festival the other week, performing Little Broken Hearts in its entirety in front of an enraptured capacity crowd.
The Associated Press praised the new songs, calling them “stylish yet deeply emotional,” adding that “she showed fans a different side” and that the album is “a departure for Jones and another step in her evolution.”
USA Today wrote that “sometimes sweet and sometimes spooky, the songs, co-written and produced by Danger Mouse on the album, have atmospheric weight performed live also,” and highlighted the “cheery, cutting” lead single “Happy Pills.”
Don’t miss your chance to see Norah Jones at the Santa Barbara Bowl on Aug. 7. Tickets range from $39 to $69, plus applicable service charges, and are available at Ticketmaster outlets, including the Arlington Theatre, the Santa Barbara Bowl and Walmart. To charge by phone, call 800.745.3000.
The Santa Barbara Bowl is located at 1122 N. Milpas St. Call 805.962.7411.
— Jesse Lee Weiss represents Nederlander Concerts.