New US shows announced for January / February 2020:

Jan 16 Evanston, IL - SPACE
Jan 17 Indianapolis, IN - HI-FI
Jan 18 Nashville, TN - The Basement East
Jan 19 Birmingham, AL - WorkPlay
Jan 21 Dallas, TX - Granada Theater
Jan 22 Austin, TX - 3TEN Austin City Limits Live
Jan 24 Phoenix, AZ - Crescent Ballroom
Jan 25 Pioneertown, CA - Pappy & Harriet's
Jan 27 Los Angeles, CA - Echoplex
Jan 28 San Francisco, CA - Slim's
Jan 30 Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge
Feb 1 Seattle, WA - Tractor Tavern

Update - Nov 29 2019 - more 2020 shows announced:

Feb 5 St Paul, MN - Turf Club
Feb 6 Milwaukee, WI - Shank Hall
Feb 7 St Louis, MO - Blueberry Hill Duck Club
Feb 10 Annapolis, MD - Rams Head On Stage
Feb 11 Sellersville, PA - Sellersville Theater 1894
Feb 12 Somerville, MA - ONCE
Feb 13 Northampton, MA - The Parlor Room

These are band performances:

Juliana and her band will be performing fan favorites from her solo catalog and most recent album Weird, along with select covers from the recent Juliana Hatfield Sings Olivia Newton-John and Juliana Hatfield Sings The Police.

Juliana Hatfield shares another single from her new album "Juliana Hatfield Sings The Police" due out November 15, 2019 on American Laundromat Records. Pre-order at www.alr-music.com

After premiering yesterday at billboard, Next To You from the forthcoming Juliana Hatfield Sings The Police album is now available more widely including Soundcloud and streaming / download services.

The second track to be released from Juliana's upcoming album of The Police songs is Next to You.

It premiered today at billboard, where Gary Graff has asked Juliana about the project:

"Next to You," the first track from the Police's 1978 debut album Outlandos d'Amour, presented a challenge for Hatfield, however. "It really was an intuitive reworking of that," says Hatfield, who abandoned "an awful '80s metal ballad" version of the song before settling on this version. "Their recording of it is so perfect in its imperfection. It's unpolished and raw; That whole album sounds like three guys bashing out a song in a room together. So I didn't even want to attempt to do a rocking version of it like that. I don't want it to be compared to the original. There's no way I could come close. So I just went in a completely different direction and slowed down to half time."

Juliana is interviewed by Steve Cooper for episode 749 of his podcast CooperTalk.

This is an hour long phone interview which begins with a chat about the forthcoming album of songs by The Police, and moves on to cover a broader discussion of Juliana's work over the years beginning with her childhood interest in music through to enrolling at Berklee College of Music, initially as a piano student.

Topics go on to include early Blake Babies, hearing her songs on the radio for the first time, working with Atlantic Records, running Ye Olde Records, how the 2008 memoir came to being, art, and much more.

Of note, Juliana mentions that there are plans to tour in January 2020.

Apple Podcasts
Overcast
Castro
Pocket Casts

Juliana is releasing another covers tribute album, following the success of her 2018 tribute to Olivia Newton-John.

Scheduled for November 15, 2019 via American Laundromat Records, it's titled "Juliana Hatfield Sings The Police."

The first song has already been released. Here's De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da:

Juliana Hatfield shares the first single from her new album "Juliana Hatfield Sings The Police" due out November 15, 2019 on American Laundromat Records. Pre-order at www.alr-music.com

Juliana:

With "Juliana Hatfield Sings The Police" I am continuing the project that I started last year with my "Juliana Hatfield Sings Olivia Newton-John" album. I hope to continue to go deep into covering artists that were important to me in my formative years. The songs I’ve chosen seem to resonate in the present moment. “Rehumanize Yourself”, “Landlord”, and “Murder By Numbers” explore ugly kinds of nationalism, abuses of power, and the mendacity of large swaths of the ruling class. And then there are the timeless, relatable psychodramas: “Every Breath You Take”, “Can’t Stand Losing You”, “Canary In A Coalmine”. In the Police, each player’s style was so distinctive, accomplished and unique that I didn’t even attempt to match any of it; for anyone to try and play drums like Stewart Copeland would be a thankless, pointless task that is bound to fail. Instead, I simplified and deconstructed, playing a lot of the drums myself, in my rudimentary, caveman style. Chris Anzalone (Roomful Of Blues) played the rest of the drums. Ed Valauskas (the Gravel Pit) and I each played about half of the bass parts, while I did all the guitars and keyboards. I listened to a lot of the Police when I was preparing and making this album, and their recordings are as refreshing and exciting as ever. I hope that my interpretations of these songs can inspire people to keep loving the Police like I did, and still do.

The Artwork

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Artwork by Nicole Anguish of Daykamp Creative

The Track List:

1. Can't Stand Losing You
2. Canary In A Coalmine
3. Next To You
4. Hungry For You (J'aurais Toujours Faim De Toi)
5. Roxanne
6. Every Breath You Take
7. Hole In My Life
8. De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da
9. Murder By Numbers
10. Landlord
11. Rehumanize Yourself
12. It's Alright For You

Availability

The release date is scheduled for November 15, 2019.

Vinyl, CD, and Cassette versions are available via a multitude of ordering options at American Laundromat Records.

Newbury Comics also have a limited edition colour vinyl version.

The Original Police Songs

Here are unofficial Apple Music and Spotify playlists of the songs Juliana is covering. (I made this using songs licensed for streaming in the UK so hopefully they'll work worldwide)

Apple Music
Spotify

View this post on Instagram

photo from @johnpstrohm

A post shared by @ julianahatfield on Jul 25, 2019 at 5:16pm PDT

Due to unforeseen circumstances, Juliana's solo date at London's 100 Club scheduled for October 2, 2019 has been cancelled.

Refunds are available at the original place of purchase.

Juliana performs backing vocals on three tracks from Long Fuse Burning - an album due for release in August 2019 by Magen Tracy & The Missed Connections.

One such track - Move A Crowd - is released today.

Speaking to Vanyaland on their collaboration, Megan says of Juliana:

“The parts she came up with are so cool, and not always the obvious ones; I love the way she heard and layered the harmonies on. There’s something about what she does on the last line on the chorus on this track – ‘like the way I moved with you’ – that makes me think of ‘Please Mr. Please,’ an ONJ song she covered on her album (and, more recently, live with Liz Phair!). We managed to get her to do the same with two other tracks on the album before she left that day, and each time she brought out something new.”

Magen has been a member of Juliana's live band over the years and now her own band will be supporting at Juliana's Boston City Winery show on July 22.

magentracymusic.com

UPDATE September 2019: The album is now released. Here's another track which features Juliana on backing vocals:

Here's a brief overview of Juliana's US shows this month, starting with Chris Sikich's Facebook post with photos from Philadelphia:

The set list for the Cleveland show is representative of the songs from all the shows:

• Wonder Why
• Everything Is Forgiven
• Everybody Loves Me But You
• Parking Lots
• Failure
• I Don’t Know What To Do With Ny Hands
• My Sister
• Lost Ship
• Social Control
• If I Wanted Trouble
• Everything's For Sale
• Suspended In Time
• Physical
• Rhinoceros
• Somebody Is Waiting For Me
• Feelin' Massachussetts
• Backseat
• Choose Drugs

Other songs played include Broken Doll, Bottles and Flowers, All Right Yeah, Everybody Loves Me But You and 2016's festive song Christmas Cactus also appeared on this tour.

In Evanston, Juliana played an outdoor show with Liz Phair also on the bill. They appeared together for Please Mr Please and Friend of Mine

There's a review of the Washington DC show by Mark Engleson for Parklife DC.

Thanks to spiketop for getting in touch with video from the New York City show at Mercury Lounge.

As spike says on YouTube:

I’d rather be out of JH’s eye line and further back (with audience heads in the fore ground) than up close with a camera right in JH’s face. I try to hold the camera directly one handed in front of me and use my body and head to block the screen image from getting in the view of the audience behind and around me.

Juliana will play Boston's City Winery on July 22.

Ticket info here:

https://citywinery.com/boston/julianahatfield72219.html

Ahead of her Detroit show this week, Juliana is interviewed by Jeremy Porter for The Pencilstorm:

JP: Weird feels like a natural transition from Pussycat and JHSONJ – not so much lyrically but musically. The guitar tones, arrangements and riffs have a nice growth but a consistent feel that sort of takes your natural pop vocals and vocal melodies and puts them above a musical bed that weaves somewhere between 70s classic rock and indie-pop-rock. Do you approach the writing process with a direction in mind? Or do you just sit down and whatever happens, happens? Can you expand on that a bit and how it might relate to the feel of this trilogy of records as compared to some of your previous releases?

JH: I never have a direction plan when I sit down to write. I have an open mind. But I do have habits and things that I tend to do over and over again. I can't change my instincts. I have a certain aesthetic preferences, and I have a certain natural, personal style that I have settled into and I produce all my own stuff which is why my stuff lately tends to have a sound and a feel. It's raw and unpolished but also really melodic. I am also in love with the mellotron flutes sound on my Microkorg keyboard that I acquired about five years ago so that sound ends up on everything I do these days. No matter how gnarly the guitars get, I always like to mix in some keyboard flutes. It sounds good with everything.

Juliana, interviewed by Scott Tady, for The Beaver County Times ahead of her show in Pittsburgh, commenting on Weird and the recent video for Broken Doll:

“I think (the video) came out really funny but also provocative. Another thing in it is physical comedy, which I’ve always wanted to do. I’m a big fan of pratfalls, so I wanted to do that. Like Chevy Chase in the ’70s on ‘Saturday Night Live,’ or Chris Farley. So I got to do some of those falls,” Hatfield. “But it’s also making a point about how women in our society are put out to pasture. And it’s making fun of glamor, which is based on such a lie.”

See also a separate interview with Jeff Niesel for Cleveland Scene, also about the lineup for the US dates:

For the current tour, Hatfield recruited Dean Fisher to play bass and has “two local Boston guys who I’ve never toured with before” in the band as well. They'll play songs from her 30-plus year career.

Freda, John, and Juliana are interviewed by Jack Rabid for Rock and Roll Globe to talk about the reissue of Innocence and Experience. It's an excellent read. They talk about an unreleased song ("Radiator") which they all seem to love and which any fan reading will now be very keen to hear! They also all speak in remarkably candid detail about the early 90s break up. An excerpt:

FREDA: Regarding our demise, it was indeed, as Juliana remembers, long and drawn out! What was hardest for me was that we agreed to break up but kept playing shows, mostly to fulfill our obligations. Being a dead band rocking was no fun, and on one long tour I was very depressed then got super sick and went home in the middle—to be replaced by Juliana’s brother—and then I opted out of our final tour of Europe because it just felt sad and pointless to me. I’ve always needed to feel like I’m working with a sense of hope and direction and forward momentum, and the Blake Babies had that in our early years, which was exciting, and when that was gone I checked out, disappointed and a little wounded. Now I wish I had rallied to keep my shit together for a strong ending. My regret about that was one factor in my suggesting the [2001 comeback fourth LP] God Bless the Blake Babies reunion album and tour—I wanted a happier final chapter for us! I’m not sure if it’s because of the reunion or because of time, or because of love and friendship, but I don’t have any bad feelings about the breakup now. I just feel lucky I ever got to be in a band with Juliana and John.

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(I’ve written this up as an account of my week going to shows on the UK tour last month. I normally write a more detached review because I’m often reporting on shows across the Atlantic I haven’t attended! I’ve decided to write this in a bit more of a personal style which hopefully will bring back memories for those there, and give a taste of what it was like for those of you who weren’t. It was an amazing week - Craig)

On August 24, 1995 I took a day off work to see Juliana perform a 30 minute set at the Virgin Megastore on London’s Oxford Street. This was the day before she played the Reading Festival.

It was lunchtime in a brightly lit store but it remains one of my favourite gigs ever. After all it was Juliana Hatfield playing with with drummer Todd Philips and bassist Dean Fisher. The band name had been retired by then but I was so thrilled to be watching The Juliana Hatfield Three.

I didn’t know it would be nearly 24 years before I’d see them perform together again!

Juliana’s UK tour in May 2019 - her first full band shows in Europe for a nearly a quarter of a century - was an opportunity not to be missed...

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Brighton

May 20, 2019

The week kicked off in an upstairs room in a Brighton pub and The Prince Albert is such a Brighton pub!

Situated right near the train station, with an exterior wall artwork devoted to musicians, this is clearly a regular home for Sussex indie types.

It’s easily the smallest venue the band would play in all week, and what could have been a low-key warmup show was anything but in these surroundings.

One of the hottest rooms I’ve ever seen a gig played gave the show a raw feel. It was super loud too!

After over two decades since Juliana had rocked out in the UK, the first sound the Brighton crowd heard was Juliana’s vocals:

“Na na na na na na Baby baby baby “

The set list would settle into a different order in subsequent shows, but here opening with that noise from Going Blonde seemed so appropriate.

It was such a tight little room that there was no backstage area. The only route to the dressing room was stepping off the stage into the crowd. When it came to the end of the set the band headed into a corner of the stage and realising their predicament quickly resumed their positions for the encore!

It was an awesome show. I always love visiting Brighton too. My week had only just begun though…

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London

May 21, 2019

I was surprised when I saw that the London date was at Islington Academy. It’s a fair size venue for a band who hadn’t played in the city for 25 years but London did good and came out to fill the place. Juliana even joked on stage that she wasn’t sure if anyone would come.

I recalled the 2006 solo electric shows at Bush Hall as I looked around and saw so many smiling faces as we heard many of our favourite songs performed live for the fist time in ages, and in some cases the first time ever.

This was a special moment and it seemed like Juliana and the band could feel it too. It was amusing as she invited questions from the crowd during the set:

“What’s the best show you’ve ever played?” “This one! I like to live in the moment!”

London felt like a big celebration. It had been a gorgeous sunny day in the city. I spent the afternoon taking in exhibits at the Tate Modern and hanging out by the river, and was in a joyful mood by the time of the show. It was clear I wasn’t alone.

What a sound the band made here too.

It was delightful to hear If I Could. One my favourite Juliana songs again brought back memories of that London 2006 show, where it was still a newish song for me from the honour download thing. 13 years later it’s now an official Juliana Hatfield Three song, so it just had to be heard with Dean and Todd. Perfect.

View this post on Instagram

Todd’s view. @taphilips

A post shared by @ julianahatfield on May 21, 2019 at 2:25pm PDT

View this post on Instagram

photo by @stacee

A post shared by @ julianahatfield on May 22, 2019 at 7:39am PDT

See also photography by Daniel Gray for Academy Music Group and Jason Miller's review and photos at The Vinyl District

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I think everyone who visited Bristol for this show took a photo here!

Bristol

May 22, 2019

This one was on a boat!

Charlie P had given me some background before we came - The Thekla is a former cargo ship, once owned and lived in by Vivian Stanshall’s family and used for musical theatre and cabaret in the 1980s.

The only times I’ve ever been to Bristol have been very brief visits. No change here but I did get to see a gorgeous part of the city. The whole wharf area is very picturesque, particularly in the early evening weather. I wish I could have seen more.

Probably the quietest crowd of the week for this one. My personality doesn’t lend itself to much shouting or whooping at shows and I think Bristol was full of people like me :D Maybe Juliana too who commented on stage that she wasn’t much of a noisemaker when attending shows. Probably the contrast in atmosphere from the previous night in London made this more noticeable from the stage.

Regardless of this, and what may have been some sound issues for the band, I loved this show!

The sound was great in the audience, and I found the unusual setting perfect for my tastes.

We had a double encore here too, Juliana returning to conclude with a couple of solo electric songs including a beautiful version of Suspended in Time, which she introduced as a song she likes to play when she has moments to herself. It was gorgeous.

I loved every show I saw all week but Bristol was my favourite.

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It was also my first chance to say hi in person to Stacee, who was over visiting the UK for the first time for these shows. As we all know Stacee has contributed immensely to Juliana’s fan community from the official website, the old forum, all the wonderful photos, and so much more. If you haven’t seen the pictures posted during the week, I've included a few here from Juliana’s and Stacee’s Instagram for a flavour of life on the road with the band, and what it’s like on the other side of the stage. We all got to spend more time together again later in the week. It was a delight to meet up and it made the tour all the more special for us Europeans for Stacee to be here :)

Because of this chat I didn’t get a chance to speak to support artist She Makes War (Laura Kidd) who had invited the crowd to say hi at the merch desk. I’ve been a fan of Laura’s music for many years, and have helped to crowdfund her albums but I’d never seen her live before. It had all just added to my anticipation for this tour :) It was great to hear these songs live performed in her home city. I enjoyed the subtle differences in sound between the trio here and the four-piece band from the previous night in London.

I loved the vocal effects on Delete, the rockier full band tracks, and particularly the emotion of Dear Heart which is such a gorgeous song.

As I say, Bristol was the highlight for me. I loved it so much I had to keep going!

Back in 2014 after seeing Minor Alps in London I had an urge to do it all again and quickly made arrangements to head off to Brighton the following day. That same feeling returned as soon as this Bristol show ended. I found myself wishing friends Lieve and Carsten a good journey to the following day’s show, but quickly realised that I wanted to go too! As soon as I got back to my hotel, I had travel bookings for the next day in Nottingham :)

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Nottingham

May 23, 2019

Again my time in Nottingham was limited so I didn’t see much (or get to go on the Robin Hood Trail!), but I did spend a nice afternoon in the sun around the city centre and Trent University area. I was also far too excited to see the trams :)

At the show Juliana acknowledged that she was playing in fellow Blake Baby Freda’s one-time home city.

The support band here and the rest of the tour was the fabulous Colour Me Wednesday. The band had also opened in Brighton where band member Harriet Doveton had declared her excitement at the week ahead revealing that Juliana was a reason why she played guitar. (Laura / She Makes War said something similar in Bristol, making the choice of artists playing on this tour so wonderful)

I got to love their songs by the end of the tour and look forward to checking out more of their work.

Look at this photo of Harriet clutching her LPs at the end of the tour. Blake Babies Vinyl!

i like this photo by @stacee--it looks like fassbinder movie scene pic.twitter.com/8kk20zSaiv

— Juliana Hatfield (@julianahatfield) May 29, 2019

Rescue Rooms is located near one of the city’s two universities and shares a building with the Stealth bar and nightclub. It’s a very indie studenty venue. The band seemed to really get into this performance, and despite a relatively high ceiling for the size of the room, the sound filled the place wonderfully.

Juliana asked if anyone in the crowd remembered the last time “The Three” played Nottingham in the 90s and was delighted when an audience member offered proof by wearing a 2 decades + old JH3 t-shirt!

Except of course these shows were not just “The Three.” It might have been difficult to market ticket sales as the “Juliana Hatfield Four” but that’s how I’m going to think of them :)

Joe Keefe added so much to these performances. He sure can play. it was great to hear Made In China songs Joe had worked on but his contribution and solos on all tracks was awesome.

The band as a whole sounded great. Dean’s bass lines are so good, and Todd is an exceptional drummer. These songs just sound so right when Dean and Todd play them. They look so cool too :)

With Joe to give an even fuller sound the layers on Lost Ship sounded gorgeous, and made the big rock tracks like Nirvana and I Got No Idols stunning all week.

I’m so happy I was able to fit this bonus show in to my schedule. It was a cracker.

Here’s some excellent photos courtesy of Gav Medza:

There are other photos at Fit For Moshing

The set list changed slightly during the tour but this Nottingham list is fairly representative of the week.

I returned home for a couple of days so I can’t report on Glasgow or the Manchester show (where the band played mid-afternoon as part of the Gigantic Festival). By all accounts these performances were equally excellent and looking at social media it seems the band had a great time too.

View this post on Instagram

manchester yesterday. photo by @stacee

A post shared by @ julianahatfield on May 26, 2019 at 8:34am PDT

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Birmingham

May 26, 2019

The final show of the week.

It was great for me to meet fellow fan David Young here. We’d spoken online many times and regular visitors to this site will be familiar with his awesome live photography. David had certainly put in a remarkable effort in a whirlwind trip across the Atlantic and back for the last three shows of the tour (and in Manchester managed to combine a Juliana festival appearance in the afternoon with a Sting show in the evening!)

Any sadness that the tour was ending here was outweighed by the joy that it had happened.

Similarly, the sound issues at the Institute (and I’ll be honest there were many at this show, particularly at the start for both JH3 and Colour Me Wednesday) really didn’t matter in the end.

It’s a small venue in a larger building (we were in a room on the top floor) and it was a nice intimate way to finish. It brought back memories for some in the crowd who had seen Juliana play with Evan Dando here in 2012, and Juliana remembered that that was the show where she had to collect Evan from a bar to begin their set!

The band worked their way through a now familiar set list, including a very welcome reprise of If I Could.

The set lists for these shows were inspired, offering a full range of Juliana’s post-Blake Babies career. Great picks from Hey Babe, BWYA, Only Everything, to the “middle years” with the Made In China songs, and a few from the last three albums including a banging version of Olivia’s Physical.

I’d like to say a big thank you to whoever it was that requested the final song and for Juliana for playing it from memory. She’d come back for a second encore and surprised us with a gorgeous solo electric version of Make It Home - one of my favourite ever songs. It was a beautiful, perfect way to end the week.

She headed off stage telling the crowd she’d be back in England in October.

I’d like to thank Juliana for coming out after the show to briefly chat with us. It must be odd to be asked to chat and pose for photos for folk at any time, but particularly after the energy of a performance and the week on the road, so I really appreciate it. Again it was a great way to end the week and have a chance to thank Juliana for what was an unforgettable tour, hearing some of the most influential life-affecting songs performed live with her band. Thank you so much for coming over Jules.

Every show was unique in some way and I’ll take great memories from each one.

I’m so happy it all happened. I had the best time, with the best people :) I love that we get to come together to hear Juliana share these songs and moments with us.

Kudos to those who travelled far more than me, especially those who came from other countries. I get why you do it even more now :) Thank you to everyone who I got to enjoy the week with especially Lieve, Carsten, Charlie, Gav, Phil, David, and of course Stacee. I know it meant a lot to others too. Just seeing all the happy faces in the crowds told me that.

It’s the best feeling, made extra special on this tour with the addition of Todd, Dean, and Joe on these songs.

I hope everyone enjoys the upcoming shows in the US this month and that you all get to experience the joy I felt all week.

An unforgettable time.

As announced on stage at the end of the JH3 UK tour last week, Juliana will be returning to England in October. Playing what is likely to be a solo show, Juliana will appear at London's 100 Club on October 2, 2019, supported by The Wonder Stuff's Miles Hunt and Erica Nockalls.

Update July 22, 2019: This show has been cancelled. Refunds are available at the point of purchase.

I'll post a review of last week's shows here soon.

But for now a huge thank you to Juliana, Dean, Todd, and Joe for a fabulous week of music that was the JH3 UK tour.

Juliana's new video for Broken Doll, directed by Rachel Lichtman for Network 77 and presented by Pat Sansone is released today.

Two new US dates previously unlisted here have been announced for New Haven, CT (June 18) and Columbus, OH (June 20).

With the UK tour imminent, here's an updated list of all upcoming shows:

The Juliana Hatfield Three

May 2019, UK
20 Brighton - The Albert
21 London - O2 Academy Islington
22 Bristol - Thekla
23 Nottingham - Rescue Rooms
24 Glasgow - CCA
25 Manchester - Academy - part of Gigantic Vol 5 All Day Festival
26 Birmingham - O2 Institute

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Juliana Hatfield

June 2019, US
18 New Haven, CT - Cafe Nine
19 Philadelphia, PA - World Cafe Live
20 Columbus, OH - Rumba Cafe
21 Ferndale, MI - The Magic Bag
22 Evanston, IL - Out of Space (outdoor show headlined by Liz Phair)
23 Cleveland, OH - Music Box
24 Pittsburgh, PA - Club Cafe
26 Washington, DC - Union Stage
27 New York City, NY - Mercury Lounge
28 Jersey City, NJ - Monty Hall