Wesley Stace, formerly known by his stage name John Wesley Harding, will be in Lewisburg Jan. 8. He’s co-headlining The Spring with Joe Pernice in support of his new record “Self-Titled,” his first album under his birth name (out 9/17 on Yep Roc Records).
Wes’ new record “Self-Titled” is the result of a new, much more personal/intimate songwriting process which drove him to record under his actual name for the first time. Stace chose not to use his wellestablished stage name for his newest record, which marks 25 years since he first took the John Wesley Harding moniker, due to the considerably more personal nature of the new songs. Stace notes, “It’s time to bring everything under one roof.”
Stace co-wrote two of the tracks from Self-Titled “Stare at the Sun” and “When I Knew” with the Fiery Furnaces’ Eleanor Friedberger. Both songs appear in alternate versions on Friedberger’s critically acclaimed new album Personal Record, which was entirely co-written by Stace. Of Personal Record, SPIN hails the pair’s “easy collaboration” while NPR Music notes that Harding “knows a little something about smart love songs of every stripe.” Stace’s version of -Stare at the Sun” is streaming at The New York Times (http://nyti.ms/18EnwGx) while his version of -When I Knew” can be streamed at The Wall Street Journal (http://on.wsj.com/104VFMZ).
Stace is the host and curator of variety show Cabinet of Wonders and is also an acclaimed novelist. The Cabinet of Wonders is recorded in NYC and syndicated nationally via NPR: http://cabinetofwonders.npr.org/.
