ROSIE THOMAS PAIRS WITH SUFJAN STEVENS FOR RECORD STORE DAY SPLIT 7”

THOMAS’ NEW FULL LENGTH WITH LOVE OUT NOW ON SING-A-LONG RECORDS; FEATURES SAM BEAM (IRON & WINE), DAVID BAZAN (PEDRO THE LION), MEMBERS OF THE POSTAL SERVICE, SUFJAN STEVENS’ BAND

U.S. TOUR DATES THIS SPRING

“Thomas’ music is gentle [and] sincere.” —NPR Music

“With Love features the same qualities that introduced Thomas to her fans: strong vocals, intelligent observations and tempting hooks.”—Paste

Singer-songwriter Rosie Thomas has paired up with Sufjan Stevens for the first entry in the Hit & Run series of split 7” vinyl collaborations. Hit & Run Vol. 1 consists of Thomas’ “Where Were You?”—a re-imagined version of the track “Where Was I” from Thomas’ new full length record With Love (out now on Sing-A-Long Records) recorded, mixed and featuring a performance by Sufjan Stevens—alongside Steven’s “Here I Am!” which features vocals by Thomas. Thomas is currently premiering “Where Were You?” at http://soundcloud.com/rosie-thomas/where-were-you/s-dwsXn.

Thomas is set to tour the U.S. this spring in support of With Love, please see below for a list of dates. Bhi Bhiman will support the east coast tour dates with Ivan & Alyosha supporting on the west coast. Also appearing on all tour dates is Thomas’ stand-up comedy alter-ego Sheila Saputo; Saputo recently took a new round of publicity head shots, footage from the photo session is at http://vimeo.com/37919152.

Thomas’ first full-length recording in four years, With Love has received praise from The New York Times for the way Thomas’ new songs “frame love as an action as well as a condition, sometimes ruefully and sometimes radiantly...the singing is bolder and more outgoing than on her previous albums,” while MSN hails Thomas’ voice as “an ideal instrument for an artist of almost childlike openness.” The record features a band that includes David Bazan (Pedro the Lion), Blake Wescott (The Posies, Damien Jurado), brother Brian Thomas and members of Sufjan Stevens’ band along with vocals by Sam Beam (Iron & Wine) and Jen Wood (The Postal Service).

With Love focuses on the central theme of love and its transformative powers. The album reflects Thomas’ own experience, finding love and being aided by it as she fought a two-year battle with a thyroid disorder resulting in severe anxiety. “I woke up one morning, and the sun shined in the window, and I didn’t mind,” Rosie says of her recovery; “the birds chirped and I thought they were singing for me. The world felt like it was back on my side again or vice versa, and I finally fit in again.”

Thomas began work on the record during this period of tremendous change during which she also got married and relocated to New York City from Seattle. Writing in Los Angeles, Nashville and her grandpa’s farm in Kansas, she traveled to Texas to work with Sam Beam in pre-production, Thomas returned to Seattle to assemble her band and record with producers Bazan and Wescott. While in the studio Bazan gave Thomas a homework assignment to list every singer and song that she loved, including the guilty pleasures.

This list began to influence the sound of the record, drawing from a broad spectrum of artists ranging from soul and r&b singers including Stevie Wonder and the Jackson Five to Rosie’s more obvious influences including Joni Mitchell, Linda Rondstadt and the Innocence Mission. Rosie’s list even included Whitney Houston’s “Dance With Somebody” and her all-time favorite, Bette Midler. “The process was refreshing,” Thomas says of her and Bazan’s approach to recording. “[David] challenged me to show more of my personality this time around, and just like Sam he pushed me to ‘belt it out!’ There’s a more playful part of me captured on this record…all around it’s just more fun.”

Thomas has recorded four full-length albums as well as 2008’s A Very Rosie Christmas. She has collaborated with Sufjan Stevens and Damien Jurado as well as performed stand-up comedy as her alter-ego, Sheila Saputo. She appared in the 2009 film Calvin Marshall and was the subject of the 2009 documentary All the Way from Michigan Not Mars.

For more information, please contact Krista Williams, Joe Cohen or Carla Sacks at Sacks & Co., 212.741.1000.

ROSIE THOMAS TOUR
* with Bhi Bhiman
† Ivan & Alyosha

March 15 /// World Café Live /// Philadelphia, PA
March 16 /// Jammin’ Java /// Vienna, VA*
March 17 /// Nightlight /// Chapel Hill, NC*
March 18 /// Red Light Café /// Atlanta, GA*
March 20 /// 12th and Porter /// Nashville, TN*
March 21 /// Old Rock House /// St. Louis, MO*
March 23 /// Turf Club /// St. Paul, MN*
March 24 /// University of Wisconsin /// Madison, WI*
March 25 /// Schuba’s /// Chicago, IL*
March 26 /// The Ark /// Ann Arbor, MI*
March 27 /// Covenant Fine Arts Center /// Grand Rapids, MI*
March 28 /// Musica /// Akron, OH*
March 30 /// Café 939 at Berklee College of Music /// Boston, MA*
March 31 /// Joe’s Pub /// New York, NY
April 25 /// Mississippi Studios /// Portland, OR†
April 27 /// Hotel Utah /// San Francisco, CA†
April 28 /// The Cellar Door /// Visalia, CA†
April 29 /// Hotel Café /// Los Angeles, CA†
April 30 /// The Loft at UCSD /// San Diego, CA†
May 1 /// Rhythm Room /// Phoenix, AZ†
May 4 /// LaGrange /// Dallas, TX†
May 5 /// Lambert’s /// Austin, TX†
May 6 /// Fassler Hall /// Tulsa, OK†
May 8 /// Soiled Dove Underground /// Denver, CO†
May 9 /// The State Room /// Salt Lake City, UT†
May 11 /// Neptune Theatre /// Seattle, WA†