Joseph Arthur

Arthur's debut, Big City Secrets, was released in 1997 and went largely unnoticed in the marketplace, despite an eclectic, brooding sound influenced by the likes of Leonard Cohen, Joe Henry, and the late Jeff Buckley. Gabriel booked Arthur into his annual WOMAD shows, and Virgin Records, Real World's distributor, helped him land opening dates with several of their acts, including Ben Harper and Gomez. Arthur steadily earned an audience of his own, attracting some attention for his work as a visual artist as well (he creates the cover art for many of his releases). In 1999, Arthur released the seven-song EP Vacancy and received a Grammy nomination for Best Recording Package, thanks to the hand-folded design by art director Zachary Larner. Arthur's second full-length album, Come to Where I'm From, appeared one year later, featuring production from alt-country icon T-Bone Burnett. The album showed Arthur's musical fondness for rootsy country-rock and Americana, and he spent the rest of 2000 headlining club shows across North America and serving as an opening act for The The. Two years later, Arthur issued the four-EP series Junkyard Hearts, a precursor to his third LP, Redemption's Son. North American dates with Tracy Chapman followed in summer 2003, then one year later, the critically acclaimed Our Shadows Will Remain appeared. In 2004, Arthur was invited to tour as an opening act for R.E.M.; the group's vocalist, Michael Stipe, would cut a version of Arthur's "In the Sun" for a 2006 benefit EP.

From 🇺🇸 United States