Posted on: May 5, 2010 Posted by: anfnewsacct Comments: 0

Brooklyn-based soul singer Eli “Paperboy” Reed will make his major label debut with the August 10 release of Come And Get It on Capitol Records in the U.S. The album, an irrepressible, largely self-penned, 12-song set produced by Mike Elizondo, will be released May 10 on EMI’s Parlophone label in the U.K. where Reed is already generating enormous buzz. He has appeared on Later… with Jools Holland, and MOJO has declared him “the finest soul belter of his generation.” The album’s lead single “Come And Get It” is currently BBC Radio 2’s “Record of the Week.” Reed also lent his trademark howl to London house-music duo Basement Jaxx’s recent album Scars.

The New York Times has noted Reed’s “raucous, riveting live act,” and he will be taking his electrifying show on the road once again this summer. Reed has announced extensive tour dates throughout Europe and the U.S. leading up to the album’s release. His run of U.S. dates in June will be bookended by shows in Manhattan and Brooklyn, with a homecoming show in Boston, as well as stops in Philadelphia, Chicago and Washington DC. See full dates below.

“It’s been a wild ride, that’s for sure,” says Reed, looking back at the incredible journey that took the soul belter from a Boston high school band room to a Mississippi Delta juke joint, from Sunday morning gigs behind the organ at a tiny South Side Chicago church to headlining the coolest clubs in Brooklyn with his red-hot band, and now, signed to Capitol Records, a historic label with a rich R&B legacy.

On Come and Get It, Reed proves to be the life of a soulful, sweaty party in which everyone eventually gets dragged onto the dance floor. As a performer, Reed approaches each song with nothing less than utter conviction. Admirers have likened him to such luminaries as Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett; the Boston Herald called him “Boston’s answer to Sam Cooke.” But he’s not merely trying to recreate a sound; Reed is channeling his influences and inspirations into making something all his own.

“For me,” says Reed, “it’s all about writing pop songs. Soul music was the greatest pop music of the 20th century and its influence is so far-reaching. When I pick up a guitar to write a song, the influence of the music I love invariably comes out. I can’t sing or write any other way than I do.”

May 5 – 59 to 1 – Munich, Germany

May 7 – Moulin Blues Festival – Ospel, Netherlands

May 8 – Tivoli – Utrecht, Netherlands

May 10 – Scala – London, England

May 12 – Manchester Academy – Manchester, England

May 13 – Great Escape Festival – Brighton, England

May 14 – Academy Birmingham – Birmingham, England

May 15 – Oran Mor – Glasgow, Scotland

May 17 – The Bongo Club – Edinburgh, Scotland

May 18 – Speakeasy – Belfast, Ireland

May 19 – Academy Dublin – Dublin, Ireland

May 21 – Territorios Festival – Seville, Spain

May 22 – Garaje – Murcia, Spain

May 23 – Mirror Club – Valencia, Spain

June 3 – Mercury Lounge – New York, NY
June 10 – Middle East – Boston, MA
June 11 – North Star Bar – Philadelphia, PA
June 12 – Beachland Ballroom – Cleveland, OH
June 13 – Empty Bottle – Chicago, IL
June 15 – Beale on Broadway – St. Louis, MO
June 16 – Mercy Lounge – Nashville, TN
June 17 – Sundown In The City – Knoxville, TN
June 18 – Rock and Roll Hotel – Washington DC
June 19 – The Bell House – Brooklyn, NY

Leave a Comment