Out September 4
Stream here
Forthcoming album Sweet Animal out September 18 Burlington, VT Album Release Show and Northeast Tour Dates Announced
[SINGLE COVER ART by Lydia Kern]
Sweet Animal album pre-save
Vermont chamber folk duo Cricket Blue will release “Landfills, Gardens, Nurseries,” the final single from their forthcoming sophomore album Sweet Animal, on September 4 via Bridge & Key Artist Collective. The track arrives alongside news of a long-awaited hometown album release show and a Northeast tour.
Steeped in classical sensibilities “Landfills, Gardens, Nurseries” takes our casual killing of insects (whether out of disdain, inconvenience, curiosity, or otherwise) as a lens through which to view our treatment of one another. Elegant sprinkles of strings and lurking woodwinds frame hand-in-glove harmonizing so second-nature that it hits like a single voice. The track features the virtuosic bassoonist Rachael Elliott of the experimental chamber group Clogs, and showcases one of Taylor Smith’s most intricate arrangements from the album, set against layers of electronic production and contributions from stellar classical musicians throughout the region.
The release marks the final single from Sweet Animal, arriving September 18. Cricket Blue will bring the full orchestral arrangements of Sweet Animal to life in a live setting at a hometown album release show in Burlington. The lineup is stacked: alongside the duo, audiences will experience an enormous ensemble of regional musicians who performed on the album.
Opening the show is songwriter Lily Talmers.
Sweet Animal Album Release Show Friday, September 25 First Unitarian Universalist Church (Church Street, top of the hill) Burlington, VT 6:30 PM Doors / 7:00 PM Show
Tickets
NORTHEAST TOUR
Following the show Cricket Blue will bring Sweet Animal to venues across the Northeast this fall, with appearances in Massachusetts, New York, and Pennsylvania. Tour dates are below.
Tuesday, September 29 The Parlor Room Northampton, MA with Ciarra Fragale and Elijah Berlow Tickets
Wednesday, September 30 Paul’s Place (House Concert Series) Beverly, MA with Kathleen Parks Tickets
Thursday, October 1 Jalopy Theater Brooklyn, NY with Dustin Lowman and Caroline Kuhn Tickets
Saturday, October 3 Harmonie Hall Philadelphia, PA with Madeline Lee and Ilan Isakov Tickets
More dates coming soon.
About Cricket Blue
Laura Heaberlin and Taylor Smith met as students at Middlebury College in Vermont, bonding as members of an a cappella group over shared touchstones like Neutral Milk Hotel, Anaïs Mitchell, Sufjan Stevens, and Joanna Newsom. After graduation, both settled in Burlington and gradually began collaborating on one another’s songs, coalescing into Cricket Blue.
Their 2019 debut, Serotinalia, earned national attention for its literary lyricism and distinctive harmonies, with NPR Music calling the duo “master storytellers.” Cricket Blue was voted Vermont’s Best Folk Group in the 2019 Seven Daysie Awards, and Laura has also appeared solo on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Sweet Animal features contributions from Goose drummer Cotter Ellis, Clogs bassoonist Rachael Elliott, and Vermont Symphony Orchestra principal cellist John Dunlop.
L-R Taylor Smith and Laura Heaberlin / Credit – Connor Gallagher and Joe Rittling
Cricket Blue Online
Website
YouTube
TikTok
Chart Room Media
brendan@chartroommedia.com | chartroommedia.com | 347-450-3048 – ph.